Social media users react to Alicia Vikander as new Lara Croft

A new Lara Croft has been named for the upcoming “Tomb Raider” reboot, and she’s taking social media by a storm.

This week, “The Danish Girl” star Alicia Vikander has been announced to take over one of the most coveted roles in Hollywood, formerly held by A-lister Angelina Jolie. Norwegian Roar Uthaug will direct the movie by MGM and GK Films.

The 27-year-old Swedish actress earned an Oscar as best supporting actress for her performance in “The Danish Girl.” She was also highly praised in the film “Ex Machina.” In addition to “Tomb Raider,” the Internet Movie Database or IMDb reports that Vikander has a number of films lined up. She finished filming “Jason Bourne” with Matt Damon and “The Light Between Oceans” starring her on-and-off boyfriend Michael Fassbender.

“Star Wars” Daisy Ridley was reported to be considered for the iconic role of the British archeologist.

[READ: “‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ star Daisy Ridley could be the next Lara Croft in ‘Tomb Raider’ reboot”]

The new “Tomb Raider” is said to follow a young Lara Croft as she fights to survive her first adventure. The original “Tomb Raider” films by Paramount, which were released in 2001 and 2003, became a smashing success and earned $432 million worldwide.

News quickly swirled around social media, which generated reaction from various users. Jenn Croft, who is described as the official “Tomb Raider” cosplay ambassador for the US, wrote, “Let me just go on record, here, and say that I’m 100% on board with this. Vikander is an amazing actress and proves she has not only the acting ability but the accent and athletic talent to pull off the character of Ms Croft.” Facebook user James Abilene, on the other hand, commented, “Being a [life-long] ‘Tomb Raider’ fan I can totally get behind this. For those who never played the games the sexualisation over saturated other media and demeaned the integrity of the franchise. This is a step in the same great direction us players have enjoyed since TR1. Glad that wider audiences might finally be able to see beyond big boobs.” Aaron Simon shared, “So Alicia Vikander has been cast as Lara Croft. I personally love this casting. Vikander has yet to put in a bad performance. She just won an Oscar and she deserved to win for a different one last year. She is now going to have a big franchise with her at the head. I love it, can’t wait to hear more about this project.”

Over on Twitter, users also shared their sentiments about the new Lara Croft.