‘Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft’: Why the Netflix Series Has Been Canceled

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2025 proved to be a significant year for fans of Tomb Raider. On September 3rd, it was announced that Sophie Turner would take on the role of Lara Croft in a new live-action series for Amazon Prime Video. Just a day later, Netflix announced the cancellation of the animated series Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, featuring Hayley Atwell as the voice of Lara Croft. The last episodes of the animated series will be available on December 11th, 2025.

The news that Netflix canceled an animated Tomb Raider series so soon after announcing a live-action show definitely surprised people. It led to questions about whether Sophie Turner’s upcoming series played a role in the decision, or if Netflix was already planning to end the animated version. Here’s the reason Netflix canceled Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft.

Did the Live-Action Series Lead to ‘Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft’s Cancellation?


Netflix

Netflix greenlit Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft in January 2021, with Hayley Atwell, known for her role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, providing the voice for Lara Croft. The show was developed and produced during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when many live-action productions were paused and animated projects became more popular because they could be made remotely. The first season premiered on Netflix on October 10, 2024, and a second season was quickly announced on October 25th. Season 2 is scheduled to premiere on December 11, 2025.

As a fan, I always wondered how quickly the show came together. It took three years between the initial announcement and the first season, but only a year for Season 2 to arrive. It seems like Netflix probably approved and started working on both seasons at the same time, which is pretty standard for animation. Studios often produce a large batch of episodes – usually around 16 to 20 – and then release them as separate seasons to make the most of their investment. The big question for me, and I think for a lot of us, was always whether Netflix would give the show a continuing life beyond those first two seasons.

Just as Netflix revealed its Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft series, Amazon MGM started developing its own live-action Tomb Raider show, with Phoebe Waller-Bridge (creator of Fleabag) writing the script. Although announced in January 2023, the series didn’t get official approval until May 2024. By October 2024, both Lucy Boynton and Sophie Turner were considered for the lead role, but reports surfaced in April 2025 suggesting the show was cancelled. Surprisingly, four months later, Sophie Turner was confirmed as Lara Croft, and production was scheduled to begin in January 2026. This means a new live-action series will start filming only one month after Netflix’s Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft finishes its run.

Because neither Netflix nor Amazon owned the exclusive rights to Tomb Raider, both platforms could have potentially developed their own shows featuring Lara Croft. This could have resulted in a single, unified series or multiple different versions of the character, much like Sony’s approach with Spider-Man through both live-action and animated films. However, the recent live-action Tomb Raider movie didn’t seem to influence Netflix’s decision to cancel Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft. The cancellation ultimately came down to how viewers reacted to the show and its production costs.

Poor Response to ‘Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft’ Sealed Its Fate


Netflix

Netflix canceled Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft mainly because not enough people watched it, and reviews from both viewers and critics were only average. According to Forbes, the show started at number 9 on Netflix’s top ten list, but quickly dropped off. Although it did well enough to potentially get a second season—which may have already been in development—the low numbers signaled that audiences weren’t really engaged with the series.

The show received mixed reviews, scoring 73% on Rotten Tomatoes after 22 reviews. This indicates it wasn’t a critical hit, and likely appealed more to fans of the Tomb Raider games than a broad audience. Despite this, it’s the highest-rated Tomb Raider adaptation so far. However, several reviews pointed out issues with the writing and animation, which may have caused some viewers to stop watching after a few episodes. Ultimately, even before Amazon’s live-action series was announced, Netflix wasn’t planning to create another season of Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft.

It’s unclear if Netflix timed the cancellation announcement of Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft so closely after news about Sophie Turner to deliberately cause confusion with a rival show. While the live-action series might not have directly caused the animated series to be cancelled, the timing seems suspicious. Ultimately, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is one of several animated shows greenlit during the pandemic that faced a changed streaming landscape and audience expectations by the time they actually launched.

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2025-12-02 23:07