My Facebook bio reads "I have a Narnia quote for every occasion," and the sentiment rings true. The hope and wonder found inside The Chronicles of Narnia played a huge role in shaping who I am as a writer and as a human. I'm a part of a Facebook group and keep up with some online forums, which means that I can spot clickbait or a fake poster from a mile away.
After Netflix acquired the rights to The Chronicles of Narnia in 2018, I was on the edge of my seat to see who would be involved. So, as you can imagine, when it was finally confirmed that Greta Gerwig (who directed 2019's Little Women, the other story that has heavily influenced my life) would write and direct the next two movies in the Narnia universe, I told *everyone.*
Although the books are no stranger to controversy, I'm confident Greta Gerwig will handle them with grace and tact because she has a knack for bringing stories into the 21st century while still feeling true to their original heart.
Which Narnia story is Greta Gerwig adapting?
Image via Walt Disney Pictures/Walden Media
(L-R): Peter Dinklage as Trumpkin, Georgie Henley as Lucy Pevensie, Anna Popplewell as Susan Pevensie, William Moseley as Peter Pevensie, and Skandar Keynes as Edmund Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
The specific Narnia movies the writer and director is making haven't been named, but an interview with TIME says that Greta Gerwig is adapting "the first book" in the series. The only hiccup is that they don't confirm whether they mean the first book chronologically (The Magician's Nephew) or the first book C.S. Lewis published (The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe). I'm thinking it'll be The Magician's Nephew since we've never seen that story onscreen.
“[The films] won’t be counter to how the audience may have imagined those worlds,” Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos tells TIME, “but it will be bigger and bolder than they thought.”
While we don't have official confirmation on which movie Greta Gerwig is adapting, we know she wants it to have even more of an impact than Barbie.
"I want to make it feel like magic," she says. “C.S. Lewis said that the goal of writing fantasy — you know, something from his imagination — he’d say, let’s say you wrote about an enchanted forest. The goal would be that then every time you walk into a forest after you read it, you’d say to yourself, ‘maybe this is an enchanted forest.’ So that’s a tall order, but I guess re-enchantment of the world [is my goal].”
It looks like we can expect to come away from Greta Gerwig's The Chronicles of Narnia movies with even more love for the world, more childlike wonder, and more courage and kindness towards each other — and I am totally here for it.
How long has Greta Gerwig wanted to make a Chronicles of Narnia movie?
Image viaChang Ho/Warner Bros. Entertainment
Greta Gerwig during the Barbie press junket
Like the intentional planner she is, Greta Gerwig actually thought about directing a Narnia movie way before her involvement was ever confirmed.
"I’m writing and I’m sort of starting to dream and think about what I’m approaching," she says on The Empire Film Podcast. "I would say the land of Narnia is equally exciting and terrifying. I have nothing really to report on it other than it’s something I was actually talking about before I made Barbie. So, that’s been sort of in my unconscious working its way through. But that has been a pattern. I wrote a draft of Little Women before I made Lady Bird."
Narnia, Little Women, Barbie — Greta Gerwig has a knack for turning our beloved childhood stories into something complex and emotional that resonates with us even more as adults!
“I’m slightly in the place of terror because I really do have such reverence for Narnia,” Greta tells BBC Radio 4. “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," she continues. "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.”
Are these new The Chronicles of Narnia movies a continuation or a reboot?
Image via Walt Disney Pictures/Walden Media
Liam Neeson as the voice of Aslan and Georgie Henley in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
We don't have any info yet on whether this adaptation will pick up where The Voyage of the Dawn Treader left off, whether it will be a remake of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, or if it will be a totally new story within the Narnia universe (similar to Prime Video's The Rings of Power).
I'm personally anticipating that it will be the first option because I would love to see Greta bring something like The Magician's Nephew (which has never been adapted) to life onscreen.
Who's in The Chronicles of Narnia cast?
Image via Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
While we also don't have word on Greta Gerwig's The Chronicles of Narnia cast yet, after a reunion with actress Brie Larson at the 2024 Golden Globes (the two women starred in 2010's Greenberg together), X users are hoping the Oscar winner will make an appearance! "She need to get in Narnia somehow," one user said when they retweeted a video of the reunion. The reunion in question features Brie hopping like a bunny over to Greta, who squeals as they hug each other. I don't know about you, but that's exactly how I greet my friends IRL.
"When [Brie Larson] gets the Best Supporting Actress nomination for playing the White Witch, wait," one user added.
Saoirse Ronan told The Wrap at the Sundance Film Festival that she's already asked to be in Greta Gerwig's Narnia movies! The actress played the lead in two of Greta's films: Jo March in Little Women and the titular character in Ladybird. When asked whether she's already asked to be in The Chronicles of Narnia, Saoirse responds with a firm "yes." "We have that kind of relationship where I’m like 'So I’ll be in the next one!,'" she says.
What is The Chronicles of Narnia about?
Image via Disney Enterprises/Walden Media
(L-R): William Moseley as Peter Pevensie, Anna Popplewell as Susan Pevensie, and Georgie Henley as Lucy Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
The Chronicles of Narnia revolves around the fictional land of Narnia, and the children in our world who find it. Time passes differently in Narnia than it does on earth, which means that even though around 50 years pass for the characters, they find themselves in a different decade or century every time they reenter the magical land.
Each book has themes like good vs. evil, family, and identity as the characters face different challenges and adventures. The coolest thing about these books is how open-ended C.S. Lewis wrote them — because your own personal experiences, life lessons, and worldview impact your imagination, you have a different experience every time you read them.
“It’s connected to the folklore and fairy stories of England, but it’s a combination of different traditions,” Greta Gerwig tells TIME. “As a child, you accept the whole thing—that you’re in this land of Narnia, there’s fauns, and then Father Christmas shows up. It doesn’t even occur to you that it’s not schematic. I’m interested in embracing the paradox of the worlds that Lewis created, because that’s what’s so compelling about them.”
Are these new The Chronicles Of Narnia movies for Netflix?
Image via Twentieth Century Fox Fim Corporation/Walden Media
(L-R): Ben Barnes as Caspian, Skandar Keynes as Edmund Pevensie, and Georgie Henley as Lucy Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Yes! Netflix acquired the rights to The Chronicles of Narnia (which were previously held by Walden Media) in 2018, but there wasn't much news for the next few years. The New Yorker confirmed that Greta is attached to write and direct these Narnia Netflix films in the near future.
Why did Disney stop making Narnia movies?
Image via Courtesy 20th Century Fox/Walden Media
(L-R): Skandar Keynes as Edmund Pevensie, Georgie Henley as Lucy Pevensie, and Ben Barnes as Caspian in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The final Chronicles of Narnia adaptation for Disney was 2010's The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Even though the film set up a sequel, issues with the rights ended the film series early.
The Chronicles Of Narnia Adaptations To Watch
Image via Pierre Vinet/Disney Enterprises, Inc/Walden Media, LLC/IMDb
(L-R): Georgie Henley as Lucy Pevensie and James McAvoy as Mr. Tumnus in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Animated Film:
- The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe — on YouTube
BBC Miniseries:
- The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe — on YouTube
- Prince Caspian — on YouTube
- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader — on YouTube
- The Silver Chair — on YouTube
Disney Feature Films:
- The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe — on Disney+
- Prince Caspian — on Disney+
- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader— on Disney+
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Lead image via Chang Ho/Warner Bros. Entertainment
This post has been updated.
