The Chronicles of Narnia will once again grace the big screen thanks to Greta Gerwig (Barbie), but there are still a lot of questions regarding what the new reboot will be adapting. A recent report indicated that Gerwig is actually adapting a different book than the previously adapted The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and if that’s true, this new film will instead be a prequel. In a new interview with Deadline, original The Chronicles of Narnia trilogy producer Mark Johnson was asked about the upcoming reboot, and he also seems to have some questions about what exactly the reboot is and what it is adapting.
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When asked about the upcoming reboot, Johnson said, “I’m fascinated. First of all, I’m a gigantic fan of hers, so I can’t wait to see it. I can’t quite tell what she’s doing. Is she doing The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which, of course, we did years ago, or is she doing something else. Or is it a combination of them.”
Whatever this new adaptation ends up being, Johnson is excited to see it and isn’t competitive about working in the same universe in the least. “I don’t know how secret it all is, I don’t know about it, but I’m not competitive about it,” Johnson said. “I can’t wait to see it, because whatever [Gerwig] does is going to be really good, and I’m sure, radically different from what we did.”
Johnson produced The Chronicles of Narnia trilogy for Disney, which adapted the first three books in the series. That included The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The first two films were directed by Andrew Adamson, and The Dawn Treader was directed by Michael Apted. Gerwig will be at the helm of this latest iteration, and if previous reports are true, she will be adapting The Magician’s Nephew, which is the sixth book in the series but is set before the events of the first book. The franchise also includes The Horse and His Boy, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle.
[RELATED: Original Chronicles of Narnia Star Weighs in on Greta Gerwig Reboot]
In The Magician’s Nephew, fans meet two characters named Digory and Polly, who live in London and end up being jettisoned to Narnia courtesy of Digory’s Uncle Andrew and his magic meddling. Once in Narnia, they discover a host of new characters in this unique world, but they also run into the evil sorceress named Jadis, who tries to capture them but is confronted by the lion Aslan, setting the stage for what is to come in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
This adaptation of Narnia won’t be a full theatrical release, unlike the past trilogy, as it is a Netflix project, but the streamer has set up a two-week run in IMAX ahead of its Netflix premiere date, so you will have a limited window to catch it on the big screen.
Are you excited for the new Chronicles of Narnia, and what do you hope to see brought over from the original novels? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things film and Narnia with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!
