Tomb Raider's Lara Croft gets surprising crossover with GI Joe
Overview & Key Takeaways
The tomb raider is getting a surprising crossover for her 30th anniversary, joining Hasbro's GI Joe line of action figures.
Lara Croft has fought dinosaurs, killed gods, and tortured her own butler, and now she's facing her next adventure... G.I. Joe? Yes, that's right, to celebrate the iconic character's 30th anniversary, the tomb raider is being immortalized with her very own action figure from Hasbro.
The collaboration between Tomb Raider and G.I. Joe was originally revealed back in May, but what it would actually entail wasn't revealed until Wednesday. During a special stream co-hosted by the Hasbro Pulse YouTube channel and Dan Larson (of pop culture channel Secret Galaxy), a first look was shown off of the Lara Croft figure. This figure is in the six-inch line and comes with a number of accessories. Looking at the picture, we can see Croft's iconic duel-wield pistols, her weapon of choice in earlier titles, as well as a bow and arrow and ice picks, which became her signature in the Survivor Trilogy.
More details on the Tomb Raider x G.I. Joe figure, such as price and release date, will be shared during this year's San Diego Comic-Con during a Hasbro press breakfast on Thursday, July 23.
Image: Hasbro Pulse
It is particularly of note that this figure touts the new unified look for Lara Croft, which developer Crystal Dynamics and IP-holder Embracer Group have been rolling out over the past several years. The appearance, which first premiered in Call of Duty of all places, has become the character's de facto appearance in almost all material Croft has appeared in lately. While "unified" might give you the impression that the devs just want her to look the same everywhere, the title actually refers to a new approach to the two Tomb Raider timelines. 2013's Tomb Raider, and its two sequels (Rise and Shadow) are considered the Survivor Trilogy and served as a reboot of the character separate from her timeline that started with the 1996 original. Going forward, Crystal Dynamics and Embracer hope to unify the timelines into one coherent chronology, with the Survivor Trilogy serving as a preface to the Lara Croft we know at the beginning of 1996's Tomb Raider.
While the G.I. Joe announcement is just one of several collaborations to celebrate Tomb Raider's 30th anniversary, the main event won't actually come until 2027. That's because Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, a remake of the original Tomb Raider, was recently delayed out of 2026 until next year (though that looks like a good thing). This will be the first Tomb Raider game from Crystal Dynamics since 2018's Shadow of the Tomb Raider. It will serve as a reintroduction to Lara Croft that solidifies the link between the Survivor Trilogy and the original games, completing the unification. It will then be followed by the first completely new Tomb Raider game later in 2027 with Tomb Raider: Catalyst. It is set to take place after 2008's Tomb Raider: Underworld, which is currently the most modern title according to the new unified timeline.
Related
