@jewel In the interest of playing Devil's Advocate, don't a number of people dislike the Narnia books because they have a Christian "agenda?" And you still recommend them.  

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We've wandered up some side roads in this discussion. Please try to stick to the topic, or at least include it in your post.

Of course, if you have other topics you would like to discuss about Narnia adaptations, you are free to start a separate thread, either on the General Movie forum or perhaps Talk About Narnia.

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One thing which I think would be a positive if Greta Gerwig was brought on is that she'd at least treat her versions seriously.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader clearly showed a lack of confidence in the source material and made a dumbed-down movie for very young children. Prince Caspian and LWW (to a lesser extent) took themselves seriously but also lacked the confidence to balance it with the joy & wonder. The end result should be closer to those first two.

But hopefully she can find a way to include those overlooked (and critical) elements of Narnia. I think, maybe even by accident, there's a better chance of this happening today vs in 2005.

If a director is "in talks" with a studio and agrees to terms, when should we expect to hear something official? Basically how long can we hold onto hope before safety assuming the deal with Greta fell through?

Posted by: @duffle

If a director is "in talks" with a studio and agrees to terms, when should we expect to hear something official? Basically how long can we hold onto hope before safety assuming the deal with Greta fell through?

Excellent question. We're 4 months out since we this rumour first broke...

@impending-doom

As an interesting point of comparison between two film projects perhaps... the rumour of Greta Gerwig directing Narnia at Netflix emerged in late November 2022, and the rumour of Guillermo Del Toro directing Frankenstein at Netflix emerged just a few weeks later in early December 2022.

Confirmation of Netflix potentially looking to work with both Greta Gerwig and Guillermo del Toro on unspecified projects was then confirmed in an interview with Netflix's Head of Films, Scott Stuber, on December 18th 2022.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2022-12-18/glass-onion-on-netflix-the-most-popular-holiday-movie-won-t-be-in-theaters

It was not until just two days ago however (on March 15th 2023) that Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein project was finally officially announced at Netflix. Therefore, we aren't really that far behind schedule on Narnia (at least as far as the Greta Gerwig bit goes), and the lack of any further updates isn't entirely outside of the normal time scales... but maybe if it goes a couple more months we might need to worry.... it still concerns me that we are closing in on 4 years since Matthew Aldrich was announced (and 4.5 years since the whole thing was announced) and have heard nothing more about him since.

https://deadline.com/2023/03/oscar-isaac-andrew-garfield-mia-goth-guillermo-del-toros-frankenstein-1235299836/

Maybe the difference here though is the Del Toro had been developing his Frankenstein project for a number of years, and he was the one driving that negotiation with Netflix (plus he has worked with them before on things like Pinocchio and Cabinet of Curiosities) so maybe that explains why his deal went through a little quicker than Gerwig's.

I think if we haven't heard anything by the time Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" film is released on July 21st, then I might be a little alarmed. She will likely still be busy finishing off work on that project right now, but once the film is in the can and they are doing the publicity rounds for it, I would fully expect her to be asked about her next project then.

If Greta Gerwig is going to be the director, I'm sure that she won't do the "saving the world" plot.

For example, which I've talked about in another thread, The Magician's Nephew should be about Digory has made a wrong choice and is he going to undo the wrong? How does bringing evil to a newly created world of Narnia affects him and others? Is his mother going to die? That should be the drama there!

Posted by: @icarus

I think if we haven't heard anything by the time Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" film is released on July 21st, then I might be a little alarmed. She will likely still be busy finishing off work on that project right now, but once the film is in the can and they are doing the publicity rounds for it, I would fully expect her to be asked about her next project then.

So potentially the one bit of news that flew under the radar when I was calculating my estimate above, was the fact that Greta Gerwig will be expecting her second child this Summer! (huge congratulations to her and her partner Noah btw!) 

