Honestly, I just voted for the 1980s because it is at least better than the 2000s or 1990s for me. At least we could bring in another war if it was set in the 1980, if the kids were from Falkland Islands they would be sent away because of a war, it would just be a different war they were sent away from. But, I also think that Netflix might really be nostalgic for this era now that Stranger Things as a big show is ending even if they have a spin off show or two it won't be the same.

I'm going for 1990s, partly because that's where we'll be if the Netflix series keeps to the canonical time frame of 40 years between MN and LWW, and also because early to mid-1990s is about the latest in history that you can set a story without technology like mobile phones and the internet complicating things. (Naturally those technologies wouldn't work once we're in Narnia anyway. But LWW has more of its story set in our world than any of the other Chronicles do apart from MN, and the plot device of the children being separated from their parents is rather compromised if the older kids can just call Mum or Dad any time on their mobiles and tell them Lucy's started acting really weird...)

But the other reason I thought of for the 1990s as a setting is that Greta Gerwig has mentioned her writing process for Netflix Narnia as being partly a dialogue with her "eight-year-old self" — presumably the age she was when she first read the Narnia books. So I checked what year that would have been, and it gives us 1991 or 1992. (Greta was born in August 1983, so she's just over a year younger than me. )

Of course, she may not have meant the remark about her eight-year-old self quite so literally, but if that's the era that the books make her nostalgic for, that could be a factor in what time period she's wanting the rest of the series to be set in.

I can't think of a momentous historical event in the early to mid-'90s that would give a reason for the children to be staying at the Professor's house without their parents, but do we really need one? Lewis of course used the wartime evacuations of children as a plot device for that, but as we've discussed before, that's ALL he uses WW2 for — there are no other direct or even implicit references to the war and its effects in the book. And of course, the two earliest screen adaptations of LWW, which were both set in the (then) present day, either invented a simple excuse — in what survives of the 1967 version it's mentioned that the children's parents are away on an archaeological expedition — or else (in the 1979 version) no explanation was given at all.

There's another reason, by the way, to plump for an earlier time period than the 21st century. We're all so much more aware these days of potential dangers to children, that for four kids to spend several weeks (or even days) in the home of an unmarried man — and an older and slightly eccentric one at that — without their parents or any other known and trusted adult guardians present... it's just not something that sounds at all likely or realistic in the present day. Actually, even in the 1990s it would have looked a bit dodgy, but still not as outlandish as it would come across in today's world with today's mentality about such things.

That said, my next choice (if we had one) would be for the 2020s as the next most likely setting, simply because of the desire of many modern filmmakers to make their works look and feel familiar and "relevant" to today's audiences. But before anybody else who's thinking of that period comes in with "COVID!" (yet again) as the reason for the children being separated from their parents, please let me reiterate something I know I've said elsewhere: under the lockdown rules we had in the UK at that time, it would NOT work as a premise for this story.

One more possibility, though... from the little we've seen of the production process of MN so far, there are definitely going to be scenes and characters and plot elements that are not in the original book at all. So it could very well be that Netflix's version of LWW — if this series gets that far — could stray a long way from the familiar plot and familiar settings as well. (And at least with LWW, there have been several successful "straight" adaptations of it already, so one could easily argue that it's time a director did something completely different with it. The same can't be said for MN.) 

A really interesting spread of results so far!

I can definitely see a strong case to be made for the 1970s, since we know Greta Gerwig was a fan of the 1979 cartoon version of LWW and I could totally see her wanting to do a homage to that movie. I guess then if we went for a date of exactly 1979 like the cartoon, that would make movie Digory 24 years older than he is in MN, so maybe like 35 or 36? Not super old, but I guess just about plausible enough for him to be a professor. 

I can also see a pretty strong case to be made for the 1990s, since as @courtenay notes it allows you to maintain the 40 year time gap from the book.

At present I hedged my bet between those two and voted for the 1980s. Partly because, (at least in Britain) it still evokes a certain grim dourness, which for me is a better book vibe than the more energetic 1990s, and gives Digory a few more years to hit his mid 40 compared to the 1970s.

I also think if you were going to pick a conflict to switch WW2 out for, you could go with The Troubles. Maybe have the kids be from Derry/Londonderry or Belfast? Definitely an easier proposition for evacuation than the Falklands, though I do appreciate the general jist of the suggestion.

Even though CS Lewis didn't seem to be particularly vocal about Irish politics during his lifetime, the Northern Ireland angle is at least something to work with on a meta-thematic level, I'm just not sure what. Also though this isn't really the place for a debate on the intricacies of British-Irish relationships, so we won't go there.

Overall I don't think you really need much of an excuse plot-wise to send the children away, and we've already discussed that to death in other topics anyway, but I do enjoy creative offerings in that area.

And as much as it was just a joke for the opening post, I think I've got a pretty compelling proposition to support the 1940s Time Travel theory, however maybe we won't go there just yet ... 

@icarus something like... when Digs grows up, inherits the big house, and finds that one of the strange things about it can travel in time, so he leaves the 1990s and ends up in 1940? 

Edit: Taking with him his flatmate Polly?

Posted by: @icarus

And as much as it was just a joke for the opening post, I think I've got a pretty compelling proposition to support the 1940s Time Travel theory, however maybe we won't go there just yet ... 

For some reason I'm having visions of the "wardrobe reveal" moment, as it's done in the Walden version of LWW, but now the  "wardrobe" is dark blue with POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX written along the top...

