Hmmm, that's one of those "could mean anything" quotes! I'm not sure what to make of it. Here it is in context with the remarks that come before it:

I want to ask you about some upcoming films. You have Greta Gerwig adapting C.S. Lewis’ Narnia books. Why did you decide to make that deal? What about her as a filmmaker made you feel like that was a good fit with that material?

Greta’s been a friend for a while. Her husband, [director] Noah Baumbach, we’re close to, we’ve made I think three films. We’re starting another one. We have a big deal with them. If you don’t know her, she’s truly one of the greatest people, not an artist, but a human being. She’s just got this great soul. When we had [2019’s] ‘Marriage Story’ and she had ‘Little Women,’ we all spent quite a bit of time on the awards trail together at dinners.

[Gerwig] grew up in a Christian background. The C.S. Lewis books are very much based in Christianity. And so we just started talking about it. And like I said earlier, we don’t have IP, so when we had the opportunity [to license] those books or the [Roald Dahl Co.] we’ve jumped at it, to have stories that people recognize and the ability to tell those stories. So it was just a great opportunity and I’m so thrilled that she’s working on it with us and I’m just thrilled to be in business with her. And she’s just an incredible talent.

Is she writing many of these adaptations? What is her commitment to this?

Obviously, ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ is kind of the preeminent one, but there’s such an interesting narrative form [to the Narnia series] if you read all of them. And so that’s what she’s working on now with [producer] Amy Pascal and trying to figure out how they can break the whole arc of all of it.

Nice to know that Gerwig is "a human being", although I hope there weren't any doubts about that in the first place...  

The emphasis on Christianity in that part of the conversation sounds heartening for most of us here as Narnia fans, I would think. I know some would prefer to have a director who is a "card-carrying" practising Christian, but my thought is that that would probably make it harder to market these films for a mainstream audience. I'm happy so far to have someone who at least has a Christian background, feels very warmly towards her Catholic education and the concepts of unconditional grace and forgiveness she learned there (Gerwig mentioned that in an interview a while back), and who sees the Narnia books as a big part of her life and C.S. Lewis as someone who had a lot of profound things to say, as we heard recently.

But as for "how they can break the whole arc of it"... er, yeah, what is that supposed to mean? It may just be a throwaway comment from a Netflix executive and it may not reflect anything that Gerwig herself would say she's doing. It seems he's talking about the "arc" of the entire series of Narnia books, so does he mean Gerwig is going to decide where to begin with this and set the tone for the entire series to follow? Or that she's trying to do something completely different that hasn't been done with Narnia before? I have no idea. However, as this remark hasn't come from Gerwig herself and we don't yet have a clear indication of what she is intending to do with Narnia, I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Interesting, though, that Stuber mentions The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as "kind of the preeminent one". Does he mean it's the most famous story in the series (which of course it is) and so that's the one they're going to tackle first? Or does he mean, since he then goes on to talk about the "interesting narrative form" of the whole series, that they're going to start Netflix's adaptation in a different place — I would guess The Magician's Nephew — and then Netflix's LWW will be placed in that context, unlike the two previous attempts (by the BBC and Walden) to film the Chronicles as a series? Maybe that's what "break the whole arc of all of it" means?

In any case, now that these little snippets of news — however vague so far — keep coming through, it's getting more and more exciting!  

Posted by: @courtenay

It may just be a throwaway comment from a Netflix executive and it may not reflect anything that Gerwig herself would say she's doing.

I assumed that it's something he's heard from Gerwig herself since it sounds like something a writer would say. Then again, I guess it's helpful for producers to know the "arcs" of the series they're producing since they need to know whether they'll be successful.

I'm not loving the quote since, as I've mentioned on this forum, I see the Narnia books as interconnected yet individual stories. I don't want them to try to include a cliffhanger at the end of each one or anything or have one ultimate villain they need to work to defeat throughout the thing. But I'm also kind of curious as to what Gerwig or Stubbs could mean. I may not think of the book series as having an arc to it, but I'm interested in hearing what another reader who feels otherwise might say it is. 

I just have such weird mixed feelings about this new series right now! I was rather bewildered by their choices previously and I figured once we started getting a lot of news, I'd at least be able to form an opinion, positive or negative. Now we are getting news, much of it being positive sounding with Gerwig saying she's been a fan of the book for a long time, but there are all these mixed signals about when they're starting, whether they've decided on anything, etc. I still can't form an opinion one way or another.  

I have two main takeaways here...

1. It sounds like Greta Gerwig is the new "Creative Architect" for Netflix's Narnia, replacing Matthew Aldrich.

2. This is a very strong indication that we are getting a full reboot and there will be no continuation of the Walden films.

I actually have a theory about what "breaking the whole arc of it" might mean based on tracking the news over the years... I'll try to post that this weekend if I have time.

Oh, yes! A fresh new start of a franchise that has come and gone! Hopefully, the new Narnia franchise will be able to keep going, especially when Walden Media hadn't been able to.

Then of course, we'll be keeping up with the latest news. I will be interested to see in Greta Gerwig's creative vision of Narnia come to life. Even if she decides to throw in something that I wouldn't be too crazy about, I'm willing to wait and see how it turns out in the end. Who knows? It might turn out better than we would have hoped for.

I don't interpret the use of "arc" in this case as meaning some overall story arc added to the series as a whole. I think it more means "adaptation plan", i.e. "how are we going to tackle this as a series?" or "what order are we going to adapt these books, considering three of them were already made as big budget Hollywood films?"

