Vikander and Jolie as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider.
Credit: Rindoff/Le Segretain/Getty Images; Everett Collection
The 27-year-old actress, who took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her turn in The Danish Girl earlier this year, was always the first choice for the part, a source revealed to Variety.
Daisy Ridley
, who made a splash onscreen in the latest installment of
Star Wars
in December, was also reportedly being considered for the iconic video game heroine role.

Vikander’s turn as the badass British archaeologist will be the first big-screen take on the franchise since Jolie, now 40, memorably graced the screen in
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, in 2001 and its sequel, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, in 2003.
The MGM and GK Films’ reboot will feature Vikander as a young Lara Croft setting off on her very first adventure in a prequel to the other two films.

Vikander will next star in the Jason Bourne franchise opposite
Matt Damon, as well as The Light Between Oceans
, with on-again, off-again boyfriend
Michael Fassbender.