Narnia Artwork and Greta Gerwig – Pictures: TCD/Prod.DB /Alamy Stock Photo | Sarah Morris/WireImage
2024 is the year! We’re getting closer to Netflix’s long-awaited Narnia adaptation, with news that cameras are expected to begin rolling in 2024. We’re now hearing that the first movie is scheduled for an August 2024 production start in the UK.
Netflix first announced it was teaming up with The C.S. Lewis Company in October 2018 (last October was the fifth anniversary of the deal), and since then, beyond an architect announcement, things have been relatively quiet about what the future would hold.
You may recall we were the first to report that Netflix was in talks and eying Greta Gerwig for a Narnia movie (which later turned into two movies) in November 2022. Then, throughout 2023, that news came closer to reality, with Gerwig confirmed to be attached to the Netflix projects and speaking numerous times about the upcoming challenges of adapting such iconic books.
Speaking about the upcoming adaptations, Gerwig told BBC Radio 4 in the UK, ” 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, I see Lewis as a thinker and a writer. I’m intimidated by doing this. It’s something that feels like a worthy thing to be intimidated by. I also have to say, as a non-British person, I feel a particular sense of wanting to do it correctly because, you know, it’s like when Americans do Shakespeare, there’s a slight feeling of reverence and as if maybe we should, you know, treat it with extra care. It is not our countrymen.
Collider spoke with the former head of film at Netflix, Scott Stuber, in late 2023 and gleamed out that they, meaning Netflix, hoped for production to begin in 2024.
In March 2024, Deadline reported that Gerwig would soon return to London to “resume the very early stages of pre-production in the UK.” The outlet noted, “Narnia more than likely won’t be ready to go before cameras until late this year or possibly early next.”
As mentioned, we’re currently hearing that production is expected to start this year, with sources telling us that August 2024 is the expected start. From then, filming will run for at least seven months. Those seven months would mean a wrap date around March 2025. Presuming a lengthy post-production process could mean the movie is released next Fall/Winter, but even a 2026 release wouldn’t be off the card given this schedule.
We don’t have filming locations for the movie yet, but we’d put good money on it taking place at Shepperton Studios, where Netflix shares a space alongside Amazon MGM Studios. In March of this year, it was announced that Netflix had moved into the newly opened expansion, making it the second-biggest film studio in the world. In addition to their existing 14 leased stages, Netflix took eight new stages within the Shepperton complex. Recent Netflix productions filmed at the premises include 3 Body Problem, Damsel, Heart of Stone, Lift, and The Sandman.
Are you excited about Netflix’s new Narnia adaptation? Let us know in the comments down below.