10 Movie Franchises Which Got Terribly Adapted TWICE
2. Tomb Raider
It's incredibly easy to see why Hollywood was so bullish on bringing Tomb Raider to the big screen - an attractive woman travelling the world and pilfering artefacts while shoot-dodging her way out of trouble sells itself pretty damn easily, no?
And while Angelina Jolie was perfectly cast as Lara Croft in 2001's Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, that's largely where the praise both begins and ends.
Feeling less like a spirited adaptation of the games than a naff Indiana Jones knock-off, the film lacked the charm or mighty action necessary to deliver on its promises.
Sequel Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life fared even worse and additionally flopped at the box office, ensuring that no further sequels were produced.
Surprisingly, despite Tomb Raider's enduring popularity, Hollywood actually left the franchise alone for an entire 15 years, only resurrecting it for 2018's reboot, which while starring a well-cast Alicia Vikander and smartly drawing its cues from the 2013 video game reboot, is ultimately a dreadfully dull affair.
Its not-bad commercial performance led to development of a sequel, but after years of stalling MGM lost the big-screen rights to Tomb Raider, killing it dead.
As of last year, however, Amazon are currently working on a second cinematic Tomb Raider reboot, intended to be part of a shared universe with a TV series being developed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge and also an upcoming video game. Have mercy.