Early Artwork for Greta Gerwig’s Narnia Spotted?

Newly discovered video interviews with Greta Gerwig posted from way back in December 2023 and January 2024, appear to show an early look at Narnia artwork displayed on the wall of her office.

The interviews, conducted by ShotDeck and Deadline while Gerwig was still promoting Barbie, briefly reveal several large printed images arranged in a neat line behind her. Eagle-eyed NarniaWebber Alex Anar was the first to notice that some of these images bear a resemblance to key locations from C.S. Lewis’s The Magician’s Nephew.

But could these really be for Narnia? The video’s timing is telling because, just a month earlier, Gerwig had revealed publicly that she was in the early stages of development for her Narnia movie. She described that phase in November 2023 as being in the Wood Between the Worlds:

“I’m in whatever part of my process is just like terror, I guess […] I’m in the Wood between the Worlds. It’s a wood that goes on forever, you can’t see the sky, it’s so dense, you can’t see the end of it. And there are all these pools and at the bottom of each pool is a universe. And anyway… that’s where I am. […] The problem with the Wood between the Worlds is that you can often forget what you’re doing there (laughs). This is actually a feature of it. You kinda get a little bit of amnesia. So you have to remember ‘where am I going? Which world am I trying to get to now?’ That’s what I feel like. I’m very much in that.”

Greta Gerwig

The images are arranged in a way that resembles an early-stage “mood board” or reference wall, which is a common tool during script development.

Among the visible pieces, one image resembles the Tree of Life/Tree of Protection, a large tree atop a hill. Another shows a wooded scene with what looks to be a reflection of water, which is evocative of the Wood between the Worlds. A third image features what looks like a black sky with a red sun, similar to the dying sun in Charn.

The remaining images are less discernible, but nothing appears to show anything that would necessarily contradict the events or setting of The Magician’s Nephew. Of course, none of this confirms that the artwork is definitely from the Narnia production either.

Even if it is connected, it may not represent concept art created for the film. Early in development, directors often pin up stock photography or screenshots from other films as reference to help shape tone, mood, or structure during the writing process. And since these interviews were filmed before most department heads would have been hired, it is unlikely that any designs visible here reflect the final visual direction of the film.

There is precedent for this kind of early and accidental reveal. Concept art for Walden Media’s ‘Dawn Treader’ was similarly first noticed by fans in a behind-the-scenes interview in 2008.

The timing and imagery make it very likely that this artwork played some role in Gerwig’s early work on the project.

For fans eager for any glimpse into the adaptation, this may offer a first glimpse at several familiar Narnian locations and a rare look at the earliest stages of the film’s creative development. 

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