Narnia: Netflix Reveals Filming Start Date For Greta Gerwig Reboot

In a recent exclusive interview from Collider, the news outlet sat down with the head of Netflix Film, Scott Stuber, to talk about director Greta Gerwig. While her past projects, like "Little Women" and "Barbie," have been big hits, the current talk of the town is her upcoming foray into the wardrobe. Gerwig is reportedly on the hook to kickstart the streaming studio's upcoming "Narnia" adaptation by overseeing not one but two (and possibly more) films. According to Stuber's most recent comments, she's going to dive into these highly anticipated upcoming projects as soon as next year.

In the interview, the Netflix executive explained, "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." This means Netflix's "Narnia" will at least be entering production in 2024. When it will come out remains an open question, especially with the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike so fresh and its ongoing repercussions still percolating through the release schedule of the entire film industry.

All the same, it's exciting to think we may finally be getting a "Narnia" reboot, well after "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" charged into theaters. No further information is available on the specifics of Gerwig's "Narnia" film as of this writing, but Looper has already gone on record claiming the best spot for a fresh start isn't another version of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." Rather, it's C.S. Lewis' prequel story "The Magician's Nephew."

It's been 13 years as of this writing since the third film in the classic "Chronicles of Narnia" screen adaptation, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," came out. After that release, rumors rumbled on for years about further films — there are seven books in the series, and only three got the film treatment thus far. The talk of a fourth film bubbled to the surface for a while, but eventually, even the hope of more movies disappeared.

Then, in 2018, hope was born anew when Netflix announced that it had struck a deal to revive the "Narnia" experience, having attained the rights to the intellectual property from the C.S. Lewis Company. A year later (almost to the day), the project landed "Coco" writer Matthew Aldrich. Things seemed to be looking up again — but then everything went quiet. The pandemic followed, and it wasn't until the summer of 2023 that Gerwig indirectly revealed that she was on tap to direct at least a pair of the upcoming films. Even then, the statement was left hanging in the ether without any follow-up or greater explanation. Having a big wig like Scott Stuber come out and confirm that the production is officially moving forward is exciting. 

Aslan is officially on the move, folks. Here's hoping he arrives on our streaming screens before long.