Greta Gerwig Gets Candid About Adapting Narnia As a Non-British Director
This is a project of a lifetime.
Summary:
- The Chronicles Of Narnia is a children’s book series by C.S. Lewis.
- The story was already adapted onto big screens back in the 2000s, however, now Greta Gerwig is going to work on her adaptation for Netflix.
- Gerwig admits feeling intimidated in the face of the story that means so much to so many people.
There is no doubt that Greta Gerwig is running up for the title of the most successful director in the 2020s with her recent Barbie triumph. Admitting that she’s interested in working on more mainstream high-budget movies, Gerwig is now headed to tackle a timeless children’s classic, The Chronicles Of Narnia.
Three films released between 2005 and 2010 were a huge success with both young and adult audiences, bringing the whimsical feeling back into many homes and sending children all over the world climbing into cupboards in the hope of finding their own Narnia.
Replicating the success is one thing, but adding something new to the story and giving it a fresh start is an entirely different ordeal. Especially when you’re coming off such a high as Barbie has reached. Faced with such a challenge, even the best of the best must feel intimidated. Greta Gerwig is no exception.
Greta Gerwig About The Chronicles Of Narnia
C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia is a staple in every home with young children in Britain. Though the story is popular around the world, nowhere else does it have the cult following that it does in the U.K. Realizing this, Gerwig feels even more responsible for telling a story in the best way possible.
She spoke about this in an interview with BBC Radio 4 for the Today programme.
“I’m slightly in the place of terror because I really do have such reverence for Narnia. <...> 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,” the director said.
Fortunately, given all the previous work we've seen from Gerwig, it's safe to assume that the director will treat the C.S. Lewis source material with all the care and respect it deserves. The final product should be as magical and whimsical as you can imagine when you think of Narnia.
Netflix signed a deal with The C.S. Lewis Company in 2018 to develop both the series and the film project based on the stories. The rights to all 7 books are now under the streamer's control, so Gerwig's project could cover either of them.
If you're interested in the latest news on the development of The Chronicles of Narnia, keep an eye out for more behind-the-scenes updates. In the meantime, you can enjoy the previous adaptations by streaming them on Disney Plus.
Source: BBC Radio 4