Why is Greta Gerwig 'bummed' about The Chronicles of Narnia Netflix reboot? Explained

Greta Gerwig on The Chronicles of Narnia (Image via Prime Video)
Greta Gerwig on The Chronicles of Narnia (Image via Prime Video)

A new report reveals a massive production update on The Chronicles of Narnia reboot for Netflix. The movie, directed by Greta Gerwig, is set to begin filming soon after an extensive development process.

The director of The Chronicles of Narnia has voiced her concerns and made a plea, citing the scope and grandeur of the material. Gerwig has put out friendly feelers to Dan Lin, the newly appointed head of Netflix's film division, saying she is keen to release the film in cinemas, but is "clearly bummed" at the offer of the streaming-only option, according to Puck.

In 2018, streaming giant Netflix acquired the rights to C.S. Lewis' fantasy The Chronicles of Narnia novel franchise. Since then, rumors have swirled around the franchise, with Netflix hinting that it could be turned into "both films and series".

Greta Gerwig values creative vision above all else. Then there's the streaming model that Netflix relies on, which may tamper the film's box office ambitions.


The Chronicles of Narnia: Greta Gerwig is not happy about the latest update

Greta Gerwig, who has recently directed Barbie doesn't like the fact that Netflix is going to release her new The Chronicles of Narnia series on the service. She thinks it should be released in cinemas first, according to Matthew Belloni's What I'm Hearing newsletter. She reportedly complained to Netflix about this, but they didn't get cold feet.

The Chronicles of Narnia are based on a series of classic novels by C.S. Lewis. The series began with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in the 1950s and went on to have six sequels. There have been several TV adaptations of the series. The first film adaptation was produced in 2005, followed by Prince Caspian in 2008 and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in 2010.


Netflix’s reaction to Greta Gerwig’s The Chronicles of Narnia Reboot demand

Netflix owns all the Narnia books and is trying to work something out with Gerwig. However, Netflix is much more focused on streaming, than a theatrical release. This is not what Gerwig wants for her big-screen adaptation. Netflix wants to keep Gerwig happy, but finding a middle ground is difficult. As a result, the plan for the release of Chronicles of Narnia is still unclear.

Gerwig's project faces problems because of what Netflix wants. For one thing, Netflix doesn't want to release films in cinemas, which is a recurring problem. Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria was quoted in a report as saying: "Not our model”.

However, some experts say it could drive top filmmakers elsewhere. The idea is to stream a lot, so they are more concerned with showing as many films as they can, rather than whether the films are good enough. That could hurt in the long run, especially for big and important projects.


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Edited by Mudeet Arora