Original Tomb Raider?

[VodkaEnergee]

Apparently the Original Lara Croft was named Laura Cruz aka Lara Cruz. Inspired by a music performer named Neneh Cherry. Here is a quote from a deleted post...

"I still think about how Tomb Raider's Lara Croft was Lara Cruz for most of the development. She's inspired by mixed-race singer/rapper "Neneh Cherry", but was represented as Afro Latina. They changed her to Lara Croft from UK last minute as they feared audiences weren't ready.."


Here are two places I'd found that link the deleted post:

1.) https://www.pinterest.com/pin/del-naughtydog-on-twitter--473792823311334710/

2.) https://www.lipstickalley.com/threa...ixed-race-singer-rapper-neneh-cherry.5192760/

The next stuff are images from Tomb Raider Wiki, an article from Medium called We Almost Had a Latina Tomb Raider by Alexandria Ducksworth, covers to Tomb Raider The Angel of Darkness The Official Companion Book, and Prima's Official Strategy Guide.

Tomb Raider Wiki Page for the Topic: https://tombraider.fandom.com/wiki/Laura_Cruz

 

[ATenderLad]

That would have been kinda cool, she's obviously a throwback to the Cambridge professor types of pulp fiction and stories from the late 19th century. Indiana Jones himself was already an update on that in the 70's, making him an American James Bond in addition to an academic.

 

[Leifang]

I always viewed the classic Lara as some sort of ambigously brown girl, her being British doesn't change the fact her OG design is brown-eyed tan Latina with lips taking half her face.

...she got whiter as games went on, first heavily leaning into Agelina Jolie, then with Survivor reboot basing Lara's new looks on a new white chick (but the cartoon making Lara tan again).

I am not sure how mentally prepared I am to hordes of grifters online making angry videos when unified Lara in the next game will almost inevitably look more like OG Laura Cruz than Camilla Luddington.

Unless they go movie route and all actresses that were in talks were like blue-eyed blondes and redheads, are they sure they're casting for Tomb Raider and not Barbie movie 2?

 

[Waffles]

I honestly always thought she was Latina.

 

[Boo Man]

did you know the original character design was inspired by ancient Egypt's great pyramid's

 

[Leifang]

This isn't OG design, that's botched in-game model made for Sega Saturn that couldn't even draw polygons. Lara looks completely different (bubble braid, round boobs) in FMVs.

 

[MasterEn]

i always thought that she was tan from going on a lot of adventures.