[Cinema] Narnia: Greta Gerwig brings back to life C.S. Lewis saga for Netflix

After becoming the queen of the box office in 2023 with “Barbie,” which had racked up over 1.5 billion dollars in revenue, Greta Gerwig took a little break before opening a new chapter in her career. What trajectory would the filmmaker follow next? Return to low-budget productions or try her hand at blockbusters again? The second option was ultimately chosen by the director, who is also behind “Lady Bird” and “Little Women,” eager to tackle a new adaptation of a literary work. That of “The Chronicles of Narnia.” Luckily, the saga created by C.S. Lewis is attempting a comeback on the big screen.

Going back to 2018, The C.S. Lewis Company and eOne partnered with Netflix to breathe new life into a franchise that had struggled in cinemas. While the adaptation of “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” found its audience, the same could not be said for its sequels “Prince Caspian” and “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.” This halted a stalled machine, leaving four more books to explore. Wanting to start fresh, the streaming platform dove into the development of films and series branded as “Narnia.” While many thought there would be a reboot of the first installment, another option was chosen by Greta Gerwig, tasked with inaugurating this reinterpretation.

She preferred to focus on a book that had not made it from the page to the screen: “The Magician’s Nephew.” Published in May 1955 in the United States, this sixth book written by Lewis is actually the first in chronological order, serving as a prequel to the adventures of the Pevensie siblings. We follow the journey of Digory Kirke and his friend Polly Plummer as they travel through different worlds with magical rings given by his uncle. Along their odyssey, the two children will awaken Jadis and encounter the lion Aslan, who will create an entire universe (singing). Narnia.

This new direction should establish the intellectual property on solid ground, as Greta Gerwig has the freedom to offer her vision of C.S. Lewis’s novels. Always knowing how to surround herself, the director can rely on an impressive cast to attract the audience’s attention. Besides young actors David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell, Emma Mackey, Carey Mulligan, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Daniel Craig, and Meryl Streep – lending her iconic voice to Aslan – will be part of the project. Currently in post-production, “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” is set for a wide theatrical release by Netflix, with the film hitting screens worldwide on February 12, 2027 (including IMAX screenings) before landing on the platform on April 2.

“I was a child when I first read The Magician’s Nephew, and I fell in love with the beautifully improbable yet completely brilliant concept of a cosmic lion singing to bring Narnia to life,” said Greta Gerwig in a statement. “I didn’t know I would make movies as an adult, but a world built from music is an idea that has always touched my heart. It is the honor of a lifetime to be asked to imagine it on the screen. Thanks to C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, I believed in magic, hidden worlds, and adventure. I believed that any environment could be enchanting and that anyone could be swept into an epic. This wonder and fear were accessible to all, even ordinary people like me. It transformed me.”

Her love for the source material should reassure fans of “The Chronicles of Narnia,” who are awaiting a worthy adaptation of their favorite work.