Greta Gerwig, who’s currently raking in awards for Barbie, is terrified of her next project.
Gerwig has been tapped by Netflix to adapt two books from C.S. Lewis’ series, The Chronicles of Narnia, and filming will begin later this year. However, the filmmaker shared she’s nervous about the projects.
“I’m slightly in the place of terror because I really do have such reverence for Narnia,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today program. “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. It’s something that feels like a worthy thing to be intimidated by.
“As a non-British person, I feel a particular sense of wanting to do it correctly,” she continued. “It’s like when Americans do Shakespeare, there’s a slight feeling of reverence and as if maybe we should treat it with extra care. It is not our countryman.”
Gerwig has experience adapting beloved childhood IP into award-winning films. In addition to Barbie, Gerwig adapted Louisa May Alcott’s novel Little Women, which received six Academy Award nominations — including Best Adapted Screenplay. Clearly, Gerwig has the right resume for the job.
Scott Stuber, chairman of Netflix Film, also agrees.
“[Gerwig] grew up in a Christian background,” he said. “The C.S. Lewis books are very much based in Christianity. And so we just started talking about it. And like I said earlier, we don’t have IP, so when we had the opportunity [to license] those books or the [Roald Dahl Co.] we jumped at it, to have stories that people recognize and the ability to tell those stories. So, it was just a great opportunity, and I’m so thrilled that she’s working on it with us. And I’m just thrilled to be in business with her. And she’s just an incredible talent.”
