Imagine, just for a moment, being in the shoes of Greta Gerwig: you’ve just finished solving cinema by putting Barbie out into the world, and you’re almost immediately tasked afterwards with the job of masterminding Netflix’s Chronicles of Narnia films. How do you respond?
If you happen to actually be Greta Gerwig, then you jump right at the challenge while taking the proper time to acknowledge that it is, in fact, a challenge. During a recent appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Today show (as reported by Deadline), Gerwig mused on the road ahead for her Chronicles of Narnia movies (at the time of writing, she is contracted for two films, which she will both write and direct), noting how her admiration for C. S. Lewis’ legendary fantasy novels has helped generate a feeling of creative intimidation that—especially considering the history behind the books—is arguably necessary to have when trying to adapt them.
I’m slightly in the place of terror because I really do have such reverence for Narnia. I loved Narnia so much as a child. As an adult, C.S. Lewis is a thinker and a writer. I’m intimidated by doing this. It’s something that feels like a worthy thing to be intimidated by.
Gerwig went on to suggest that the added nuance of being an American filmmaker and taking on a very famous, markedly British story puts even more weight on the dutiful meticulousness she seems all but determined to channel while crafting these movies.
As a non-British person, I feel a particular sense of wanting to do it correctly… it’s like when Americans do Shakespeare, there’s a slight feeling of reverence and as if maybe we should treat it with extra care. It is not our countryman.
There’s also the factor of Narnia‘s history on the big screen, with three of Lewis’ seven books having already been adapted to feature films through Disney, 20th Century Fox, and Walden Media before the franchise was pushed to the wayside after the latter’s contract with Lewis’ estate expired in 2011; in other words, comparisons will start coming in as soon as we get a first look, giving Gerwig the added hurdle of exceeding that goalpost.
Solid as the Narnia films of yore were, it’s never a good strategy to bet against a creative maverick such as Gerwig, and the vulnerability she’s displayed about getting this right should only be taken as extra reassurance that Narnia is in the very best hands.
(featured image: 20th Century Studios)