Therefore, since it would be rude to speculate about what choices she takes with regard to the duration of her maternity leave post-Barbie, I think we are just going to have to be extra patient on this one - maybe check back in early 2024 and see where everything is at.

Interview from December:

Not that we know any more news, but, I just finished watching the Barbie Dream house set video that they built for the new Barbie movie. Greta Gerwig in that video talks about different work that goes into building this set. I just hope that if they do hire her, she as passionate about this Barbie movie as the movies she is working on in Narnia. I would love to see some cool practical sets built for the Narnia series, I am tired of green screen locations and full CGI effects.

It also raises the question whether Greta Gerwig is the right director for Narnia. It's something to think about. In a sense, Andrew Adamson was the right director for the first two Walden movies. Michael Adpted for the third, not so much. Also, will Greta Gerwig end up directing all seven? It might be interesting to see a woman's direction of Narnia films.

If not her, I don't know who else i have in mind. I don't see Peter Jackson doing it. His Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy kicked off the genre of fantasy, which was unheard of at the time. But I actually don't see him doing Narnia. I don't see Stephen Spielberg doing it. He's big-time, best known for movies like Jaws, E.T., Jurassic Park. So I can't see a big-time director doing Narnia. I don't see Christopher Nolan doing it. He's known for The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, and Dunkirk. I can't see him doing Narnia, given that a lot of his films are sci-fi.

I don't know who else I have in mind for a director if not Greta Gerwig.

I would choose Joe Johnston, I really just want to see his version of Silver Chair that was good before the leadership changed. Although, maybe we want to say that it was David Magee's version since he was the screenwriter.

Posted by: @jasmine_tarkheena

In a sense, Andrew Adamson was the right director for the first two Walden movies.

Was he? Don't get me wrong, his Narnia films were fine, but I can't think of a single notable thing about his directorial style that made him uniquely suited to Narnia over anyone else.

If I was going to handpick a director it would be Paul King, writer and director of both Paddington Bear movies. Not only are they both as close to being perfect movies as you could hope (the critic and audience scores back this up) but they also show he has the ability to balance the childlike whimsy of the original children's books with the more grown-up sensibilities needed to make a financially successful mainstream movie. They are silly and funny when they need to be, and serious and heartfelt when it matters most. They just strike the perfect tone throughout and I would love to see what he would do with another British childhood classic like Narnia.

Posted by: @icarus

If I was going to handpick a director it would be Paul King, writer and director of both Paddington Bear movies. Not only are they both as close to being perfect movies as you could hope (the critic and audience scores back this up) but they also show he has the ability to balance the childlike whimsy of the original children's books with the more grown-up sensibilities needed to make a financially successful mainstream movie. They are silly and funny when they need to be, and serious and heartfelt when it matters most. They just strike the perfect tone throughout and I would love to see what he would do with another British childhood classic like Narnia.

Oh, perfect! I haven't seen the first Paddington film, but I saw the second and just absolutely loved it. Totally agree with what you say here. 

Mind you, for there to be a director, there has to be a production, and I reckon it's looking even less likely now that Netflix will do anything with Narnia. The Greta Gerwig rumour hasn't gone any further, and nor has there been even a hint of a suggestion of Netflix making any further plans. I'm still more inclined to hope they will eventually quietly drop Narnia and then maybe the rights will be picked up by some company that does have the vision and impetus to make a new series a reality...

Whoever they get as the director, I will at least appreciate for staying as close to book yet have some creative vision. 

The first two Walden movies each had a lengthy opening credits: production company, distributor, film title, names of cast and production team. 

I think every screen adaptation I've seen of LWW showed Edmund breaking the White Witch's wand at the battle. I think it served as part of his character arch. 

So whoever they get as the director, I will appreciate following the book closely yet have a creative vision. 

*sidles in wearing mod hat* Hi guys, just a reminder that this thread is for discussing the Greta Gerwig rumor. If you want to discuss possible directors for future Narnia film projects, please do that in General Movie Discussion. Thanks!