Tomb Raider Netflix Season 3 can still happen “if people watch the show,” showrunner says

Tasha Huo, the series showrunner and writer for the Tomb Raider Legend of Lara Croft anime on Netflix, says Season 3 can still happen “if people watch the show”. Speaking through her Act Two podcast, as spotted by FilesTomb on X, her encouragement comes off the back of an exclusive report from Variety that Season 2 is the final season, despite its big cliffhanger.

The Netflix anime was originally announced in 2021. It was greenlit for two seasons, and the first season launched in October 2024 with Season 2 now available following its premiere on December 11. The Netflix anime stars Marvel actress Hayley Atwell as Lara Croft, taking over the mantle from Camilla Luddington, who voiced Lara in the Survivor trilogy: Tomb Raider 2013, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

Variety reported on the cancellation of the series in September, but there’s no explanation why Netflix isn’t planning to renew more seasons. However, Season 1 was received poorly by fans with only a 33% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and the series’ viewership didn’t reach Netflix’s top ten globally or in most countries.

It’s a similar tale with the viewership figures for Season 2.  The second season launched on December 11, and, although we don’t know the viewership numbers, we at least know its global viewership figures weren’t higher than 2,500,000, the minimum to reach Netflix’s top ten most-watched shows worldwide between December 8 and 14.

Netflix’s Tudum website lists the top ten most-watched shows and movies weekly. Besides globally, it also shows that Tomb Raider The Legend of Lara Croft Season 2 didn’t hit the top ten in the United States, the United Kingdom, and many other nations.

The Tomb Raider Netflix series is a prequel to Legacy of Atlantis

The events of the Tomb Raider Netflix series happen before the newly announced Legacy of Atlantis video game. This is part of the new unified timeline, which recognizes the Survivor trilogy as Lara Croft’s canon origin. In the new timeline, the Netflix series leads into Legacy of Atlantis, although you do not need to watch the anime before Legacy of Atlantis releases in 2026.

Developer Crystal Dynamics says that Legacy of Atlantis is a “reimagining,” not a remake, of the first Tomb Raider game released in 1996 for PS1. In addition to taking place after the events of the Netflix anime, it replaces Hayley Atwell with the newest voice actor for Lara Croft, Alix Wilton Regan, who is a British actress you may recognize as Samantha Traynor from Mass Effect 3, the female Inquisitor in Dragon Age Inquisition, and Alt Cunningham in Cyberpunk 2077.

At The Game Awards on December 11, Crystal Dynamics also announced Tomb Raider Catalyst for 2027. There are not many details about this game, but it is set in Northern India. It is also the newest point in the unified timeline, starring Lara Croft at her oldest and taking place after Underworld, a PS3 game released in 2008.

Although a third season for the Netflix show seems unlikely, there is a live-action Amazon Prime series starring Sophie Turner as Lady Croft for Tomb Raider fans to anticipate. Filming begins in January 2026, and a producer of the show, Story Kitchen, confirms that it shares the same universe as the Tomb Raider games.