The New Yorker, in a very large piece around Hasbro films, has confirmed that Greta Gerwig has a deal with Netflix to direct two films in its’ Chronicles of Narnia adaptation series. This was news that we reported about a long time ago, and, honestly, didn’t doubt the truth to the rumor.
Honestly, when I saw the name, I felt that the rumor was unexpected but credible, a plausible wild card as the director of a couple of films in the upcoming Chronicles of Narnia adaptation. Greta Gerwig is currently riding the wave of Barbie, which looks poised to overtake The Super Mario Bros. Movie as the number one movie of the year, worldwide, and has the potential to become the biggest box office return for a Warner Brothers motion picture.
Gerwig is Scared of Narnia
“I haven’t even really started wrapping my arms around [Narnia], but I’m properly scared of it, which feels like a good place to start,” Gerwig told the Total Film podcast (via Entertainment Weekly). “I think when I’m scared, it’s always a good sign. Maybe when I stop being scared, it’ll be like, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t do that one.’ No, I’m terrified of it. It’s extraordinary. And it’s exciting.”
“I hope to make all different kinds of movies in the course of the time I get to make movies, which — it’s a long time, but it’s also limited. I want to do big things and small things and everywhere in between, and having another big canvas is exciting and also daunting.”
What Narnia story is she going to adapt?
What she’s going to adapt for the series is anyone’s guess at this point. If I had to guess, I would think that she could be directing the first two films in the series, back-to-back. My guess is that this adaptation is going to do something that no other studio has done with Narnia yet, and go in chronological order.
I think it’s going to be a bit like when Warner Brothers released Batman Begins, and at the time, many people thought that it was a prequel to the Tim Burton directed Batman film. That is, until The Dark Knight was released and put that theory to bed.
I believe we will see an adaptation of The Magician’s Nephew first. It’s never been adapted before, so it’ll be a new experience for all of us. And that will be quickly followed by The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. This will be the 5th time that story is adapted for the screen. The first is an adaptation that was made for TV back in the 60s, if I recall correctly, but has mostly been lost to time. Then was an animated version, followed by the BBC version in the 80s, and Walden Media’s 2005 film.
I think that doing these two books first sets the stage for what the series will be like going forward as far as style and tone, and those are the two top-selling books in the series. So that is a one-two punch when it comes to the popularity of the source material.
We’ll have to wait and see what we learn as development on the series continues.
That said, given the current WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, all of that is on hold.
