Netflix’s Narnia Movie is Ready to… Rock and Roll? | Talking Beasts
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Last week, it finally became official: Greta Gerwig’s Narnia movie will be releasing in IMAX theaters Thanksgiving 2026 before it starts streaming on Netflix the following Christmas! And Producer Amy Pascal says it will be “all about rock and roll.”
Watch our reactions and then post a comment below or in our new Discord group!
In Part 2 of this discussion, the podcasters discuss possible titles for the movie. Will it just be Narnia? Or are they deliberately trying to keep the actual title under wraps for now? If so, why?
I still don’t understand why Amy Pascal didn’t just say she didn’t want to answer the question. But hey, at least it gave us some content to discuss!
@Ash, I don’t know, I guess it’s considered rude when being interviewed or something. Shrug.
Still, based on the impact and confusion that has sprung up from her comments, It would’ve been worth being slightly rude.
This was a lot of fun to record! I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if Pascal’s ‘Rock and Roll’ comments have any barring on the film.
Just had to make a comment on this amazing thumbnail. Pure genius!!
My feelings about the IMAX release date are bittersweet. On the one hand, I was really upset when I heard Netflix would be making a Narnia series and I’d never see a Narnia movie in cinemas again. I just feel like the big screen is ideal for conveying the magic and majesty of Narnia. And it’s gratifying to learn that Greta Gerwig, an acclaimed film director, agrees with me. On the other hand, there aren’t any IMAX theatres near me, and I can’t be expected to drive to another state just to see a movie once. Still, I’m happy for the Narnia fans who will get to see this new adaptation in IMAX. I’m sure it’ll be an awesome experience. (Well, assuming the movie is good of course.) I’ll try not to be jealous.
Now do I want a “new take” on Narnia or not? That really depends on which story is being adapted. If it’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, yes, I do because that’s the Narnia book that has been adapted the most frequently. But if it’s one of the other books, no, I want an adaptation that’s at least fairly faithful. To be honest, it kind of irritates me when I hear people say that it’ll be good to see Gerwig do a fresh take on Narnia because I feel like Narnia is great in itself. It doesn’t need a new version. Plus, I feel the Walden Media movies were already new takes. Even their LWW, the one which took the least artistic license with its source material, I’d describe as offering a different perspective on the story than the book and previous adaptations. I just feel like a faithful adaptation of any other Narnia book would by definition feel new and exciting.
This episode helped me realize something about this project, something that may explain why some Narniawebbers are feeling confused right now. Gerwig has been saying things like she’s worried that she’ll end up Americanizing these English classics and that she’s reading a bunch of C. S. Lewis books so she can channel his style. That leads us to expect a pretty reverent, cautious adaptation. But the producers have been talking about how new and different and rock-and-roll this Narnia adaptation will be, so we’re not sure whom to believe.
I don’t think the two possibilities are mutually exclusive though. There have been adaptations IMO that have been both really creative and really true to their source material. I’d describe Gerwig’s Little Women that way. You can definitely hear her voice as a screenwriter, but you can also hear Louisa May Alcott’s voice. The movie is like a duet between them. I’m not sure if she can do the same for Narnia though. I just feel like there are so many more points of similarity between Little Women and Lady Bird, her main claim to fame before Barbie, than there are between Narnia and Lady Bird or Narnia and Little Women. I mean, I get that Little Women and Lady Bird aren’t exactly the same. (For one thing, the mother-daughter relationships we see in Little Women are pretty idealized whereas the mother and daughter in Lady Bird are at odds and need to be reconciled.) Still, when I heard the director of LB was doing an adaptation of LW, I was like, “yeah, that tracks.” When I heard she was doing Netflix’s Narnia, my reaction was…not that. LOL. But we’ll see. She has said both books were big parts of her childhood so there is that.