Rhianna Pratchett, Lead Writer for Tomb Raider (2013) and Rise of the Tomb Raider, has said she wished the story didn’t place so much of an emphasis on Lara Croft’s father. Pratchett has spoken candidly about her role in the Tomb Raider reboot series, previously noting that much of the core story beats were set in stone prior to her hiring. In many respects, it was a product of the time since many studios didn’t have dedicated writers on staff and instead relied on contractors.
Throughout franchise history, Lara’s father, Richard Croft (once known as Henshingley Croft), has vacillated in terms of his importance to the overarching narrative. Earlier incarnations saw his influence matter little in the grand scheme of things. Meanwhile, later iterations of the story hammered home the notion that Richard’s archaeological exploits were the very reason Lara took such an interest in the field. This especially holds true in the Crystal Dynamics-developed reboot series, where the shadow of Richard’s past drives many of his daughter’s motivations. Even the Alicia Vikander-starring Tomb Raider movies borrowed heavily from the games in this regard. Understandably, a contingent of Tomb Raider faithful take umbrage with the ongoing trend.
Comics writer Gail Simone (Birds of Prey, Batgirl), recently took to Twitter to ask that Tomb Raider scribes stop focusing on Lara Croft’s father. Tomb Raider (2013) and Rise of the Tomb Raider writer, Rhianna Pratchett, responded to the tweet (via GamesRadar) by saying she, too, dislikes how Richard often takes up much of the plot. She especially understands the weight of being defined by a famous father since she’s the daughter of famed fantasy novelist Terry Pratchett. Despite her weariness of such stories, though, Rhianna noted the decision behind the Richard Croft-focused narratives came from higher-ups. As a result, her Tomb Raider comics steered clear of Lara’s father as much as possible.
With the Crystal Dynamics-led trilogy complete, the studio plans on merging the Tomb Raider rebooted series with the original games. How exactly this will pan out presently remains a mystery, but both versions of Lara’s tale allows developers to take Richard Croft in myriad directions. Hopefully, the direction chosen sees him take a backseat for the first time in quite a while.
Crystal Dynamics and publisher Square Enix shipped the first Tomb Raider reboot entry in early 2013 for PC and seventh generation consoles. Unlike Lara Croft’s previous adventures, the new franchise emphasized survival mechanics and the brutality of some of the heroine’s actions. Rise of the Tomb Raider followed the same thread in 2015; Deus Ex developer Eidos-Montréal helmed the trilogy’s final installment with Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which hit store shelves in September 2018.
