Greta Gerwig's Narnia movie

Going big:

According to Puck News, Gerwig’s Narnia movie “will hit about 1,000 IMAX screens worldwide on Thanksgiving Day 2026 and will not appear on Netflix until Christmas,” with a two-week IMAX run guaranteed and an option to add a third if there’s enough audience interest. Also, “there’s a chance” Narnia might also play in some non-IMAX theaters ahead of its streaming debut. In addition, “Netflix has committed to market the IMAX release like a typical theatrical tentpole movie and identify Narnia as a ‘Netflix/IMAX’ title from the outset.”

Adam Driver as Puddleglum

I love this model tbh

I just want to know if she's starting with The Magician's Nephew, like she obviously should, or just starting with LW&W like I am dreading.

huh

Re-sequencing the novels 25 years ago in chronological order was a terrible decision.

think we have discussed this at length elsewhere

The small thrill of learning six novels in that the Empress Jadis was the White Witch.

Anyway.

We already had Tilda as the White Witch -- go with Cate I guess?

Alfred otm xp

We already had Tilda as the White Witch -- go with Cate I guess?

― Ned Raggett, Friday, January 17, 2025

Rupert Everett or go home

there's so much in LW&W that lends itself towards the twee, like father Christmas turning up, and once you've set yourself tonally on that path it's hard to go back. also there are already 3-4 adaptations of LW&W, and none of TMN or TLB.

She's batting 1000%, I guess, but I have no idea what even the best version of this looks like.

I never saw the most recent adaptation of Lion, or the other two. They were pretty successful, weren't they? Do people/kids still watch them?

The first was successful in general, the following ones...not so much.

I just want to know if she's starting with The Magician's Nephew, like she obviously should, or just starting with LW&W like I am dreading.

Why on earth would she start with the sixth volume in the series?

Can't wait for the prequel series Charn.

I forgot I am in a minority of one on this! but I'm right, LW&W is a bore and TMN is brilliant and comes first.

TMN is by some distance the better novel, agreed.

He hadn't figured shit out the first time around.

I never saw the most recent adaptation of Lion, or the other two. They were pretty successful, weren't they? Do people/kids still watch them?

― Josh in Chicago,

The first one starring Tilda Swinton is pretty good even if Liam Neeson is closer to Father Christmas than Aslan. The little girl who plays Lucy is remarkable.

These books were read aloud to me by my mother when I was age 6-8, all of them. The effect of having Horse And His Boy’s first half take place in a mysterious land, at an unknown time in history, suddenly snap into focus as happening in King Peter’s reign was beyond-delightful, it was formative. The realization in TMN that Digory is none other than the Uncle Professor (from many volumes previous) was similarly relevatory. Denying children of these narrative delights is not just wrong, it’s blasphemous.

^^^ beautifully put

I was a freak for fantasy books as a child, and even then I got a weird Christian vibe from them and bailed on the first one.

I mean, aren't they pretty overtly Christian? I don't think I've ever read them.

we've discussed over and over again in the other Narnia threads. If reading Milton and Dante and Graham Greene bother you, skip Narnia.

I forgot I am in a minority of one on this! but I'm right, LW&W is a bore and TMN is brilliant and comes first.

If reading Milton and Dante and Graham Greene bother you, skip Narnia.

Yeah but those are cool and Narnia felt more like Jars of Clay :)

(sorry I know people like it, I'm out)

Aslan is Jesus, Peter is Cardinal Spellman, Narnia is Little Italy, and that's the extent of the allegory.

Aslan covers more ground than "Jesus" outside of LW&W. He is also the creator and ghostly and violent intervenor, which is still very christian but perhaps less Jars of Clay christian.

As a kid I didn't really notice how Christian it was because I was raised areligious. Starting with the Magician's Nephew is narratively stupid and treats kids like they're too stupid to understand a non-chronological storyline. None of the awesome big reveals in it land properly if you don't already know about Narnia from reading the previous five books!

And while yes, it being sixth in the series means it's unlikely to ever get made into a film, that also guarantees the mediocre Last Battle won't be either. Of course having Horse and His Boy being filmed third also presents problems with the age of the main actors... they can't go young-old-young, they need young-young-young (break for Silver Chair to age up a bit) and then older

respectowiggle

lol

I can think of a hundred franchises that need a reboot (or just a boot) more than C.S. Lewis, but have at it Greta

I’m waiting for Greta Gerwig’s Blue Adept movies

mumblecore fantasy would be cool, young adults trying to figure shit out while dragons and wizards fight in the background

That's just the fantasy version of Macross.

i'd much prefer greta's version of earthsea.

