One of the most anticipated fantasy projects in the pipeline is Netflix's take on The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis' classic fantasy series. There are seven Narnia books in all, and while Netflix hasn't officially announced how the series will be adapted, all signs point to the streamer making one movie per book, with the first to start filming this summer for a 2026 release.
But which book will Netflix and director Greta Gerwig adapt first? Again, while nothing's been confirmed, there's a large amount of evidence pointing to it being The Magician's Nephew, which might be a bad idea.
Chronologically the first book in the Chronicles, The Magician's Nephew was actually published sixth in, as a prequel that shows the creation of Narnia; it's roughly analogous to the book of Genesis in the Bible, in keeping with the Christian themes of the series. The first Narnia book published, and by far the most widely known, was The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe in 1950. The Magician's Nephew came out in 1955.
The Chronicles of Narnia have been adapted for the screen three times: in 1967, in the late 1980s by the BBC, and in the early 2000s by Walden Media. In each case, the series has always started with an adaptation of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. In fact, so far, there's never been an adaptation of The Magician's Nephew, and that makes a lot of sense. Because while starting out in chronological order might seem like a good idea, once you look at the rest of the seven-novel series, some big problems start to become obvioius.
Audiences aren't as familiar with it
When you talk about the Narnia books, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is the first thing that comes to mind. Images like the lamppost in the middle of a forest, or a faun with an umbrella, are what people associate most with these books, as well as the idea of finding a magical world in the back of a wardrobe. These ideas have entered the wider popular culture.
Wardrobe is easily the best known of the seven books, and the White Witch is the most memorable of villains. In fact, most collections arrange the books in the order they came out. It's likely this was the first exposure most readers had to Narnia, and there's so much memorable imagery that stays with you after you've read it.
The other books all have their merits, and from a literary sense, some could be considered better than Wardrobe, but this was the one that set the tone, established the world and characters, and is the most associated with the property. People will expect the book to be adapted right out of the gate, and could be confused if we get The Magician's Nephew instead.
A lack of magic
The Chronicles of Narnia, in fact the whole world of Narnia, is filled with magic and wonder. It's the idea that we can just step into a completely different land, through something as normal as a wardrobe, when we least expect it, which has captured the minds and hearts of millions over the decades. Narnia is a magical, beautiful place beyond imagination, and it's somewhere the main characters are often transported to when they need to escape from our world. This is something the prequel story doesn't have.
The Magician's Nephew begins in London in the early 20th century, in a quite ordinary house, and doesn't actually get to Narnia for some time. The two main characters, the children Diggory and Polly, are transported by magic rings into a different world called Charn. There they pick up Jadis, who will become the future White Witch. But the majority of the story still takes place in London; it's late in the book before we get to see Narnia, just as it's being created by Aslan.
Even then, as it's a new world, things are different to the other books. There aren't many talking animals or magical beasts that have a big role, and even Aslan himself has a much smaller part in the story. While all this is compelling for fans of the series, for anyone looking for the familiar trappings of Narnia, it may be disappointing, and it could put general audiences off from continuing with the series, or confuse them when things change so much for later movies.
Nowhere to go
While Nephew is the first story in the series, it's very clear that it's a prequel, and that makes it a bad place to start a movie franchise.
There's no need to read this book first in order to understand the series, and it's more just providing a bookend to the Chronicles, a creation for Narnia that serves as the counterpart to its destruction in The Last Battle.
As a springboard for another six movies, it doesn't fit, not least because the two main characters have no real part in the rest of the stories. Diggory has a small appearance in Wardrobe as the professor who's house the Pevensie children are staying at, but that's all, until the end of The Last Battle, where he and Polly have small cameos. The main narrative of the series follows the Pevensies, and the effect they have on Narnia through their actions.
As it is, with Nephew, there's really nowhere to go. Because Narnia time moves differently to our world, by the time of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, everything has changed, the White Witch has taken over the land and covered it in endless winter.
How will Netflix adapt The Chronicles of Narnia?
Thinking about these movies going forward, I also have to wonder where the third book in the series — The Horse and His Boy — would fit in. This book slides in between The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian, but follows the new characters of Shasta and Arravis, who come from the desert land of Calormene and have their own story to tell. Some of the Pevensies have minor roles in this story, but they aren't the focus of the book, and in fact, Narnia doesn't even appear, with the action being set in the surrounding countries. If this were shot as the third film, that would add even more confusion for casual viewers, as it's more of a side story than a part of the main narrative.
With the way things are now in Hollywood, where every new movie and TV show is part of some wider "cinematic universe," shooting The Magician's Nephew first seems like an attractive idea on the surface. But unless Netflix is going to make some seriously big changes to the narrative, then it's a bad idea. It would be much better to start with The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, the story everyone knows, establish the world, the characters, and get an audience. Then, if the movie is a success, adapt the rest of the series up to The Last Battle, before finally doing Magician's Nephew and Horse and His Boy. Otherwise, it could all end up failing before it's had a chance to succeed.
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