Even before Greta Gerwig’s Barbie became a tremendous success critically and financially, she was enlisted to revive the iconic Chronicles of Narnia from author C.S. Lewis into Netflix films, with Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos citing Gerwig as being an “incredible visionary.” The first three books were previously brought to life by Disney and took in $1.5 billion worldwide, though interest among audiences and critics stagnated and delays in developing more films resulted in a lapse of the rights to the series. Sarandos noted that fans shouldn’t expect a complete reinvention of the series, but that Gerwig is pushing elements further than audiences might be anticipating.
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Sarandos shared with TIME, “It won’t be counter to how the audience may have imagined those worlds, but it will be bigger and bolder than they thought,” while also noting that the films will be “rooted in faith” like the Lewis stories.
Gerwig herself went on to note that she was drawn to the “euphorically dreamlike” prose from Lewis.
“It’s connected to the folklore and fairy stories of England, but it’s a combination of different traditions,” Gerwig expressed. “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.”
Despite her accomplishments in whimsical reimaginings of well-known properties like Barbie or more straightforward adaptations of beloved material like her Little Women, Gerwig shared earlier this year how she’s intimidated by the upcoming revival.
“I’m slightly in the place of terror because I really do have such reverence for Narnia,” Gerwig told BBC Radio 4’s Today back in January. “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.”
She added, “As a non-British person, I feel a particular sense of wanting to do it correctly… 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.”
Stay tuned for updates on Netflix’s Chronicles of Narnia films.
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