I’m on board for Greta Gerwig’s Chronicles of Narnia movies, though there are some recent Netflix franchises that raise concerns about how the adaptations could be handled. I was the perfect age for Disney’s Narnia adaptations upon their release in the 2000s, and I’ll always hold some consideration for them as fun, light-hearted fantasy movies. However, I feel like it’s fair to admit that they’re not as definitive of adaptations as Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy or the Harry Potter series, which arrived around the same time. That opens the door for Greta Gerwig’s Narnia movies.

Greta Gerwig has proven that she’s capable of making artistic films that feel fresh and authentic while also remaining largely accessible and easy to consume. It excites me to imagine what she’ll do with Narnia if she can bring the visual brilliance of Barbie, the cozy cottage warmth of Little Women, and deliver a story that’s faithful to C.S. Lewis’s novels. Netflix has the opportunity to develop the definitive cinematic interpretation of one of the best children’s fantasy book series, introducing the classic saga to a generation of new audiences. Still, there are some critical pitfalls they need to avoid.

The Witcher Has Given Netflix A Bad Reputation For Adapting Fantasy

The Witcher Has Received Criticism For Deviating From Source Material

Game of Thrones changed the television scene, creating a wave where every streaming service wanted to replicate its success with a TV drama based on a famous fantasy series. Prime Video has tried its hand with The Wheel of Time and Rings of Power, Apple TV+ had See, and Netflix’s TV catalog has expanded with a variety of fantasy adaptations like Shadow & Bone, Avatar: The Last Airbender, One Piece, and many more. My focus here is on The Witcher, as it’s been arguably the most scrutinized fantasy series they’ve had, and it’s based on novels.

Even when the series was well-reviewed, The Witcher never really sat well with me, mostly due to my issues with the show’s visual aesthetic. However, the main criticism of the fantasy drama has been its deviation from the source material, even to the point where The Witcher book author Andrzej Sapkowski spoke in an interview with the YouTube channel Cerealkillerz, saying, “I gave them some ideas, but they never listened to me,” referring to the showrunners.

Alienating book readers and fans of the source material is the quickest route to crushing an adaptation’s potential. While Netflix still has a massive subscriber base and plenty of hits, there’s plenty of disappointment surrounding shows like The Witcher and Avatar: The Last Airbender from viewers who’d hoped for a more faithful interpretation.

Rebel Moon Was Netflix’s Attempt At A Big-Budget Sci-Fi/Fantasy Movie Franchise

Rebel Moon’s Release Format Wasn’t Zack Snyder’s Full Vision

Rebel Moon and The Chronicles of Narnia are vastly different stories, but there are some notable flaws in the recent sci-fi franchise’s distribution that I see as important. Love him or hate him, Zack Snyder is an auteur filmmaker who can bring a distinct style to his projects, but the versions of Rebel Moon that have been released aren’t his cuts. Netflix wanted to broaden the audience with PG-13, shortened 2-hour movies, with his director’s cut R-rated versions releasing at a later date (via THR). The released PG-13 Rebel Moon movies have 21% and 15% scores on Rotten Tomatoes.

The issue I see here is that Netflix brought on an auteur filmmaker to develop a sci-fi franchise that could potentially break the mold, offering something different to Star Wars. Instead of going through with it, they conformed their releases to standard 2-hour movies, trimming the adult aspects that could’ve made the films unique. I’m not a huge Zack Snyder fan, but I’d much rather have seen his version upon release rather than the dilapidated PG13 cuts that’ve already extinguished any interest I had in the franchise.

How Greta Gerwig’s Narnia Movies Can Learn From These Franchises

Greta Gerwig Needs Full Creative Control & A Script That’s Faithful To C.S. Lewis’s Books

These are broad strokes, but there are still crucial notes to take away from The Witcher and Rebel Moon. Based on Greta Gerwig’s previous comments about Narnia, I trust in her vision and faithfulness to the books. There’s immense value in the complexity of C.S. Lewis’s writing, and I’d love to see Gerwig find common ground between the books’ themes and the modern world. That’s what adapting old novels is all about, after all.

Hopefully, given the enormous commercial success of Barbie, Greta Gerwig will have final cut on the version of Chronicles of Narnia that’s distributed on the streaming service. Bringing a massively popular visionary filmmaker on for such a project only matters when their leadership and artistic expertise is trusted in full. Personally, I can’t wait for Greta Gerwig’s Chronicles of Narnia films, and I believe they have the potential to be all-time great fantasy movies.

Sources: THR, Cerealkillerz