Amy Pascal, one of the producers on Greta Gerwig’s upcoming film adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia revealed the film will be “a very new take” and that it is “all about Rock & Roll.”
In an interview with Pete Hammond at Deadline, Pascal was asked, “And how is Narnia? Has she been shooting that already?”
Pascal replied, “No, we start shooting in July.”
Hammond then asked, “That’s a new take on Narnia or …?”
Pascal responded, “A very new take on Narnia. It’s all about Rock & Roll.”
Pascal’s comments come about two weeks after actor Jason Isaac told The Week that the first book Gerwig plans to adapt will be The Magician’s Nephew.
While listing out all of the books he planned to read at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford for Macmillan Cancer Support, Isaac included The Magician’s Nephew and stated, “I loved all the Narnia books as a kid. When Peter was told he wouldn't be coming back, I understood something devastating about mortality. I picked this one because Greta Gerwig is about to make a film of it, which I can't wait to see.”
The Magician’s Nephew tells the story of the creation of Narnia. The official description on Amazon states, “On a daring quest to save a life, two friends are hurled into another world, where an evil sorceress seeks to enslave them. But then the lion Aslan's song weaves itself into the fabric of a new land, a land that will be known as Narnia. And in Narnia, all things are possible.”
The book was the penultimate book to be published. However, it is the first book in chronological order.
Netflix announced it was planning to develop both films and TV shows based on C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia back in 2018.
In a press release it announced, “Netflix will develop new series and film projects based on C.S. Lewis’ beloved The Chronicles of Narnia series. Under the terms of a multi-year deal between Netflix and The C.S. Lewis Company, Netflix will develop classic stories from across the Narnia universe into series and films for its members worldwide.”
The company added, “The deal marks the first time that rights to the entire seven books of the Narnia universe have been held by the same company.”
Netflix’s Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said at the time, “C.S. Lewis’ beloved Chronicles of Narnia stories have resonated with generations of readers around the world. Families have fallen in love with characters like Aslan and the entire world of Narnia, and we’re thrilled to be their home for years to come.”
Douglas Gresham, Lewis’ stepson, also stated, “It is wonderful to know that folks from all over are looking forward to seeing more of Narnia, and that the advances in production and distribution technology have made it possible for us to make Narnian adventures come to life all over the world.”
“Netflix seems to be the very best medium with which to achieve this aim, and I am looking forward to working with them towards this goal,” he added.
In June 2019, the streaming service announced that Matthew Aldrich, the co-writer of Coco had joined the Netflix team “to oversee the development and creative live-action adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ beloved The Chronicles of Narnia series.”
The company added, “Aldrich will work across both series and film and serve as a creative architect on all projects under the deal.”
Gerwig’s attachment to the project was announced during the promotion of Barbie when The New Yorker’s Alex Barasch reported that she “has a deal with Netflix to write and direct at least two films based on C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia.”
Gerwig confirmed her involvement telling Games Radar, “I haven’t even really started wrapping my arms around it. But I’m properly scared of it, which feels like a good place to start.”
She added, “I think when I’m scared, it’s always a good sign. Maybe when I stop being scared, it’ll be like, ‘Okay. Maybe I shouldn’t do that one.’ No, I’m terrified of it. It’s extraordinary. And so we’ll see, I don’t know.”
“I hope to make all different kinds of movies in the course of the time I get to make movies, which – it’s a long time, but it’s also limited,” she continued. “I want to do big things and small things and everywhere in between, and having another big canvas is exciting and also daunting.”
Netflix Chairman Scott Stuber told Variety about the project in November, “[Gerwig] grew up in a Christian background. The C.S. Lewis books are very much based in Christianity. And so we just started talking about it. And like I said earlier, we don’t have IP, so when we had the opportunity [to license] those books or the [Roald Dahl Co.] we’ve jumped at it, to have stories that people recognize and the ability to tell those stories.”
“So it was just a great opportunity and I’m so thrilled that she’s working on it with us and I’m just thrilled to be in business with her,” he said. “And she’s just an incredible talent.”
When asked for more details about Gerwig’s role in the films and whether she was writing them as well, Stuber said, “Obviously, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is kind of the preeminent one, but there’s such an interesting narrative form [to the Narnia series] if you read all of them. And so that’s what she’s working on now with [producer] Amy Pascal and Mark Gordon and they’re trying to figure out how they can break the whole arc of all of it.”
Stuber would go on to inform Collider at the beginning of November that they planned to take the first film into production next year, “Well, I think people know that we’re aspirationally trying to get Greta Gerwig’s [The Chronicles of] Narnia together and get that movie, which will be next year.”
It was previously rumored that one of the first books to be adapted was going to be The Silver Chair.
Kasey Moore at What’s on Netflix reported, “Our sources told us in early 2023 that Gerwig’s first adaptation would be of The Silver Chair.”
The Silver Chair was the fourth novel published in The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, but it is the penultimate novel chronologically. The novel follows the characters of Eustace Scrubb and Jill Pole as they are tasked by Aslan to find the missing son of King Caspian X, Prince Rilian.
The two go on a journey across Narnia and run afoul of the Lady of the Green Kirtle who has ambitions to conquer Narnia.
What do you make of Pascal describing the film as “a very new take” that is “all about Rock & Roll?”
This is gonna be an absolute train wreck, even more than the first attempt at an adaptation was.
Amy Pascal is a woman.
And Jewish.
Of course, she wouldn't understand the message of these books.
Then again, they tried to mimic Lewis with "The Golden Compass" and no one cared because they aren't very imaginative.