As a UK resident, Greta Gerwig, director/actor/screenwriter, appears to be under a lot self-inflicted pressure to make a successful version of C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia.
It's not just because it's the director's first project following her 2023 box office smash-hit Barbie, but also because Narnia holds a particular place in the hearts of UK residents.
"I’m slightly in the place of terror because I really do have such reverence for Narnia,” Gerwig recently told BBC Radio 4’s Today program [via Deadline]. “I loved Narnia so much as a child. As an adult, C.S. Lewis is a thinker and a writer. I’m intimidated by doing this. It’s something that feels like a worthy thing to be intimidated by.”
“As a non-British person, I feel a particular sense of wanting to do it correctly… it’s like when Americans do Shakespeare, there’s a slight feeling of reverence and as if maybe we should treat it with extra care. It is not our countryman.”
These remarks match what Gerwig has previously said regarding the project.
This past Summer, she revealed that she was just beginning to dive into the adaptation, stating, "I haven’t even really started wrapping my arms around it. But I’m properly scared of it, which feels like a good place to start. 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."
More recently, Netflix Films Chairman Scott Stuber announced that the streamer hopes to premiere the first film in 2024, if Gerwig can crack the script.
For our American readers who might be unfamiliar with the novels, between 1950 and 1956, C. S. Lewis wrote and published the seven fantasy novels that make up The Chronicles of Narnia.
Set in the legendary realm of Narnia, the stories recounts the adventures of multiple generations of English children who journey to Narnia from our world and have a significant impact on its history. The first book in the tale, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, is regarded by many as the best and most well-known of the series.
With a production budget of $180 million, the first movie was a box office success, grossing $745 million worldwide. However, Disney witnessed declining profits on the next two entries.
Despite low box office returns, a film adaptation of the fourth book, The Silver Chair, was also in the works, but Netflix intervened with plans to reboot the well-liked children's fantasy books.
At the moment, Narnia fans are most interested in learning whether Gerwig's two-film adaptation will focus on the first two books or if it will try to cover the entire seven-novel saga.