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Even though some people are not comfortable with Greta Gerwig writing and directing the first two Narnia films, I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hope that she does a much better job at directing two films that are both exciting and loyal to the storylines of THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW and THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE. Even though she had the setting for Digory's and Polly's world in London at around the 1950s instead of the year 1900, we are all looking forward to seeing the Wood between the Worlds, the ruins of Charn on its last day under a large, red dying sun, and the creation of the land of Narnia by the Lion Aslan himself. However, just so many of you know, the rumors you've all been reading about or hearing that Meryl Streep will be providing the voice of Aslan is mostly just exaggeration, hot gas, and false information as neither Greta Gerwig nor Netflix have confirmed this. I personally think that Greta Gerwig does have a male actor providing the voice of Aslan for her first two Narnia movies, but she will hopefully confirm this just a few short weeks before the film is released in IMAX theaters in November and later to Netflix on December 25, 2026.
One of the positive outcomes of Greta Gerwig's writing and directing of THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW is that she will using little to no CGI compared to Disney, which went overboard on the CGI Narnian creatures used for their films, one of which was a major success, the second becoming a failure, and the third being directed by 20th Century Fox and Waden Media. Instead, she is relying more of real-life animals, animatronics, and puppeteering strategies which is slightly cheaper than CGI and more realistic, even though it will be a little expensive to work on hundreds of talking animals and mythical creatures like centaurs, fauns, dryads, and naiads. Nevertheless, if Greta Gerwig can produce a book-to-film story running at 120-140 minutes long, excluding the 10-12 minutes of ending credits, it might be the best film adaptation of C.S. Lewis' first Narnian chronicle. Plus, if we give a double or even a triple thumbs up for the success of this film, there's no doubt that after a six-month rest break after the film comes out during Thanksgiving and Christmas, Greta Gerwig could begin a live adaptation of the sequel novel, THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE.
Even though the setting of the story in the film takes place in 1950's London, possibly between 1950 and 1955, we can get a look at the growing friendship between Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer. With his mother (played by Carey Mulligan) stricken with illness, Digory Kirke meets Polly Plummer, who is feeling a bit lonesome with most of her friends away on holiday, and the two children become friends. They accidentally stumble into the private study of Digory's uncle, Andrew Ketterley (played by Daniel Craig), while exploring the rafters in the attics of the row of houses where the two children lived separately. What follows is the beginning of a series of adventures in the land of Narnia, beginning with Digory and Polly getting tricked by Uncle Andrew to put on magical rings and travel to the Wood between the Worlds, travel to the ruins of the city of Charn and accidently awakening Jadis, the last queen of Charn, and last of all, travel to a dark world only to witness the birth and creation of the land of Narnia by Aslan. By spending nearly $200 million to bring to life a wonderful film adaptation of THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW with an estimated runtime of 120-140 minutes excluding the end credits, I have no doubt that Greta Gerwig will produce a fine Narnia film that marks the promise of a series of magical, fantasy-based, and adventurous films with deep moral values of love, courage, betrayal, forgiveness, friendship, kindness, and family.
And one last thing. If THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW is a major success by the start of the new year, I've no doubt that Greta Gerwig will rest for a couple of months before beginning to write a script and start directing the film adaptation of THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE at least six months after the release of the first Narnia film. And if it comes to that, I believe that by Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2028, the new second Narnia film will be released and watched and admired by millions of Narnia fans. If Greta Gerwig, who set THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW in the 1950s for Digory and Polly in their world, sets the film setting for THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE in early 1990's London, then this might want to take place during a similar bombing of the city of London. If the second film takes place in the early 1990s, then maybe Greta Gerwig might have the bombing event which forces the Pevensies to be evacuated out of London and sent to Professor Kirke's country house to take place during the IRA bombings in 1993. Professor Digory Kirke, who was about 12 in the first Narnia film in 1950's London, would likely be around 50 years old at the time when the four Pevensie children are taken to his home in the countryside where they would be safer. The child actors to play the roles of the four Pevensie children should also be played by a boy of 14 or 15 (Peter), a girl of 12 or 13 (Susan), a boy of 10 or 11 (Edmund), and an 8-year-old girl (Lucy). Let's see what Greta Gerwig has in mind when she decides to begin production of THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE 6-9 months after the release of THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW.
I am not so optimistic about Greta Gerwig’s films. I haven’t completely decided about whether I want to watch them, but I doubt if they will be great. I think I was much more optimistic about the Walden films, and in fact I was disappointed that the fourth one was cancelled. I know that there are people who want to give Greta a chance and I can respect that, but I am afraid if I watch her movies I will be disappointed. I am not looking forward to their release. 🙁
I think I sit somewhere between you both, @narnian78 and @adhyatt34.
I am hoping to really like the movie. Everyone involved in the movie seem very enthusiastic and imply that we have no idea what is coming - from the actors to the producers. So, I feel like this could be something really special.
