Adobe Stock | Inset: DFree / Shutterstock.com

Greta Gerwig is trading in hot pink heels for a lion, a witch and a wardrobe. During a recent interview with Time, the director of the hit movie “Barbie” said her goal in creating new film adaptations of C.S. Lewis’ “Narnia” for Netflix is to give viewers a “magical re-enchantment of the world.” Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos described Gerwig as an “incredible visionary,” and went on to vow the coming “Narnia” films will be faithful to the source material.

He said, noting the movies will be “rooted in faith,” “It won’t be counter to how the audience may have imagined those worlds, but it will be bigger and bolder than they thought.” Gerwig is a fan of Lewis’ works. She said, “I would say the two big books of my childhood were ‘Little Women’ and the ‘Narnia’ books. So I had that, you know, instant excitement, but instant terror that comes from trying to tackle something that has shaped me.”

She explained she is drawn to Lewis’ “euphorically dreamlike” stories. Gerwig said, “It’s connected to the folklore and fairy stories of England, but it’s a combination of different traditions. As a child, you accept the whole thing — that you’re in this land of Narnia, there are fauns, and then Father Christmas shows up. It doesn’t even occur to you that it’s not schematic.”

She continued, “I’m interested in embracing the paradox of the worlds that Lewis created because that’s what’s so compelling about them.” According to Screen Rant, filming for the Netflix films is slated to begin later this year.

More from Beliefnet and our partners
Close Ad