Evidence Mounts for Netflix‘s Narnia Choice

Door Jam: March 10, 2025

The Door Jam is a place to squeeze in articles about C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, their work, adaptations of their fantasy worlds, news from other franchises, and interesting articles. Unless otherwise stated, I’m not endorsing (or criticizing) any of these but merely sharing them with you.

This week’s top story is additional evidence that Greta Gerwig and Netflix have made their choice for the movie to kick off The Chronicles of Narnia film series.

Pauline Baynes illustration from The Magician’s Nephew

This post has been updated per request (3/11/25).

A website recently indicated that Netflix’s and Greta Gerwig’s adaptation will be called ‘Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew,’” according to Narnia Web.

Along with the U.K. casting call, this is yet another indication that Gerwig and Netflix will launch Narnia by beginning with the creation story. This shouldn’t be a surprise since Gerwig saw her last project, the blockbuster Barbie, as a retelling of the Genesis story.

“When it starts, [Barbie] is in a world where there’s no aging or death or pain or shame or self-consciousness, and then suddenly becomes self-conscious, which that’s a really old story. And we know that story. I kind of always go back to those older story forms because I went to Catholic school and I resonate with them.”

In one of Gerwig’s first interviews about Narnia, she said she was in the “Wood Between the Worlds,” which is how Digory and Polly first travel to Narnia in The Magician’s Nephew.

I’d love an official announcement soon to give us the final confirmation. At this point, the more up-in-the-air aspect of the project is the cast. We continue to have some “interesting” casting rumors, the latests of which we’ll talk about more in the paid section below.

Not Safe But Good

C.S. Lewis quote of the week

“[Y]ou do not fail in obedience through lack of love, but have lost love because you never attempted obedience.”

That Hideous Strength

Tumnus’ bookshelf

A book by or about C.S. Lewis

One of Lewis’ best but most under-appreciated writing genres is his essays. You miss so much of his insightful commentary if you only read his full-length books. My favorite collection is God in the Dock, but Present Concerns offers some timeless wisdom on cultural topics.

Beyond the Lamp Post

Articles written by me published elsewhere

• Most Americans Skip Lent — Lifeway Research

• What Drives Evangelicals’ Thinking on Immigration? — Lifeway Research

• What Do People Want Most From Their Leader? Hope — Lifeway Research

Behind the Wardrobe

Sneak peek at the bonus articles for paid subscribers

In the bonus section, we’ve got two more wildly different actresses now rumored to be part of Gerwig’s Narnia adaptation, a British politician compared a public toilet to Narnia, more Lewis read-alongs, unpublished Tolkien writings going up for auction, more than 50% off a special edition of The Lord of the Rings books, a change to Disney’s streaming strategy, and another fantasy series has some controversial casting choices.