Will There Ever Be Another Chronicles Of Narnia Movie?
Greta Gerwig will be adapting a new The Chronicles of Narnia series for Netflix.
The C.S. Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia book series is well-loved by fans, but the movies never quite reached the same level of adoration as fellow fantasy film adaptations such as Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings.
Still, fans have been waiting to see more adaptations of the source material, especially after Netflix acquired the rights to make new films and TV series in 2018.
Well, Narnia fans recently got some very good news, as we finally got some forward momentum on those projects when Netflix announced that Greta Gerwig would be writing and directing the next two films in the franchise.
With Netflix remaining relatively silent on The Chronicles of Narnia franchise since getting the rights in 2018, these projects were pretty much off everyone’s radar. Making the announcement that the Oscar-nominated Greta Gerwig would be taking on two adaptations is huge news, especially seeing as how Gerwig’s hype is at an all-time high with the upcoming release of her Barbie movie. Presumably, Netflix wanted to benefit off of some of that Barbie hype and timed the announcement perfectly to coincide with the impending release.
Disney first adapted The Chronicles of Narnia for the big screen in 2005 when it adapted the first novel in the series, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The film follows the Pevensie siblings, who are evacuated from the UK during World War II and find a magical wardrobe that transports them to the land of Narnia.
Once there, they team up with the lion, Aslan (Liam Neeson), to fight against the White Witch (Tilda Swinton), who has placed the land in a state of eternal winter.
The first film in The Chronicles of Narnia franchise was a huge success and brought in $745 million at the global box office against a budget of $180 million. The film was also warmly received by fans and critics and was considered a fairly faithful adaptation. Of the Narnia films released by Disney, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is widely considered the best.
After the impressive box office performance of the first film, it was no surprise that Disney greenlit the sequel, an adaption of the second book titled The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.
This film didn’t do as well at the box office, pulling in around $419 million worldwide against a budget of $225 million. The diminishing returns would continue with Disney’s third film, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which would make $415 million at the box office against a budget of $115 million.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader made the least at the box office and was the worst reviewed out of the three films, and then Walden Media’s film rights expired the following year, in 2011.
The C. S. Lewis Company would eventually announce in 2013 that it made an agreement with The Mark Gordon Company to produce an adaptation of The Silver Chair novel with David Magee writing the screenplay. Joe Johnston was then announced as director of the project in 2017, and the film was described as a reboot of the franchise.
Netflix will be starting from scratch, and Greta Gerwig’s films will be a reboot of the franchise
However, the C.S. Lewis Company then announced its partnership with Netflix to adapt shows and films of The Chronicles of Narnia franchise, so plans for The Silver Chair were scuttled. With the recent news of Greta Gerwig writing and directing, it seems like Netflix is finally ready to take advantage of this IP and make something out of it. However, not much is known about the films outside of Gerwig’s involvement.
Presumably, Netflix will be starting from scratch, and Greta Gerwig’s films will be a reboot of the franchise. While it’s possible that Netflix could continue where Voyage of the Dawn Treader left off, it seems unlikely since a different film company made them. The streamer could also let Gerwig flex her creativity and make an entirely new project set in the world of Narnia that isn’t based on previous material.
We’re sure to hear more about Greta Gerwig’s The Chronicles of Narnia films once she starts work in earnest on them. Until then, we can look forward to seeing Gerwig’s next big film in theaters later this month. Barbie is set to hit theaters on July 21, and we’ll keep you updated on any new Narnia news in the meantime.