Yavar

I have two main takeaways here...

1. It sounds like Greta Gerwig is the new "Creative Architect" for Netflix's Narnia, replacing Matthew Aldrich.

Yes, it does sound like they're giving her responsibility for setting the overall shape and "feel" of the series, even if she doesn't personally direct every single film. 

2. This is a very strong indication that we are getting a full reboot and there will be no continuation of the Walden films.

Also agreed, and I seriously hope that's the case. I've been surprised at how many Narnia fans seem to be musing on the idea of Netflix somehow reviving the Walden series, maybe even to the point of picking up where it left off (with SC). Even if I liked the Walden films, I can't imagine that happening. Why would a totally different company want to resurrect another producer's series that did really well at the box office with the first film, reasonably well with the second, and then flopped with the third, to the point where the franchise fizzled out after that and never got any further — and that was something like 13 years ago? Netflix has the rights to the entire series of 7 books and it now sounds like they genuinely are determined to do all 7. They're surely going to want to put a fresh new spin on Narnia so that everyone's interest is piqued and people who know the Walden films (whether they're fans of them or not) won't feel like this is the same old thing that's been done before. It's a fantastic opportunity for Narnia to get a whole new look and hopefully a wider audience than ever, really, if this new series does well.

I actually have a theory about what "breaking the whole arc of it" might mean based on tracking the news over the years... I'll try to post that this weekend if I have time.

I'd definitely be interested, Rose, if and when you can get to it. So far it sounds like "industry-speak" to me!  

It does occur to me that Greta Gerwig working on an arc for the whole series is odd if she's only writing/directing two movies. Maybe it really is the executives working on that.  

Posted by: @col-klink

It does occur to me that Greta Gerwig working on an arc for the whole series is odd if she's only writing/directing two movies. 

Well even if she's only directing two pieces, they have to be compatible with the other movies/shows.

Posted by: @rose

I actually have a theory about what "breaking the whole arc of it" might mean based on tracking the news over the years... I'll try to post that this weekend if I have time.

Yes, please! I do love myself a good Rose Tree Dyrad theory!

Posted by: @yavar-moradi

I don't interpret the use of "arc" in this case as meaning some overall story arc added to the series as a whole. I think it more means "adaptation plan", i.e. "how are we going to tackle this as a series?" or "what order are we going to adapt these books, considering three of them were already made as big budget Hollywood films?"

I'm with you in this thinking. From an executive perspective, he's likely more interested in a logical, long-term vision which can lead to a large output. I don't read his comments as a reflection of a creative decision.

Also, it's great to meet you 😊 

From the looks of this article: https://collider.com/greta-gerwig-chronicles-of-narnia-plot-adapting-whole-series/

They could be trying to create two movies that cover the entire series. So "breaking the arc" could be where to end one movie and start the next.

I hope my impression is wrong. That would be an absolutely dreadful way to cover thousands of years of Narnian history and 20+ years of human history.

Mr. Stuber's comments make my brain hurt. "Breaking the arc" could be interpreted anywhere from "breaking down the material to understand them better for the writing process" (yay) to "breaking down the material and rebranding it for our purposes" (boo) and everything in between. His comments are so nebulous that I don't know that I want to bother taking the time to try to understand them. Though like many of you have pointed out, I do lean towards an overall writing plan.

Posted by: @rose

very strong indication that we are getting a full reboot and there will be no continuation of the Walden films.

Not intending to be rude, but it honestly boggles my mind that people still think it's a possibility Netflix might tie into Walden. Why on earth would they start a fresh project with another company's 15-20 year old baggage? No way....

Posted by: @courtenay

Interesting, though, that Stuber mentions The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as "kind of the preeminent one".

Courtenay, you picked up on the exact same thing that I did. "Obviously LWW is the preeminent one"..... Mr. Stuber  didn't say MN. He didn't say SC. He said LWW. And with that simple little statement, my money is now officially on them starting their Narnia adaptations with LWW. 

Posted by: @fantasia

Mr. Stuber's comments make my brain hurt. "Breaking the arc" could be interpreted anywhere from "breaking down the material to understand them better for the writing process" (yay) to "breaking down the material and rebranding it for our purposes" (boo) and everything in between. His comments are so nebulous that I don't know that I want to bother taking the time to try to understand them.

I thought the phrasing was a bit weird too but I assume he meant "breaking down" and made a slip of the tongue or a typo. (I don't remember if this was an audio interview or a printed one.) I mostly assume this because I've never heard anyone talking about "breaking an arc" before. 

By saying "form [to the Narnia series] if you read all of them" before saying "trying to figure out how they can break the whole arc of all of it", I'm wondering if he means structurally what is the best way to tell the story in terms of chronology and order. While individual stories in their own right, there is a chronology to the narrative, except for (I'd say) The Magician's Nephew and A Horse And His Boy, so maybe they're trying to figure out where those will fit in within their adaptations. For example, do you explore TMN after LWW or do you wait until you've explored the "arc" of the Pevensies from LWW to PC to VDT?

The term breaking to me screams "understanding something" rather than "creating something".

I'd generally put this down as a typical "executive producer" comment that means mostly nothing. We've heard plenty of these sorts of empty meaningless comments from Walden producers over the years too.

But if I were to consider the 'arc" of the series, I guess I would note that it's called "The Chronicles of Narnia" not "The Chronicles of the Pevensies". The arc is that it goes from the creation of Narnia to the destruction of Narnia.