That would rule! But alas.

I remember reading this in the elementary school library around the same time I was repelled by Narnia, and it ruled: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pit_Dragon_Chronicles#Dragon's_Blood_(1982)

the sequence of the novels is such a key part of the storytelling -- to begin with the Magician's Nephew is to miss the point of the Magician's Nephew in large part. It happens where it happens so that the reader can put the piece into place and understand. I do understand that that's asking a lot of readers 50+ years later but I'm of the opinion that if you're not up for being asked for some extra once in a while, you need to up your game as a reader.

we've discussed over and over again in the other Narnia threads. If reading Milton and Dante and Graham Greene bother you, skip Narnia.

also Alfred wildly otm. Mrs Noothgrush is put off by Xian stuff too, that's any reader's right but it's not a good criticism of a work, it's a personal tic, like "I don't care for hi-hat"

that's a bit like saying that criticizing lovecraft for racism is a "personal tic"

I’m waiting for Greta Gerwig’s Blue Adept movies

omg

xp new rule?

Christian overtones = racism?

lol that's not what i was saying at all.

I thought I had misunderstood you!

I can think of a hundred franchises that need a reboot (or just a boot) more than C.S. Lewis, but have at it Greta

I am still (even more so, now, following the destruction in Altadena) patiently awaiting for Garrett Bradley/A24 to finish their Parable Of The Sower adaptation

I reject this Narnia timeline revisionism, give me old school late reveals every time, fgti and JCLC otm

it's literally one of the best parts of the series! a reward for close readers.

xp what i meant is that xtianity permeats and informs narnia as much (or more) as racism does lovecraft's works, so you can't just treat it as a minor or unrelated detail

---

i'm curious what Greta thinks of The Problem With Susan

"That lousy footprints poem" I was delighted to read this haha

The bit in The Magician's Nephew that tears me up is when Aslan chokes up after Diggory's request to help his mom.

they're the only ones in this new world who know about suffering, etc.

I recently listened to them in the chronological order of the story, starting with The Magician's Nephew. It is fantastic series of books

HarperCollins, at the suggestion of Lewis's stepson, opted to use the series' internal chronological order when they won the rights to it in 1994. The narrators are Kenneth Branagh, Jeremy Northam, Patrick Stewart, Alex Jennings, Michael York, Lynn Redgrave, and Derek Jacobi

It is pretty great

savages ;)

https://deadline.com/2025/03/charli-xcx-greta-gerwig-netflix-narnia-movie-1236312002/

wtf kind of movie is this gonna be hahah

not for Peter?

The Lion, the Brat, and the Wardrobe

Hoping for full Brat musical adaptation.

Narnia and It's Completely Different but Also Still Narnia

Can't wait for the prequel series Charn.

― Ned Raggett, Friday, January 17, 2025

You laugh but

Who was laughing! It's probably already got a writer's room.

too bad Ian Holm couldn't play Uncle Andrew

or: Charn would consist of outtakes from The Ten Commandments and Atlantis: The Lost Continent.

turkish delight? meet me in the wardrobe if you're (bumpin' that)

Charn can be anything, have it be a wall-to-wall fuckfest directed by Bruce LaBruce or something.

the Deplorable Word: "condoms"

Now YOU laugh but

now I imagine Jadis muttering CONDOMS and throwing a fistful of them at the gates of Charn

As much as I liked Barbie, I've found her going from one movie based on existing IP to another kind of depressing. I want another Lady Bird.

Lady Bird 2: How I Met Your Nebbish

https://i.imgur.com/WzxhMCO.gif

"So it's a roman a clef about a roman a clef, and it'll get Oscar nominations." "Go on."

charn xcx

took long enough

so confusing

Vague tea leaves from Ted Sarandos:

Q. Greta Gerwig will be making “The Chronicles of Narnia” for Netflix, but it will get an exclusive Imax release in November 2026. Why did Netflix want this?

A. We gave Greta a world-building job [on “Narnia”] before she had built a world with “Barbie.” Her script was fantastic, and we have a great relationship.