Seriously though, I'd be very interested to hear any theories as to how they could logically set LWW in the 1940s when the chronological first story is now set in the 1950s. It may not be very likely, but one of the few definite things we know about this Netflix production so far is that we should expect the unexpected! 

@courtenay well it would have to involve the Tardis, especially considering the First Doctor arrived the day after Jack Lewis died. Suspicious much! - as they say here.

Posted by: @coracle

especially considering the First Doctor arrived the day after Jack Lewis died. Suspicious much! - as they say here.

Oh yeah, I forgot that detail... you know, I think you may be onto something here.  

Although we've only had a handful of voters so far, I am surprised no-one has voted for the 2010s just yet.

You could definitely make the argument that the 2010s (i.e. ten years before present) would be the second most faithful interpretation of the source material after the 1940s, since that's when LWW was set relative to it's own release in 1950.

However perhaps the 2010s don't yet have enough of their own historical cultural identity just yet to make that worthwhile, and therefore at that point you might as well just set it in the present.

@icarus I for one would still love to hear the theory behind the 1940s time travel proposition (whether or not it really does involve the Doctor), whenever you're ready to share it...  

Ok, here goes... an overly elaborate time travel theory which allows you to "break the arc" of the entire series and still have LWW be set in the 1940s.... 

First, we can establish the fact that Narnia sits outside the traditional rules of time and space based on the books. Not just because no time passes whilst you are there, or that a variable amount of time passes whilst you are away, but also because the South-Sea Pirates who become the Telmarines seemingly leave the real world hundreds of years before Narnia is even created. 

Then, being freed up to play around with Time Travel a bit, you can now, as suggested, use the Wood Between Worlds to transport Digory back in time to 1900 at the end of the first movie. Perhaps that's the only way to save Digory's mother? Or maybe just a random plot contrivance? Who knows.

Anyway, once you've got young Digory time-travelled back to 1900, the fun can begin...

To start with, Digory can use his advanced knowledge of the future and inter-dimensional travel to become a Professor in theoretical physics faster than anyone else.... Since he's now so far ahead of the curve of people like Einstein he can now actually put Aslan's warning about the atomic bomb into good effect by preventing it's development. 

Meanwhile, Polly (who also travelled back in time) can close the paradox loop of where the magic rings came from, by adopting the assumed name of "Mrs Leafy" and gifting them to a young Uncle Andrew.

Digory obviously still does his usual thing of creating the wardrobe, but as far as he is aware, it won't become active untill 1955 at the earliest, since he thinks Narnia hasn't been created yet, so he puts the wardrobe away in the attic untill the time is right.... But then much to his surprise (as he appears to be in the book) the Pevensies somehow manage to activate it in 1940.

Now, you may be wondering why bother coming up with such an elaborate theory just to justify including the 1940s in the poll?... Well this is where Greta Gerwig comes in.

After the clever meta-analysis of her Little Women film structure, she feels like she has to do something similarly clever with Narnia too, and realises that the biggest debate amongst fans is Publication Order Vs Chronological Order. Thus she concludes that the best way to represent that as a meta narrative is to "break the arc" of the whole series and have a time travel narrative in which LWW is simultaneously the first story and the second story.

And there you have it. Very slim possibility of being true, but since stranger things have happened on NarniaWeb, you never know... 😉

Posted by: @icarus

And there you have it. Very slim possibility of being true, but since stranger things have happened on NarniaWeb, you never know... 😉

I like it!

Seriously, while I agree it's not at all likely to happen, there is something about that whole idea that, to me, just really fits with the sheer quirkiness of Narnia and the fact that there are these inconsistencies throughout the books themselves as to how time works between the different worlds (I'd noticed the South Sea pirates problem before as well) — that we can't just assume it's a strictly linear progression...

(Doctor Who fans, insert the obvious legendary quote here )

And the thing is, a concept like that would turn all our assumptions about this movie, and this series, on their heads, and give me (at least) a sense of "WOW, what's going to happen next??" rather than "Oh no, this whole series is going to be so messed up by them changing the timeframe..."

But I'm well aware it's an extremely long bow to draw and I shouldn't get my hopes up.   

Posted by: @icarus

... being freed up to play around with Time Travel a bit, you can now, as suggested, use the Wood Between Worlds to transport Digory back in time to 1900 ...

And while we are speculating wildly, maybe he travels forward in time first and falls in love with the music of Pink Floyd and the Doors. 😊 

Basing this completely on one off-the-cuff comment Gerwig made almost two years ago (😜), I'm going with exactly 1990. In an interview, she said: 

As a writer and a thinker, C.S. Lewis is so rich and he’s so erudite. He’s written so much about different things that there’s a lot to dig into, and I find myself — it sounds maybe mystical — but it’s like you have a collaborator, and the collaborator is both C.S. Lewis and who I was when I was eight.

And so you’re always checking in with your child and this person who you’ve never met and you’re not going to be able to meet.

Gerwig was born in 1983, which would mean she first encountered Narnia (most likely through LWW) in 1990... 

Posted by: @impending-doom

Gerwig was born in 1983, which would mean she first encountered Narnia (most likely through LWW) in 1990... 

That's exactly what I was thinking when I voted for the 1990s as well, except that Gerwig's 8th birthday (and her first encounter with Narnia) was actually in 1991.   But it's definitely possible that that's what she's aiming for — setting the later stories in the era in which she herself first read them, whether she does go for an exact year or not.