On the other hand, every piece of new news seems to come with the caveat of "this is different to the book". I have wanted to see a faithful adaption of this book since I was 9 years old (I am now almost 50). The few people who have given out details all say something along the lines of "we are doing our own thing". This makes me feel down - I would rather a low budget, indie film that is faithful to the book than a billion dollar, perfect representation of "our own thing".
I am hopeful that the movie will be more faithful than I am expecting - and capture the heart of C.S. Lewis' work, but I suspect this may be a movie where I go away saying, "this would have been a great film if it was based on original material and not merely a poor adaption of superior material".
The term is over: the holidays have begun.
The dream is ended: this is the morning
I've seen two stage productions of what I consider a good play of The Magician's Nephew. One was a professional one in the West End of London, and the other a local well-directed amateur play. They were in the late 80s & early 90s.
I'll be waiting on others' responses before I watch any of this one.
There, shining in the sunrise, larger than they had seen him before, shaking his mane (for it had apparently grown again) stood Aslan himself.
"...when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards."
@narnian78 I understand your concern, and I sympathize with you on the subject. However, Greta Gerwig has pointed out that she wants to make heartwarming adaptations of the Narnia films and wants the settings of the story to take place in the era of her childhood. Having been born in the early 1980s and grew up through the 1990s and early 2000s, she might've witnesses some traumatic events in London during those eras, and those experiences might be why she might want the setting of THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE to take place in the 1990s. You don't have to go see it in the IMAX theater if you don't want to, but I'm going to watch THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW when it comes out on Netflix. At least the first Narnia book is finally going to get a film adaptation, something that BBC studios, the Walt Disney Company, Walden Media, and 20th Century Fox had failed to accomplish. Great Gerwig is going to make sure that when it comes to bringing Narnia, Calormen, Archenland, and the islands out on the eastern ocean to life, she's going to make sure that she follows the storylines and characters to the tee.
There is an IMAX theatre about thirty miles away from where I live. But I am less interested in the modern technology than in accuracy to the original books. I doubt if C. S. Lewis would be that interested in the latest technology either. He was a lot like Tolkien in being old fashioned that way. In fact I think that he would probably dislike most of today’s films, and who could blame him? I haven’t yet decided whether I am going to watch Greta Gerwig’s movie. I may decide against seeing it. I don’t think I would be willing to drive thirty miles to see a movie on a huge screen since modern technology doesn’t impress me that much. I haven’t made up my mind whether I want to watch it on Netflix. I might read some reviews before making that decision.
Posted : February 21, 2026 8:46 pm
DavidD liked
@adhyatt34 (just sneaking in the fact that MN is a prequel, and LWW is the first book - in case that makes any difference to your point)
There, shining in the sunrise, larger than they had seen him before, shaking his mane (for it had apparently grown again) stood Aslan himself.
"...when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards."
Posted : February 21, 2026 10:27 pm
Great Gerwig is going to make sure that when it comes to bringing Narnia, Calormen, Archenland, and the islands out on the eastern ocean to life, she's going to make sure that she follows the storylines and characters to the tee.
If you don't mind me asking, how do you know this with so much apparent certainty? Do you have inside information from Netflix that we haven't heard yet?
It's just that, going by what we know so far of the production of this first film — even the things that are confirmed or almost certain (leaving out the still-only-rumoured casting of Meryl Streep as the voice of Aslan, for example) — one of the few things we can say for sure is that Greta Gerwig is definitely NOT following the storylines and characters to a T (to use the correct expression).
We're already aware of the huge change in time period (1955 instead of 1900), plus several extra characters (a "Mr Potts" and at least two sisters for Polly), a scene involving schoolboys at a swimming pool, and Jadis having Digory with her as she rampages through London on horseback (and it seems she has a wand, along with wearing a costume that looks like something out of a cheap 1960s sci-fi movie).
Based on all that, how exactly can anyone have confidence that Gerwig is going to do a faithful adaptation of this or any of the other Narnia books?
"Now you are a lioness," said Aslan. "And now all Narnia will be renewed."
(Prince Caspian)
@courtenay I will admit that Greta Gerwig might be going a bit overboard with changing the timeline of the story in the real world. Instead of taking place in 1890’s England (50 years before the timeline of LWW), it is occurring during the early to mid-1950s. But the plot of the story involving Polly and Digory traveling to the Wood between the Worlds, then to Charn, and back home using Uncle Andrew’s magic rings, as well as witnessing the creation of Narnia and its magical creatures could be the key to unlocking a special new film adaptation of the first film of the Chronicles of Narnia.
Topic starter
Posted : February 22, 2026 11:09 pm
DavidD liked
The prequel (published in 1955, second to last of the seven books) is set in 1910. It is not the first of the books, although its story takes place when Digory is 12 and Polly 11 (they were born at the end of the 1890s).
In the first book (LWW) Digory/the Professor is described as an old man, although it's understood he was only in his early 50s.
There, shining in the sunrise, larger than they had seen him before, shaking his mane (for it had apparently grown again) stood Aslan himself.
"...when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards."
