Greta Gerwig to Direct Chronicles of Narnia Films

Greta Gerwig is leaving the dream house and traveling through a magical wardrobe. The Barbie director has signed on to direct feature film versions of The Chronicles of Narnia for Netflix. The New Yorker was the first to report that Gerwig would direct two films based on C.S. Lewis’ franchise. Netflix has not released an official announcement.

Netflix acquired the film and TV rights to The Chronicles of Narnia in 2018, however the streamer has not announced any projects based on the series in the years since.

The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels by Lewis that were published in 1950-1956. The all-ages series is about the magical realm of Narnia, which is populated by talking animals and mythical beasts. Children from the real world find their way into Narnia through magical portals and become a part of their battles against evil.

Directing Chronicles of Narnia movies would be on track for Gerwig, who adapted the Barbie doll into a film and directed a film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. She is also known for writing and directing Lady Bird, which earned five Oscar nominations, including two for Gerwig.

The first book in the series, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was adapted for TV in 1967 and again in ’79, then the first four books were adapted as TV serials from ’88 to ’90. Disney adapted three of the novels into feature films, starting with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in 2005 and Prince Caspian in 2008, then Fox released The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in 2010.