Greta Gerwig's Narnia Remake Can Avoid A Mistake The Disney Movies Couldn't Come Back From

It’s looking as if Greta Gerwig’s The Chronicles of Narnia movie is all set up to avoid a problem that doomed the Disney Narnia series. C.S. Lewis’ beloved fantasy book series has been adapted to the screen several times, but never in its entirety. Typically, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is what comes to general audiences’ minds when they consider the Narnia franchise, and that’s because it’s often the first to be adapted. However, Disney proved this is not the best way to go since the Pevensies’ first adventure in Narnia is challenging to follow up.

Disney released The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in 2005, and the film was a fair success. It brought in $745 million at the global box office, so it was no surprise that Disney jumped into further sequels. Unfortunately, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader made significantly less at the global box office—$420 million and $416 million, respectively. Given the high cost of making such fantasy projects, Disney couldn’t justify another Narnia movie. However, Gerwig may be able to avoid a similar problem.

Disney’s Narnia Movies Made A Mistake Starting With The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe

The Sequels Just Couldn’t Hold Up

Though beloved in their own right, Disney’s Narnia movies went wrong in several ways. The studio didn’t work fast enough while producing sequels, so the young cast quickly outgrew their roles. Still, even if the House of Mouse had kicked out more movies, it would always be difficult for sequels to hold up against The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. This is the novel that general audiences are the most familiar with, and the story itself is the most self-contained. Adapting The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a sure way to get audiences to the theater, but there isn’t much reason for them to return for the sequels.

Greta Gerwig’s Narnia Remake Can Avoid Disney’s Mistake By Starting With The Magician’s Nephew

A Magician’s Nephew Adaptation Is Likely (But Not Confirmed)

Custom image by Yeider Chacon. 

Gerwig has a couple of options for kicking off her Narnia movies. She can start with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, essentially rebooting Disney’s story with the hope that audiences will be willing to go on the same ride all over again. Or, the Barbie director can take a fresh route and adapt The Magician’s Nephew, Lewis’ Narnia prequel. It has yet to be adapted into a full-feature movie, which means Gerwig would have the benefit of a fresh start. Moreover, Gerwig starting with The Magician’s Nephew would be the perfect launching point toward further movie sequels—unlike The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Updates for Gerwig’s Narnia movies hint that Magician’s Nephew will be her first film, but this has yet to be officially confirmed.

The Magician’s Nephew tells the origin story of the land of Narnia and many of its characters. It’s a story that general audiences tend not to know, but it provides interesting context to tales with which people are more familiar. If Gerwig starts with this prequel story, it could provide renewed interest in not only The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe but also its other five sequels. This would allow the new Narnia movies to bypass the problems faced by Disney’s film franchise. Perhaps Gerwig establishing such a strong foundation could even allow her to adapt each of Lewis’ Narnia books.

There Are Other Great Reasons To Start The Remake With The Magician’s Nephew

Beginning From The Beginning Just Makes Sense

A composite image of Greta Gerwig in front of a white background with the Pevensie children from The Chronicles of Narnia pointing a sword at something offscreen
Custom Image by Dalton Norman

Avoiding Disney’s Narnia problems is more than enough reason for Gerwig to take a different route with her upcoming Netflix movies. Still, it’s not the only motivator for producing Magician’s Nephew first. When it comes down to it, this is the first story in Lewis’ Narnia chronology. The author released it as the sixth installment in his series, but it is set long before the Pevensies ever traveled to the land of Narnia. It provides answers that The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe never bothered with. Characters like Aslan and the White Witch get origin stories, allowing their later deeds to make far more sense.

With the beginning of Lewis’ book series having been adapted so many times, Gerwig must go about things differently if she hopes to create a franchise with longevity.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is most certainly an excellent story and works well all on its own. It may not come with answers regarding where the fantasy world and its character come from, but the theme of childlike wonder inspires audiences to simply accept this. However, with the beginning of Lewis’ book series having been adapted so many times, Gerwig must go about things differently if she hopes to create a franchise with longevity. A strong foundation is critical, and to achieve this, The Magician’s Nephew is a must.