New Chronicles Of Narnia Movies Coming To Netflix From Barbie Director Greta Gerwig
Ready or not, it's looking like we're heading back to the land of Narnia for another adventure with that lion, witch, and a certain magical wardrobe ... and it's coming with a very hot commodity attached.
Multi-hyphenate talent Greta Gerwig is currently riding high on pre-release hype for the upcoming "Barbie," but it sure seems like she's already gotten her ducks in a row for her next major directing project. In a quintessential example of burying the lede, The New Yorker published a lengthy profile with the writer/director/actor (via Total Film) that casually confirmed the filmmaker has a deal set up with Netflix to write and direct "at least" two films in the upcoming reboot of "The Chronicles of Narnia," based on author C.S. Lewis' enormously popular children's series. This would be only the latest out-of-left-field turn for Gerwig after shifting focus from acting to solo directing, having guided both 2017's "Lady Bird" and 2019's "Little Women" remake to widespread acclaim and awards buzz. Many fans figured that her unexpected choice to direct "Barbie" would mark a one-off instance of wading into the studio franchise machine, but this latest report reiterates the idea that she's setting her sights on one of the biggest IPs of them all.
Disney famously attempted to ride the coattails of "The Lord of the Rings" when they ushered their adaptation of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" into production for a 2005 holiday season release. The successful first film led to two sequels of varying degrees of quality: "Prince Caspian" in 2008 and "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" in 2010. Now, Netflix is hoping to cash in on the renewed popularity of the fantasy genre — and they're pulling out all the stops with Gerwig's involvement.
Come on Pevensies, let's go party
From a Barbie girl in a Barbie world to the hilariously unsubtle Christian metaphor of an all-powerful lion-god willingly dying for the sins of others and coming back from the dead to save the whole world? Say what you want, but Greta Gerwig's taking some mighty big IP swings lately. That looks to continue with the latest update on her involvement with the "Chronicles of Narnia" reboot from Netflix.
We've known that the streaming giant had plans to breathe new life and take their own swing at adapting C.S. Lewis' classic fantasy franchise, as the reboot was originally announced back in late 2018. The only other update we've received since then came with the reports that co-writer of the Pixar film "Coco" Matthew Aldrich had been brought on board as the main creative force on the overall series, though the Gerwig news likely indicates that she's taken over entirely. Whether that means she's working from scratch or from the bones of previous scripts remains unclear. At the time, however, Netflix CCO Ted Sarandos stated that:
"C.S. Lewis' beloved 'Chronicles of Narnia' stories have resonated with generations of readers around the world. Families have fallen in love with characters like Aslan and the entire world of Narnia, and we're thrilled to be their home for years to come."
In the New Yorker profile, Gerwig heavily implies that any other big-budget studio movie after "Barbie" would need to really speak to her, saying that, "It would have to be something that has some strange hook in me, that feels like it goes to the marrow." Having attended a Catholic high school (as explored in "Lady Bird"), Gerwig's interest in "Narnia" almost certainly has deep, deep roots.