The new Greta Gerwig Narnia films get an exciting new treatment update

With an IMAX release set before its Netflix debut, Greta Gerwig's upcoming Narnia adaptation is one of the most anticipated projects 2026. It is believed to be adapting The Magician’s Nephew, the sixth novel in C. S. Lewis's fantasy series. However, the recent comments from producer Mark Johnson paint a different picture of Greta Gerwig's project. He told Deadline,

“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?”

Mark Johnson was behind the previous adaptation trilogy that was released between 2005 and 2010. So, his opinion on the latest adaptation holds weight. It offers a different idea than what was expected of Greta Gerwig's 2026 film. He notes his uncertainty about the Barbie director's plans but seems curious and fascinated with what she comes up with in her iteration of these novels.

Yet, if Gerwig has made one thing clear through her previous works, it's that she likes to take creative challenges and make sure that they pay off. Point in case, Barbie. Before the release of its initial teaser, not many would have expected it to take inspiration from something like Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. However, it did, and the film ended up just as subversive in its treatment of the source material. Based on these details, Johnson's following comments are far from surprising.

The Chronicles of Narnia producer weighs in on Greta Gerwig's Narnia adaptations with Netflix

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Greta Gerwig's Narnia adaptation is shaping up to be one of the most exciting projects in Hollywood, and with the recent casting updates, the curiosity must be at an all-time high. So far, the announced cast is Meryl Streep, Emma Mackey, Daniel Craig, and Carey Mulligan with Streep expected to voice Aslan, previously voiced by Liam Neeson.

These casting choices reveal Gerwig's high ambitions for her project. Mike Johnson's recent comments about her adaptation promise a creative leap in a similar direction. He says,

“I don’t know how secret it all is, I don’t know about it, but I’m not competitive about it. 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's comments do not offer any concrete detail about how Gerwig's project will shape up to be. However, it reassures her fans that her film will likely offer a radically different approach to the source material than the adaptations he produced in the 2000s.

What has Greta Gerwig said about adapting The Chronicles of Narnia?

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Greta Gerwig may put a fresh spin on C. S. Lewis's fantasy novels, but she holds them in reverence. During an interview on BBC Radio 4 in January 2024, she said,

“I’m slightly in a place of terror because I really do have such reverence for Narnia. I loved Narnia so much as a child; as an adult, [I love] C. S. Lewis as a thinker and a writer. I’m intimidated by doing this. It’s something that feels a worthy thing to be intimidated by."

She further added,

“I also have to say, 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 as if maybe we should treat it with extra care.”