Netflix first announced the development of Chronicles of Narnia live-action films and series in 2018 following its multi-year deal with The CS Lewis Company. Since then, progress on the project had proceeded extremely hesitantly, with no foreseeable future in sight. Whatever Narnia updates were promised, they came via fleeting remarks that were rare. While the last known activity regarding the project came from the head of Netflix’s movies division in early 2021, now it looks like the streaming giant has finished waiting and is finally starting to move on.
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Netflix is considering Greta Gerwig to direct Chronicles of Narnia
The immortal creation of CS Lewis, known collectively as The Chronicles of Narnia, has been a gift and an escape that has managed to remain relevant for over 70 years, despite socio-historical and contemporary changes. The books, 7 in total, navigate the fictional land of Narnia which exists in a dimension a stone’s throw from ours. The literary series and its many adaptations begin their journey when Narnia is plagued by the winter curse of the White Witch as 4 children (who literally step out of a closet and into this fantasy world) free the land with a little aid of Aslan, the wise Lion King, and mark the triumph of good over evil.
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Netflix’s live-action production goes beyond Disney’s previously limited attempts, however, and ambitiously aims to encapsulate the entire 7-Story saga born from the mind of its British author between the 1950s and 1956. essentially means that the multi-year deal will create an expansive universe that rivals high fantasy worlds in modern shows like game of thrones, The sand manand the witcher. For now, Netflix is looking forward to welcoming the Oscar nominee and lady bird director, Greta Gerwig, who would helm the first two films of the NarniaVerse live-action lineup.
The difficulties of getting Narnia out of the Netflix closet
It was not easy to get Chronicles of Narnia took off even after multiple claims of the NarniaVerse movies being developed at Netflix HQ. In 2019, Netflix Queue tweeted that Matthew Aldrich had been recruited to “serve as the creative architect and oversee the development of all films and shows adapted from CS Lewis’ beloved Narnia universe for Netflix. In January 2021, the last official confirmation came from Scott Stuber who heads Netflix’s movie division when he said the movies were due to be released. “beyond 2021.”
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From 2022, after years of declining numbers and viewership, and a gradual descent of quality projects, Netflix management is bringing the Chronicles of Narnia back into the light with the indication of Greta Gerwig’s involvement. The timing also coincides with the recent fiasco that saw Henry Cavill’s exit from one of the best shows to come off the platform in years. As the witcher faces public anger, the production of Chronicles of Narnia should give hurt fans a sense of retribution.
Reports indicate that the multi-year deal Netflix has in place is to adapt the Narnia series in its entirety, which places the prequel novel, The magician’s Nephewat the forefront instead of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. If these two novels end up in Greta Gerwig’s filmography, Netflix could still be vindicated in the public eye for delivering a creative marvel.
Source: What’s New on Netflix
