Netflix released the first teaser for Greta Gerwig's Narnia: The Magician's Nephew this week, and while the Led Zeppelin-accompanied footage seemed to go over pretty well with fans of C.S. Lewis' series of fantasy novels, there have been whispers that all may not be going particularly smoothly behind the scenes.
Jeff Sneider previously said he'd heard that there might be tension between Gerwig and Netflix film chief Dan Lin, possibly stemming from the movie's (rumored) massive $280 million budget. Now, the Hot Mic co-host has shared some more details.
“It’s 100% true, and everyone at Netflix thinks the movie is awful. It’s a genuine problem,” said one source. Another likened Narnia to Ava DuVernay’s 2018 adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time, and said when the movie ended after a recent internal screening, "the lights came up, the air went out of the room. It was bleak."
"The reaction to that test screening led Netflix to order reshoots, and a third source indicated that Narnia wouldn’t be the first time Gerwig needed an assist in post-production to 'find' her movie," Sneider writes. "I’m told that at least one individual — an experienced editor or director, or possibly both, and heretofore unreported — was brought into the editing room to 'save' Barbie, which initially had WB chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy 'very worried.'"
At the end of the day, even if this is accurate, all that matters is how the movie turns out. Narnia is set to arrive in theaters next February, which gives Gerwig and Netflix a bit of time to iron out any kinks - or bring on another editor or someone else to work on the film, if so required.
"It’s my understanding that Gerwig tried to get out of doing Narnia following Barbie’s overwhelming success, but Netflix, understandably, wouldn’t let her out of the deal. After all, it had the hottest director in town. But I don’t expect Gerwig to return for the Narnia sequel — if there is one," Sneider concluded.
Academy Award–nominated filmmaker Greta Gerwig brings C. S. Lewis’s beloved story The Magician’s Nephew to the screen for the first time in a sweeping adventure that invites dreamers of all ages to experience the creation of Narnia.
The movie stars David McKenna, Beatrice Campbell, Emma Mackey, Carey Mulligan, Ciarán Hinds, Daniel Craig, Meryl Streep, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Denise Gough, and Susan Wokoma.
Mark Gordon, Amy Pascal, Vincent Sieber-Smith, and Greta Gerwig produce Narnia: The Magician's Nephew, with Patricia Whitcher, Racheline Benveniste, Christine Crais and Douglas Gresham, and Melvin Adams for the C. S. Lewis Estate serving as executive producers.