Rachel Weisz is New Voice of Lara Croft? (January 16)

English Rose in Tomb Raider: Legend.

Stories emerged over the weekend indicating that one of our favourite British actresses, the sultry English Rose that is Rachel Weisz, is almost certainly replacing previous incumbent Jonell Elliot as the new voice of Lara Croft in the forthcoming Tomb Raider: Legend.

This - if it turns out to be the case - is very good news indeed for both fans of Tomb Raider and for fans of Weiszs sultry rasp and instantly recognisable plummy voice.

34-year-old Weisz is no stranger to Hollywood fame having appeared in a string of blockbuster motion pictures including The Mummy, Enemy at the Gates, Constantine and more recently The Constant Gardener. Before hitting the Hollywood big-time, Weisz had established herself in the UK as a well-respected film and theatre actress.

We have to be clear that Eidos has yet to make an official announcement, but that it does seem very likely that Ms Weisz is top of its list. According to a recent issue of US PlayStation magazine, the publication noted that it was "...buoyed by the prospect of Rachel Weisz providing her plummy British twang.we're expecting great things."

Source: Spong.com The Internet Video Games Database

Keeley Hawes new voice of Lara Croft (February 21)

Eidos Interactive, one of the world's leading publishers and developers of entertainment software, can today confirm that the new voice of Lara Croft is leading British actress Keeley Hawes.

Keeley, best known for her role of three years as Zoë Reynolds in BBC's flagship drama 'Spooks' and recently seen in Michael Winterbottom's feature Cock and Bull Story, took to the part of Lady Lara Croft, 11th generation Countess, effortlessly, "Lara Croft is such a strong and powerful character, but she also has an edge to her, which was great to portray vocally. Lara is getting up to all sorts of trouble in Legend, I am sure the fans won't be disappointed!"

"Keeley is perfect for the voice of Lara" said Matt Gorman, Brand Controller for the Tomb Raider series, "she had the right balance of aristocracy and attitude to really bring to life Miss Croft in all her glory."

Original Lara Croft voice-over artists Shelley Blond and Judith Gibbins were replaced by Jonell Elliot in 1999 for the release of Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation. Jonell kept the role her own until 2002 and the release of The Angel Of Darkness, the final Tomb Raider adventure helmed by Core Design.

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend is the seventh title to be released in the Tomb RaiderTM series, which originally launched in 1996, and is still one of the best selling videogame franchises of all time with over 28 million copies sold. Lara CroftTM has transcended games in a way no other character has, including action figures, comic books and two major motion pictures starring Angelina Jolie.

Source: Gamesindustry.biz