Posted : February 23, 2026 1:38 am
DavidD liked
I think I can safely say that I won’t be buying any of Greta Gerwig’s movies to own as a download or as a DVD or blu-ray. I bought the complete Walden films and the BBC series, but that is because I liked them enough to own them even though they aren’t perfect adaptations. Greta Gerwig’s movies will probably not mean anything special to me even if I do watch them. It is hard for me to get attached to anything that is so far from C. S. Lewis’ books, and that is what these movies appear to be so far. If you find that these films don’t meet with your expectations then I don’t recommend buying them on physical media or through streaming.
Everyone has their own different opinions. Some people are looking forward to it, and others are not. Even though the setting for the real world for our heroes and heroines is several decades too late (1950s for THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW, 1990s for THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE, PRINCE CASPIAN, THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER, and THE SILVER CHAIR, and early 2000s for THE LAST BATTLE), the adventures and timelines that occur in Narnia, from the creation of Narnia in THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW to its final conflict and utter destruction and rebirth in THE LAST BATTLE will stay the same. Greta Gerwig wants to keep the core values and spiritual themes of the stories incorporated into her films, which she plans to do for the first two films she's producing, THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW this year and the future sequel, THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE. The adventures in Narnia, the characters that are in the magical land, and also the themes of betrayal, love, anger, redemption, corruption, courage, and forgiveness will be indulged into each of the films that will be produced. Those of you who don't want to see the new NARNIA film when it comes out, though it will indeed be the first and only film adaptation of THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW since BBC and Walden Media failed to make a film adaptation of it, I'm not going to try to convince anyone to go see it if they don't want to. That's your choice and also your privilege. But I'm going to go see it when it comes out on Netflix because this is the first film adaptation of the first Narnia novel that I've been wanting to see for years.
@adhyatt34 I hope you are right. Certainly, the early interviews Greta Gerwig did (where she said she was frightened and wanted to get the adaption right) seemed to display a lot of respect for the novels.
And of course, both Greta Gerwig and Netflix want to make a good adaption, because at the end of the day, no film maker says “I want to commit a couple years of my life and millions of dollars to make a terrible movie - I think making trash is awesome!” Whether I like the end result or not, there are a number of people working very hard in the hopes that what they create will entertain and uplift both us and thousands of other people. They will not be overjoyed if their film is poorly received (not merely because it affects the financial return, but because entertaining people with art is kind of what gets film makers out of bed in the morning.)
Having said that, there are a host of really bad movies that someone passionately believed in before they were released. (Eg someone out there thought The Rings of Power was a great adaption of Tolkien and passionately pored their creativity into it. I imagine that person is somewhat hurt with the public reception to their baby.)
We still know so little for certain about this movie. The trickle of information we have received leaves me with trepidation, but there have been good movies before that the fans worried about before their release. (People complained that Heath Ledger would ruin The Dark Knight because he was the wrong choice for the joker - photos of him as the joker further reinforced those fans’ fears. Of course, today he is considered the best actor in what is the third most popular movie of all time according to IMDb.) We don’t have full visibility into what is going on.
At this stage, I want to wait-and-see before affirming that these adaptions are going to be faithful to the books, or before condemning them as unfaithful.
The term is over: the holidays have begun.
The dream is ended: this is the morning
Even though the setting for the real world for our heroes and heroines is several decades too late... the adventures and timelines that occur in Narnia, from the creation of Narnia in THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW to its final conflict and utter destruction and rebirth in THE LAST BATTLE will stay the same. Greta Gerwig wants to keep the core values and spiritual themes of the stories incorporated into her films, which she plans to do for the first two films she's producing, THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW this year and the future sequel, THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE. The adventures in Narnia, the characters that are in the magical land, and also the themes of betrayal, love, anger, redemption, corruption, courage, and forgiveness will be indulged into each of the films that will be produced.
I still don't understand how you can write about Greta Gerwig's plans with such apparently absolute certainty — I've highlighted several "absolute" statements in your previous post as examples, if you don't mind — when we, the general public, know hardly anything for sure about even this first film, let alone what may be planned for the rest of the series. (We don't even know for sure if The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will be Gerwig's second Narnia movie, although it does seem the most likely.)
As I asked before, is there a reason why you keep writing these statements of gushing praise for the director and her intentions — which the rest of us can't honestly say we know much about for sure — without the usual qualifiers of "I think...", "I hope...", "It sounds like...", and so on? Do you genuinely have inside information on Gerwig's work that hasn't been made public yet? If so, where are you getting it from? I'd really like to know, and I'm sure others here would too.
"Now you are a lioness," said Aslan. "And now all Narnia will be renewed."
(Prince Caspian)
Posted : February 24, 2026 7:04 am
@courtenay I can only read what articles are available and watch the news to gather bits and pieces of evidence that despite the fact that they’re changing the setting of the story to the 1950s and there’s rumors of Aslan being voiced by a woman, I am excited that there’s finally a film adaptation of THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW being produced that both BBC and Walden Media had failed to make because of their own limitations. If you aren’t excited about it, that’s your opinion, your choice, and your privilege.
This post was modified 1 month ago by ADHyatt34
Topic starter
Posted : February 24, 2026 3:46 pm
DavidD liked
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