Greta Gerwig says she’s ‘terrified’ of directing ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ films

Greta Gerwig isn’t quite ready to dive into lion, witch, and wardrobe.

The ‘Barbie’ writer-director, who is expected to direct at least two Netflix movies based on CS Lewis’ ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ novel series, told Total Film (via Radar games) that she is “terrified” of taking on the IP project.

“I haven’t even really started wrapping my arms around it,” Gerwig said. “But I’m really scared of it, which seems like a good place to start. I think when I’m scared, it’s always a good sign. Maybe when I stop being scared, it’ll be like, ‘OK. Maybe I shouldn’t do that.’ No, I’m terrified of it. It is extraordinary. And so we’ll see, I don’t know.

He continued, “I’m hoping to make all different kinds of movies over the course of time that I’ll have making movies, which — it’s a long time, but it’s also limited. I want to do big things and small things and everywhere in between, and having another big canvas is both exciting and daunting.

Gerwig previously directed the novel adaptation of “Little Women” and the original films “Lady Bird” and “Nights and Weekends” before teaming up with Mattel on “Barbie.”

Gerwig’s involvement in the new iteration of “Narnia” was confirmed earlier this year.

“Greta and I consciously built a career,” said Gerwig’s UTA ​​agent, Jeremy Barber The New Yorker. “Her ambition is not to be the greatest female director, but a great studio director. And Barbie was a piece of IP that was resonant to her.

“The Chronicles of Narnia” was brought to the big screen for the first time for a film trilogy that ran from 2005 to 2010. The first film, “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, grossed over $745 million worldwide and starred Liam Neeson (voicing the lion Aslan), Tilda Swinton and James McAvoy. In 2018, a deal was reached with Netflix to obtain the rights to all seven Narnia books.

Mark Gordan, Douglas Gresham and eOne’s Vincent Sieber will executive produce all upcoming films and TV series based on the novels.

Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said at the time of acquiring the rights, “CS Lewis’ beloved ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ stories have resonated with generations of readers around the world. The families have fallen in love with characters like Aslan and the entire world of Narnia, and we are thrilled to be their home for years to come.”

To read Gerwig’s recent “Barbie” interview with IndieWire, click here.