One of C.S. Lewis’s most popular books, besides the Chronicles of Narnia, is about to become a new motion picture project from the creators of the hit off-Broadaway and off-West End play (FPA, 2024a; FPA, 2025). The Screwtape Letters is an inverted morality tale where infernal correspondence from an elder demon mentors his nephew in twisted advice to deceive mortals (Lewis, 1942). I am among the 600,000 people who have experienced the outstanding Fellowship For Performing Arts play adaptation which continues engaging audiences in its fifth United States tour (FPA, 2025). In 2011 I was even privileged enough to interview the creative director Max McLean. While this announcement might delight fans of C.S. Lewis’s theological works, don’t be too easily deceived because The Screwtape Letters has tempted Hollywood relentlessly without bearing fruit.
As far back as 2006 NarniaFans.com reported about Randall Wallace (writer of Braveheart) courting the C.S. Lewis estate to direct a The Screwtape Letters movie for Walden Media. This project never progressed, but in a 2007 interview with NarniaFans.com Douglas Gresham confirmed that there was a film version of The Screwtape Letters in the works which he would be producing. Later in 2012, Douglas Gresham confirmed that The Screwtape Letters was being adapted for film. Decades later no movie has ever been made, but what has been holding back development of this beloved story? Perhaps the biggest challenge is the unique nature of the book which is only told from the perspective of Screwtape’s letter writing. This literary device lacks visual action needed for successful movies. The major screenwriting transformation would requiring changing the single character monologue into a full cast dialogue. The Fellowship for Performing Arts play expanded the story only slightly by including a non-speaking secretary who takes Screwtape’s dictation. The mostly one man play monologue still works on the stage, but would fail miserably as a film. Max McLean has been open to these challenges adapting The Screwtape Letters both in recent interviews and even as far back as my conversation with him in 2011 (Foust, 2025).
“Well, I’m interested in that because what makes the genius of Screwtape is that Lewis created a character. He created a single character who is one of the great characters of 20th century literature, and he was able to pull it off and he created a morally inverted universe, this morally inverted character, this demon. Up is down, good is bad, God is called The Enemy. Lucifer or Satan, is Our Father Bellow. So often those kind of things when you start them at some point they will break down you can’t finish it off, you can’t complete it. Lewis never wavered. It was so true from beginning to end. So he created this marvelous character and the book is probably one of the best examples of reverse psychology in literature. Now the problem with that as a film though is that in the book it is one character talking. There is a lot of unseen characters seen in the book, but the film very likely wouldn’t be happy with one character. The setting of the book is in hell, it’s not on earth so the setting of the film would have to be in hell. That’s not going to be very compelling for two hours in a movie theater. You have to create all of these characters and it becomes Wormwood’s movie or does it becomes the patient’s movie where Screwtape is limited to whispering in Wormwood’s ear and not being the central character. I don’t know. Those are some of the challenges that will have to be considered when they write the screenplay.”
One exceptional demonstration of how this story could work as a full cast production comes from Focus on the Family Radio Theater. This same team who made by the greatest Chronicles of Narnia audiobooks ever recorded applied their talents and the star vocal performance of Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings) to create the first ever full cast recording of The Screwtape Letters (Lewis, 2009). The creative style of the dramatization shifted perspectives so that some scenes were told from demonic points of view while others came from the world of the mortal patient (Lewis, 2009). Even letters from Screwtape to Wormwood were reimagined as conversational dialogues (Lewis, 2009). This groundbreaking retelling of the story could serve as a model for the film version. I would even feel ecstatic if Andy Serkis starred in the movie itself, but I am also impressed by both actors I have seen playing Screwtape on stage Max McLean (Artistic Director of Fellowship for Performing Arts) and Brent Harris who played Scar from The Lion King on Broadway (Mahbubani, 2013).
The greatest factor that gives me hope this film version of The Screwtape Letters will actually get made is the success Max McLean’s production companies have had with both the stage play and their first motion picture. Often in the informal Q & A after performances members of the audience have asked for DVDs of the show only to be turned down because The C.S. Lewis Estate didn’t allow film rights (until now). It was only after the start of the pandemic that the film production arm of Fellowship for Performing Arts (FPA Media) began. There was a filmed from the stage DVD release of Max McLean’s one man play C.S. Lewis The Most Reluctant Convert later followed by a full cast motion picture filmed on location in England (McLean, 2018a; Stone, 2021). If you are interested in watching FPA Media’s first C.S. Lewis movie it is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video or free with ads on tubi (Stone, 2021). Perhaps The Screwtape Letters will follow a similar path with a filmed from the stage DVD followed by a cinematic recreation. FPA Media is currently working on a movie sequel to The Most Reluctant Convert: The Untold Story of C.S. Lewis which would cover the part of C.S. Lewis’s life when he was writing Narnia (FPA, 2024). This is expected to be based upon the one man play CS Lewis On Stage: Further Up And Further In which was just released on DVD earlier this summer (Denison, 2025). Since FPA Media is a small production company focusing on another film under development it won’t plan to begin production on The Screwtape Letters until 2027 (FPA, 2025).
“This is a pivotal moment in FPA’s history,” said FPA Founder and Artistic Director Max McLean. “We’re grateful to The C.S. Lewis Company for their confidence in us to carry this story to the screen. Our stage production of The Screwtape Letters has a long, successful history that includes an extended run in New York, a sold-out engagement in London and five acclaimed U.S. tours – and now we’re excited to turn it into a major motion picture, seeking to honor Lewis’ wisdom, depth and insight for a new generation.” (FPA, 2025)
Only time will tell if FPA Media will succeed in bringing The Screwtape Letters to the screen or if they can find a director/screenwriter with the creative talent to adapt the book into a compelling full cast dramatization. Max McLean’s track record for world class production quality and a mission in line with the book’s Christian worldview make this news a hopeful delight for fans of C.S. Lewis.
References:
Denison, K. (Director). (2025). CS Lewis On Stage: Further Up And Further In [Film]. FPA Media
Foust, M. (2025). Max McLean Is Bringing C.S. Lewis’ ‘The Screwtape Letters’ to the Big Screen. Retrieved August 16, 2025 from https://www.crosswalk.com/culture/features/max-mclean-is-bringing-cs-lewis-the-screwtape-letters-to-the-big-screen.html
FPA (2024). A Tale of Two Films. Retrieved August 16, 2025 from https://fpatheatre.com/article/a-tale-of-two-films/
FPA (2024). The Screwtape Letters Continues to Engage Contemporary Audiences. Retrieved August 16, 2025 from https://fpatheatre.com/journal/the-screwtape-letters-continues-to-engage-contemporary-audiences/
FPA (2025). The Screwtape Letters Heads to the Silver Screen! Retrieved August 16, 2025 from https://fpatheatre.com/article/the-screwtape-letters-heads-to-the-silver-screen/
Lewis, C.S. (1942). The Screwtape Letters. HarperCollins
Lewis, C.S. (2009). The Screwtape Letters [Audiobook]. Focus on the Family Radio Theatre
Mahbubani, R. (2013). A rogue’s gallery in one actor. Retrieved August 16, 2025 from https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/entertainment/tn-dpt-et-1227-screwtape-letters-irvine-barclay-20131226-story.html
McLean, M. (Director). (2018). C.S. Lewis Onstage: The Most Reluctant Convert [Film]. FPA Media
Stone, N. (Director). (2021). The Most Reluctant Convert: The Untold Story of C.S. Lewis [Film]. FPA Media
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