What started off as a career in the indie world, both as an actress and filmmaker, has turned into the most mainstream of successes for Greta Gerwig.
Gerwig signed on for an adaptation of “The Chronicles of Narnia” many months before “Barbie” was released to the public. I don’t think she realized at the time how big “Barbie” would get. She now has a deal with Netflix to write and direct “at least two films” based on C. S. Lewis’s fantasy stories.
Gerwig had already revealed that she was so scared about working on this next film that she was having “nightmares” about it.
I’m working on something right now. It’s hard and I’m having recurring nightmares.
In a chat with BBC, Gerwig is now expanding on those thoughts, and her fear seems to have only increased. She’s now in a state of terror over this film:
I’m slightly in the place of terror because I really do have such reverence for Narnia. I loved Narnia so much as a child. As an adult, C.S. Lewis is a thinker and a writer. I’m intimidated by doing this.
Although Gerwig is credited as a writer on Disney’s upcoming “Snow White” live-action movie, she’s not the director. So, “The Chronicles of Narnia” is going to indeed be her post-“Barbie” project which, if I was her, would also cause me unending anxiety. It’s quite the undertaking.
Will Gerwig bring anything new to ‘Narnia’? People doubted she could bring a fresh spin to “Barbie,” but, despite my reservations about that film, at least she brought something original to her doll movie.
Gerwig’s at the stage in her filmmaking career where she could direct practically whatever she wants, she’s got total carte Blanche, but she’s now stuck in Narnia and most likely praying that these Netflix films pay off.
Netflix and Skydance Animation have also called it quits. The two sides announced Monday that they're ending the animated film deal struck back in 2023, framing it as a mutual decision.