From its launch date in November 1996, Tomb Raider became an instant phenomenon. Lara Croft, dressed in her signature outfit of combat shorts, turquoise tank top and Doc Marten boots, faced death-defying jeopardy while discovering priceless artefacts and treasures in the secret, booby-trapped burial chambers of dingy pyramids. She continued her archaeological adventures through Tomb Raider II, Tomb Raider III, Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation and Tomb Raider: Chronicles, with each title continuing to break records and win industry prizes. To date, the combined series has sold well over 30 million units worldwide.

“It was just after the launch of Tomb Raider II that Hollywood came knocking on our door,” says Adrian Smith, younger brother of Core Design managing director Jeremy Heath-Smith. “The first offer came from a famous animation studio, but we really didn’t think it was the right route to pursue because it wouldn’t have signalled too much of a leap from the game itself. But the offer made us realise the potential of granting a movie license to the right studio. Uppermost in our minds was the fear of putting creative control in someone else’s hands, so we knew it was vital to pick the right studio to nurture the concept and Lara’s image. There was no way we were going to let our property end up looking like Super Mario Bros or Streetfighter!”

One of the many proposals came from Paramount Pictures, and veteran independent Hollywood producer Lawrence Gordon (Die Hard) and his business partner, Lloyd Levin (Boogie Nights).

Angelina Jolie (above) as the unmistakable Lara Croft, and below on set with director Simon West. “It was a one-horse race,” he says. “If Angelina didn’t do it, I couldn’t think of anyone else who would be suitable.”

“I was very familiar with the game as I played it a lot,” says Levin. “We pursued the movie rights because it had a real character at its centre and the game’s storylines were very cinematic in approach. Tomb Raider offered something that hadn’t been seen in movies before: it had exotic adventure, thrilling action, treasure hunts and mortal danger, all given a very modern spin with a unique character in the foreground embodying the spirit of contemporary cool.

“We acquired the license in 1997, primarily because we told Core Design stuff they didn’t want to hear,” claims Levin. “Other studios seemed to be offering them the world to secure the rights and making unrealistic promises. We told them we wanted to take it very slowly and assured them we wouldn’t disrupt the mythology they had worked so hard to build.”

Gordon and Levin started developing scripts that would rise to the potential of the basic concept and become part of Lara’s heritage rather than merely exploiting it. But, although various draft screenplays of Tomb Raider were written, the whole project didn’t snap into focus until Con Air director Simon West came on board some 18 months ago.

“After The General’s Daughter, I was determined to direct something completely opposite to the dark claustrophobic tone of that picture,” says West, who began his career as a TV director with the BBC. “I wanted fun, fantasy and imagination, so I could exercise all the other muscles I hadn’t used in my movie work so far. I’d heard about Tomb Raider on the Hollywood network, but I turned it down twice because I had my own definite ideas about what angles should be explored with it.

“Then, around Christmas 1999, I was offered the chance to direct the project again. I thought about it more seriously this time, and read the latest commissioned script, which had been written by Patrick Massett and John Zinman. But I told Larry and Lloyd that I would only direct Tomb Raider if I could keep the title and Lara but change everything else and start from scratch.