Move over Barbie Land, Greta Gerwig is set to tackle another intensely popular world, Narnia. According to The New Yorker, Gerwig “has a deal with Netflix to write and direct at least two films based on C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia.” While Netflix itself has not yet commented on this development, the confirmation appears to come straight from Gerwig herself.
For now, no further information is available about these new Greta Gerwig Chronicles of Narnia movie adaptations. We don’t know which parts of the series will get adapted or even in what format we’ll see them come to life. The Chronicles of Narnia received a big-screen adaptation in the 2000s, with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader all receiving live-action movies. However, the series did not take as well as hoped. (Although the movies did launch Ben Barnes, for which we appreciate them.)
The idea of a Chronicles of Narnia movie done by Gerwig is a fascinating one. The books by C. S. Lewis are dense and heavily philosophical and religious. While the latest Narnia movies leaned more heavily into broad fantasy themes, a Gerwig-helmed Narnia series could get deeper and more existential. But for now, we’ll just have to imagine the possibilities and hope the movies do indeed come to pass. Long live Aslan, hopefully, he’s more than just a Ken.