Q. So this wasn’t something she demanded?

A. It wasn’t some giant deal we had to salvage. We wanted to support it and figure out something new. The one thing we haven’t really tried is a big Imax release. Imax is hugely differentiated from at-home watching. When I go to the theater, it’s getting closer and closer to at home. But Imax is super differentiated. The two-week run for “Narnia” will check all the boxes for awards qualifications and create a bit of an event. We’re happy to do it.

What does "When I go to the theater, it’s getting closer and closer to at home" mean?

Guessing he means bigger at-home TVs or the like.

Easy chair seating, snack refills, empty rooms.

Otm

your cats are at the theater knocking things down

There's actually an art house here that has selected events where they keep the lights partially up so viewers can do crafting (mostly knitting/sewing, IIRC) during the film.

#MorbsRollingInGrave

I read the books to my daughter and now am trying to get her to watch the BBC series (starting with TLTWATW). I thought it was the most magical thing in the world when I was a kid, and it still has some charm, but I don't know if she'll endure all 3 hours of it...

"What does "When I go to the theater, it’s getting closer and closer to at home" mean?"

It's odd, because the prevailing narrative du jour - that's French - is that cinemas are hellholes with people laughing, crying, clapping, roaring, watching other films on their mobile phones, livestreaming their trip to the cinema, noisily eating popcorn, being generally uncouth etc. And also that headlights are too bright. And grilles are too tall. Which is totally unlike being at home unless you have children in which case it is like being at home.

But he does have a point. Over the last couple of years the majority of my cinema trips have been to the IMAX at the Science Museum, or to a special 70mm screening or what-have-you, because if I'm going to the cinema I might as well make it an event. The same impulse killed off Butlins and Little Chef. "Lets walk down there and fuck em all". That's a film reference.

The hilarious thing about people who complain about the alleged hellishness of modern theater going is that these people insist on going at the same time as the hellraisers. I go to movies before noon and often have the theater to myself. If you have errands or whatever to run on a Saturday or Sunday...run them after the movie?

I think you're lucky to have a theater that runs shows that early. of all the theaters around me, arthouses & multiplexes alike, I dont think a single one does shows before 12:30, most of them dont go until 1

It's odd, because the prevailing narrative du jour - that's French - is that cinemas are hellholes with people laughing, crying, clapping, roaring, watching other films on their mobile phones, livestreaming their trip to the cinema, noisily eating popcorn, being generally uncouth etc. And also that headlights are too bright. And grilles are too tall. Which is totally unlike being at home unless you have children in which case it is like being at home.

Imo that stuff is 100% correlated to theaters replicating the "at home" experience, the bigger & more plush the seats, being able to order pizza & wings, etc, people act like they're watching a movie at their house rather than behaving as if they're in public. I remember noticing a change as soon as the first theater around me added monster reclining plush seats, right away the talking got louder, the shoes came off faster, people started bringing in takeout, etc.

Idk what’s up with your neighbourhoods but the multiplex in my neighbourhood (next to the Drake venue) is always empty and is great to see a Dune or whatever, and the local rep theatre is always super packed and is great to see some 70s American New Wave while experiencing communal cinephilia

I think you're lucky to have a theater that runs shows that early. of all the theaters around me, arthouses & multiplexes alike, I dont think a single one does shows before 12:30, most of them dont go until 1

Even 1 p.m. is early. Things don't get loud until after 5 p.m. unless it's a kids movie.

xp well exactly, im gonna assume your local rep theater is not selling cheeseburger baskets and large pizzas at the concession stand

I am an AMC A-Lister because hitting up matinees there almost guarantees I will be the only person in the theater, it's glorious, just me and Nicole Kidman

…huh.

https://deadline.com/2025/04/meryl-streep-aslan-greta-gerwig-netflix-narnia-movie-1236358278/

ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I mean, why not, really.

is 'low growl' one of meryl's accents

I mean, why not, really.

because to me, a Narnia film is much reduced by having recognizeable celebrities in the roles

The Voyage of the Dishwalla

Although I'm certainly no proponent of the chronological order, I am interested in seeing Magician's Nephew adapted for once.

Jadis is Emma Mackey:

https://variety.com/2025/film/news/emma-mackey-greta-gewig-narnia-white-witch-1236378761