Barbie director Greta Gerwig could be adapting prequel book The Magician’s Nephew as the first part of her Narnia saga for Netflix.
If you’re of a certain vintage you will have seen CS Lewis’ Chronicles Of Narnia adapted for the screen several times now, and the story has always begun with The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, about a group of young adventurers discovering a secret land in the clutches of an evil queen.
Barbie director Greta Gerwig is set to give us her own take on Narnia, with the filmmaker having reportedly signed on to make two films for Netflix that will begin what is presumably going to be an ongoing series that will cover the entirety of Lewis’ multi-book saga.
According to a slip from Jason Isaacs, though, Gerwig could be planning to do things a little bit differently. In short: the filmmaker may not begin her Narnia series with a new adaptation of The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, but rather a different book. While revealing some of his favourite reads to The Week, Isaacs stated that ‘I picked [The Magician’s Nephew] because Greta Gerwig is about to make a film of it, which I can’t wait to see.’
How Isaacs (hello) came across that information – and whether it’s accurate or not – we don’t know, but it does offer an intriguing glimpse at Gerwig’s possible plans for her two film stint as the overseer of Netflix’s Chronicles Of Narnia series.
The Magician’s Nephew is a prequel tale, set in Victorian times that precedes the later books’ World War II setting. In it, Didgory (later known as the professor) and Polly ‘set off on an adventure with the help of the mad uncle Uncle Andrew. The wood they find them selves in and set off to meet a evil Queen Jadis.’
Although it’s been two decades since Disney brought The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe to the big screen, this could mark Gerwig’s way of distinguishing her series from those films by creating a markedly different entry point for her series. Assuming Isaacs is correct, of course.
Presently, there’s lots that we don’t know about this project including when it will actually shoot (next year we think, but nothing is publicly confirmed) and the ongoing rumour that Gerwig has been pushing Netflix hard to give the films some kind of theatrical release (and an IMAX release now being the possible compromise between the parties).
When we do hear more on this one, we’ll let you know but it looks like there’s a distinct possibility that The Magician’s Nephew could be the first Narnia film in Netflix’s series.
