Greta Gerwig’s upcoming The Chronicles of Narnia adaptation is incredibly exciting for fans of the franchise, yet a recent interview with a former Narnia star revealed one of the remake’s biggest obstacles. The Chronicles of Narnia originated as a series of children’s fantasy novels written by C.S. Lewis in the 1950s. The books take place in a magical land called Narnia, which four siblings, The Pevensies, travel to through a wardrobe. The story has been adapted several times over the years, but most recently, Narnia was adapted into three movies by Disney Pictures.

In many ways, this seems as good a time as any to remake The Chronicles of Narnia. Countless beloved fantasy stories have earned remakes or retellings in recent years, from Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson & The Olympians on Disney+ to the upcoming Harry Potter TV show being made by HBO. Yet, even with Gerwig in the director’s chair, Narnia is not a guaranteed success. Audiences are sure to have high expectations that the movie will have to achieve. On the flip side, some younger audiences may not have any expectations, or interest, in the story at all.

Ben Barnes’ Narnia Remake Comments Highlight A Harsh Truth For The Upcoming Movies

Why Narnia Has Lost Some Of Its Popularity

In a recent interview with Collider, former Narnia star Ben Barnes offered an interesting point about the new Narnia cast. The actor said, “I don’t expect a cast coming into it now as kids to have grown up necessarily with the Narnia books. They may have. But for me, it was very special for that reason.” It is true that adolescents in this day and age may not be as familiar with Narnia as older generations, but this problem does not just extend to the movie’s cast. It may pose a problem for the Narnia audience too.

What Barnes’ comments point to is the fact that The Chronicles of Narnia simply isn’t as popular or well-known as it used to be, and this could be problematic for Gerwig’s adaptation. Unlike franchises like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson, which have released new books and movies in the past ten years, the first Chronicles of Narnia movie came out 20 years ago. It hasn’t managed to stay relevent into the 2020s. Because of this, Narnia’s younger viewers may have no concept of this story, and therefore, could completely overlook it.

Marketing Itself To New Generations Is Critical For Greta Gerwig’s Narnia Remake

How Gerwig Can Interest Younger Viewers

Ultimately, Barnes’ interview reveals an area that Gerwig will need to work on in the months before Narnia’s release. Namely, the director and her team will have to make an effort to market the movie to younger audiences. While Narnia will easily pique the interest of older viewers who are familiar with the Disney films and the books, Gerwig will have to invest in some strong marketing tactics to get younger audiences invested. The worst case scenario would be that Narnia comes out without much in the way of ads or behind-the-scenes previews, and younger audiences completely ignore it.

One interesting way of getting adolescents involved in Narnia is through casting. If Gerwig casts young actors who are familiar to young audiences, then that could help pull in interest, even if the story is still foreign to them. Another important element will be advertising. If young people are exposed to a Narnia trailer that encapsulates the story’s magic and charm, then that alone could get them interested. Of course, there is no one-size-fits-all tactic, but Narnia will have to put in just as much effort to market itself as any other new movie, regardless of its franchise ties.

Netflix’s Narnia Release Plan Could Help Its Remake Overcome This Challenge

Narnia’s Nostalgia Factor Is Also A Plus

One way that Gerwig is already helping her movie’s success is by giving it a theatrical release. Although the film is being produced by Netflix, The Chronicles of Narnia will premiere in movie theaters first before moving to streaming. This is a good choice because it makes the film’s release more exciting. Audiences will get a full movie-going experience. It also forces Narnia to advertise more than if it was just coming to streaming. Based on the box office success of Barbie, Gerwig’s Narnia release plan could seriously improve the movie’s popularity.

Furthermore, Narnia is already benefiting from the fact that parents will probably urge their children to see the movie. Even if younger audiences aren’t familiar with Narnia, their parents probably are. Because of this, parents will likely have an interest in seeing the movie, and it is the perfect opportunity to bring their children to the theater as well. In this way, Gerwig already has some built-in strengths that will help push the movie into the spotlight. Hopefully, this will be enough to make The Chronicles of Narnia a success.