After being a relatively dormant franchise in the cinematic landscape, new rumors are starting to percolate for The Chronicles of Narnia. Netflix acquired the rights for the novel series in partnership with The C.S. Lewis Company back in 2018 with plans to develop Narnia into various films and series. This was followed by the hiring of Coco co-writer Matthew Alrich in 2019 to serve as the “creative architect” to oversee all developments for the franchise revival. Unfortunately, since then there’s been little updates regarding any reboots of The Chronicles of Narnia.
Until now, that is. What’s On Netflix has reported that star director Greta Gerwig is being eyed to helm two films meant to kickstart the rebooted Narnia universe. This apparently comes after an extensive search for a director earlier in the year. It remains just a rumor at this point in time as neither Gerwig nor Netflix has commented on the report.
Getting a director at the caliber of Greta Gerwig would be a massive coup for Netflix in the hopes of successfully launching a cinematic universe for their platform. Gerwig has quickly become a major player in Hollywood thanks to her critically acclaimed directorial work on films such as Lady Bird and Little Women. Some notable upcoming works from her include the highly anticipated Barbie film coming in the summer of 2023 alongside writing the screenplay for Disney’s 2024 live-action revival of Snow White.
It is unknown which of the novels would be covered in these two films potentially directed by Gerwig. It may be logical to adapt The Magician’s Nephew to serve as the origins of Narnia, followed by a remake of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe to launch the main franchise narrative. Though that’s ultimately a decision for Matthew Aldrich to make, assuming this is indeed the direction being taken with The Chronicles of Narnia franchise.
Source: What’s On Netflix
