Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft showrunner on how her WWE fandom feeds into the new Netflix series: "If I can get Lara to do a Stunner, that'll be the highlight of my life"
Oct. 15, 2024Exclusive: Tasha Huo on why Lara Croft lays the smackdown in the new Tomb Raider series
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Over the years, Lara Croft has showcased all manner of talents, from Olympic gymnast-level acrobatics to a serious nose for treasure. Still, pro wrestling is a new one to add to Lara’s increasingly overflowing repertoire.
Yes, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft sees the intrepid explorer pull out a selection of familiar (and hard-hitting) wrestling moves across the first season, including suplexes, slams, and more.
That’s all down to showrunner and creator Tasha Huo, a self-proclaimed wrestling fan who reinvented Lara’s fighting style in the Netflix series so she could lay the smackdown with the best of them.
“If I can get her to do a [Stone Cold] Stunner, then that’ll be the highlight of my life,” Huo jokes to GamesRadar+ in reference to the trademark finishing move of Stone Cold Steve Austin, while also asking fans to pay attention to a moveset that was “definitely” inspired by her love of WWE.
But it’s not just a wrestling pedigree – or should that be Pedigree? – that Lara has in her locker. Huo points to Lara’s new fighting style as a Swiss Army Knife-of-sorts, a malleable skillset that informs her character and history – while adapting to any situation she’s in.
“I think Lara has every sort of martial arts available to her,” Huo says. “We know from canon that she was a bouncer, so I wanted her to have that brawler attitude to her and that ability. But she’s also a gymnast; she’s incredibly graceful; she knows boxing.”
Huo continues, “When we talked about the action sequences, sometimes I’d be very specific – like, ‘this is a suplex’ – but really it was just trying to lean into all the varieties of martial arts that she knows. I think that’s what’s so unique about her as an action star: she has everything at her disposal; elegance as well as brutality.”
Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter
Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is currently streaming on Netflix.
For more, check outour interview with Lara Croft actor Hayley Atwell, where the Mission: Impossible star outlines how the Netflix series aims to create a “more complicated” Lara Croft. Then dive into our picks for thebest shows on Netflix.
I’m the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you’ll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.
Arcane star pays tribute to the hit Netflix show’s fans as she says it was her “greatest honor” voicing Jinx
Secret Level’s Pac-Man episode had one big request from developers: “We would like the audiences to wonder, ‘What the f*ck did they do to Pac-Man?'”
Asus TUF A14 review: “a wonderful step towards a portable and powerful future”
