NarniaWeb attended an exclusive IMAX sneak peek event at AMC Lincoln Square in New York City on Tuesday morning. The event featured the world premiere of the trailer for Narnia, two behind-the-scenes videos about the making of the film, and a Q&A with director Greta Gerwig hosted by Stephen Colbert. Here’s our report.
Note: Recording was not permitted at the event, so quotes were transcribed by hand and may differ slightly from the original wording.
Behind the Scenes
The event began with a behind-the-scenes clip. It opens with animated text of the opening dedication to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: “Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” The camera swirls past the words, and then we hear an actual recording of one of C.S. Lewis’s radio addresses (that became Mere Christianity): “People often ask when the next step…. to something beyond man…” was at least part of the included quote. Then a quick montage of behind-the-scenes shots.
Growing Up with Narnia
Gerwig spoke about her lifelong love of C.S. Lewis’s books, describing the stories as part of her DNA. She was read the books as a child and returned to them repeatedly as she grew older. When she was seven, her family also introduced her to the BBC adaptations.
She described them as “Amazing. No notes on BBC [Narnia adaptations]. Loved the beaver costumes.”
Like many readers, Gerwig started with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and read the series in publication order, meaning she didn’t reach The Magician’s Nephew until the sixth book. When she shared this, NarniaWeb’s own Glumpuddle began clapping. A few others joined in, prompting Colbert to remark, “We have people that like order here today!”
Gerwig recalled growing up wanting to be Lucy and wishing she could live in Narnia. Her childhood affection for the books stayed with her into adulthood and eventually shaped her approach to adapting them for the screen.
When she learned that Netflix had acquired the rights to the series, Gerwig said she made a “beeline to Ted Sarandos” to pitch the idea of beginning with The Magician’s Nephew. She was drawn to the starting scope, describing it as a story about the “life and death of a universe.” She wrote her first drafts of the film in 2020 and 2021.
Researching C.S. Lewis
Gerwig’s interest in Lewis goes beyond the Narnia books. As an adult, she read works including Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, and Surprised by Joy. When she took on Narnia, she expanded that reading considerably.
“I read or re-read everything Lewis wrote. Then I tried to read everything he read.”
She also retraced his steps in Belfast, Cambridge, and Oxford, hoping to understand the author better and bring her own instincts closer to his.
Gerwig spoke about how much it meant to her that the Lewis family supported the project. She also described Lewis as a “master of language.” While working on the film, she wrote out the lines from the Narnia books that gave her goosebumps, alongside other passages he had written.
The discussion turned to the trailer’s use of Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven. After the song played in the footage, Colbert joked about what Lewis’s favourite Led Zeppelin song might have been.
Gerwig explained that, as she understood it, the band had never previously allowed its music to be used in a film. Its members were familiar with Lewis’s work and held him in high regard, however, and agreed to let her use the song.
She felt it suited the film because of its epic scale and its themes of spiritual journey, enlightenment, and the possibility of going astray.
Building Narnia
Gerwig also discussed what appealed to her about making a film on the scale of The Magician’s Nephew.
“Movies of this scale are usually about destruction, which we do a little bit, but we get the opportunity to build up a new creation,” she said.
Music was an important part of that process. Gerwig brought Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt into the project early because Aslan’s song, which brings Narnia into existence, is central to the book. She wanted the music to be part of the creative process from the beginning.
Ronson and Wyatt wrote music early in production and gathered feedback from the film’s various departments. Their work continued on set, where they played a piano in the set for Digory’s house.
One of the two behind-the-scenes videos screened at the event offered a look at the production process. The footage showed the work involved in creating the film, with an emphasis on creativity and the use of real, physical elements wherever possible.
Casting Digory and Polly
Gerwig and casting director Nina Gold considered thousands of children while searching for the film’s young leads, David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell.
Gerwig said the pair first caught their attention in the audition tapes they submitted, which featured them reading dialogue with their parents. During subsequent in-person screen tests involving large groups of children, McKenna and Campbell would always find one another in the room.
Gerwig was able to watch their friendship develop during the casting process, something she said was integral to the film.
McKenna’s background offered another point of connection. Gerwig said she had not specifically sought out a child from Belfast to play Digory, but learning that McKenna came from the same city as Lewis felt like “a sign.”
Gerwig also spoke about the adult cast, Meryl Streep, Carey Mulligan, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, and Daniel Craig, explaining that the actors involved loved the Narnia books and wanted to be part of the production in support of the younger performers.
“There’s a great tradition of established actors taking on supporting roles in British children’s films,” she said, describing something she wanted to carry forward.
The Q&A did not include further discussion of the actors’ specific roles beyond McKenna as Digory and Campbell as Polly.
Gerwig on Faith and Film
Colbert noted that his own introduction to Lewis came through the author’s Christian apologetics rather than the Narnia stories. He asked Gerwig how faith played a part in her film.
“Film and faith have always gone together,” she said, reflecting on her experience growing up in the church. She described church as a communal experience, with people gathering to sing in choirs and worship together.
Gerwig sees a similar quality in the cinema, where people from different walks of life gather in one place to watch a film. She also described making movies as an act of faith.
Random Notes
Gerwig shared a few additional details about the production during the Q&A. Her favourite scene to shoot involved the children riding on Fledge, something she said she had always wanted to do.
Her favourite set was the Wood Between the Worlds, which she felt conveyed a sense of the infinite. Outside the Narnia series, her favourite book by Lewis is Surprised by Joy, his autobiography.
More coverage to come!