'Tomb Raider' reboot gets writing team

The Academy Award-nominated scriptwriters Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby have been hired to pen a reboot of the Tomb Raider film franchise.

The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that GK Films have officially hired the writing team, after acquiring the film rights to the Tomb Raider series from Square Enix earlier this year.

"Mark and Hawk's clear sensibilities of action and emotion are perfect for the direction we are taking this franchise," producer Graham King announced.

"We aim to write an origin story for Lara Croft that solidifies her place alongside Ellen Ripley and Sarah Connor in the pantheon of great female action heroes," Fergus and Ostby added.

The writers received an Academy Award nomination for 'Best Adapted Screenplay' back in 2006 for Children of Men, but are perhaps best known as the main writers behind Jon Favreau's 2008 box office hit Iron Man.

As well as the upcoming film reboot, Square Enix subsidiary Crystal Dynamics announced in late 2010 that they are also planning to reboot the Tomb Raider game franchise, with a new entry expected across multiple platforms later this year.

The film reboot of Tomb Raider is expected to hit cinemas in 2013.

Watch the trailer for Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby's latest film Cowboys & Aliens, opening July 29 in the US and August 12 in the UK, below: