What’s The Story With Greta Gerwig’s Narnia Reboot?

In 2018, streaming giant Netflix snagged the rights to C.S. Lewis’ beloved fantasy novels, The Chronicles of Narnia. Ever since, rumours have swirled around the franchise, which Netflix hinted could be transformed into ‘both movies and series’. In a 2019 feature delving into the persistence – and astronomical value – of fantasy dramas, The Sunday Times reported, while Amazon paid $250 million for the TV rights to The Lord of the Rings (producing The Rings of Power as a result), Netflix paid ‘slightly less for the rights to all the Narnia books’. A pretty hefty investment, then. Here’s everything we know so far about Netflix’s plans for the mythical land.

Netflix’s Narnia Reboot: Plot, Cast, Release Date & More

Is The Chronicles Of Narnia Getting A Reboot?

Yes, Netflix is set to reboot C.S. Lewis’ classic fantasy novels, The Chronicles of Narnia, for the screen. When the streamer’s acquisition of the rights to adapt the series was announced, it referred to Narnia’s ‘universe’ on multiple occasions, hinting lots of content is on the way.

Meanwhile, the reported co-producer for Netflix, Mark Gordon, told the Financial Times: ‘After Game of Thrones, anything that smells or looks like Game of Thrones is something that people are excited about. […] The pitch was that we would be selling not just one movie or one book as a series. There were 3,000 characters in Narnia. So there was this very ripe opportunity.’

America Ferrera, Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie promoting Barbie. (© Chang Ho)

Who Is The Director?

In 2023, it was revealed that Greta Gerwig would write and direct at least two Narnia films for Netflix. Upon the news, the Barbie director told BBC Radio 4: ‘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.

She added: ‘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.’ We’re going to take that tidbit as confirmation that the setting will remain British.

Tilda Swinton as The White Witch in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. (Disney)

Who Is In The Cast Of The Narnia Reboot?

Here’s where the rumour mill really starts to turn, as there’s no official news just yet from Netflix regarding who will star in its Narnia reboot. Most recently, the speculation spotlight was on Saorise Ronan, a frequent Gerwig collaborator having led both Ladybird and Little Women. Ronan recently addressed the rumours on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, sharing ‘there isn’t no truth to it’ – ie, it’s not totally untrue – but Gerwig hasn’t ‘asked [her] yet’. Some rumours hint Ronan would portray the White Witch, a role made famous most recently by Tilda Swinton, while others cast her as Susan Pevensie, the oldest sister of the Pevensie siblings.

‘She’s writing it,’ Ronan added, ‘and we have the kind of relationship where I just sort of go to her and I say, “so, I’ll be in this, just so you know”. And she takes some time to think about it and then she comes back and she goes, “OK”.

‘But she honestly hasn’t asked me about Narnia,’ the star added. ‘I think she is just so wrapped up in writing it right now. But I was supposed to be in Barbie.’ She was supposed to be a second Weird Barbie, but clashes with her new film The Outrun made it impossible.

That’s not a ‘no’, then. And it also hints filming is quite far away, with scripts still unfinished.

Georgie Henley & James McAvoy in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. (Disney/Walden Media)

Where Will Netflix’s Narnia Reboot Start?

It’s not clear where the team will begin. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the most popular starting point for adaptations – and is where C.S. Lewis also started the series. However, Netflix could begin with unfamiliar ground: The Magician’s Nephew has never been adapted for the screen, and could reintroduce us to Lewis’ world while simultaneously exploring something new. Only time will tell.

The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven children’s novels written by C.S. Lewis. The first novel, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, was published in 1950 and centres on the four Pevensie siblings, the youngest of whom, Lucy (played by Georgie Henley in the 2005–10 films), discovers a mystical land through the back of a wardrobe at the countryside home they have been evacuated to during the WWII Blitz. However, not all seven of the books centre on the Pevensie children. Their cousin, Eustace Scrubb (a role which shot Will Poulter to fame in the 2010 film, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader) is the focus of three novels, while his schoolmate Jill Pole stars in two. The hero in all seven books, however, is Aslan, the talking virtuous lion and guardian of Narnia.

The novels in chronological order are:

• The Magician’s Nephew (1955)
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950)
• The Horse and His Boy (1954)
• Prince Caspian (1951)
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)
• The Silver Chair (1953)
• The Last Battle (1956)

Aslan and Skandar Keynes in Georgie Henley & James McAvoy in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. (Phil Bray/Buena Vista)

Netflix Narnia Reboot Release Date

There’s no release date for Netflix’s Narnia reboot just yet. Filming is still yet to begin, although some rumours hint it is scheduled to commence before the end of 2024.

Where Can I Watch The Narnia Films?

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Prince Caspian (2008) and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010) are all available to stream on Disney+. disneyplus.com

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010) is also available to stream for free in the UK on ITVX. itv.com