Why 'The Magician's Nephew' Could Change How Fans See the Entire Narnia Saga

I grew up on The Chronicles of Narnia. I was an avid fan of the old BBC series versions and even of the Disney/Walden movies, which upped the scope and scale.

But despite these books being so popular, the movies always stop short of delivering the entire story.

That's why I was so excited to see that Academy Award–nominated filmmaker Greta Gerwig is preparing to bring The Magician’s Nephew to the big screen.

It's a book that has never been adapted in the series and one that contains ways to seismically shift the entire canon.

Check out the trailer and let's talk after.

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The Prequel Lens

Every time someone wanted to dive into Narnia, they always started with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. This was common sense, because it was the first book. but CS Lewis wrote a prequel to all of these stories, and that's where Gerwig is going first.

I think that's kind of an inspired take, even if she doesn't dive into the other movies.

It starts a world off in a new place with fresh ideas and adds mythology to anything that comes after.

We're finally going to get the origin of the wardrobe and of Aslan's appearance in an empty void to help unite all the disparate worlds.

The Multiverse Beyond the Wardrobe

I don't know what concepts Gerwig will bring into these worlds, but the idea of building from a multiverse with all the books kind of makes sense. Is this tapestry of places we see in the trailer how we'll get into the other books in the story?

Greta Gerwig’s Narrative Vision

I thought Gerwig was a really fun pick for this movie because she's always drawn such vivid characters. Her work on Little Women and Lady Bird shows these nuanced characters who have both agency and a belief in a world precious ot them.

That sounds a lot like the kids in Narnia.

The over-the-top visuals reminded me that she can also access production design magic, as she did on Barbie.

But what grounded the whole thing was kids stuck in a terrible war who want their mother to be okay.

A New Chapter for Narnia Fans

Adapting The Magician's Nephew not only gives us the birth of the world, but probably of a massive franchise. Hard ot tell if Gerwig would be involved with all seven books, but I am excited to see this one in IMAX and to hopefully get adaptations of all the other books in this wildly creative and beautiful world.