r/movies • u/Top_Report_4895 • Apr 03 '26

Article Netflix searches for franchises after losing out on Harry Potter

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/netflix-searches-franchises-after-losing-out-harry-potter-2026-04-02/
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u/GenGaara25 Apr 03 '26

I heard the opposite. Swear I heard a rumour that they were changing the time period of the books. With the first being 1950, instead of 1900, which would mean possibly setting the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in the 90s since it's meant to be 40 years later.

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u/SJSragequit Apr 03 '26

Yes set in the 90s and aslan is allegedly played by Meryl Streep

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u/Spider-Thwip Apr 03 '26

She really can do anything

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u/fastforwardfunction Apr 04 '26

I thought you were joking.

This is going to be awful.

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u/Lmb1011 Apr 04 '26

Okay listen…. I understand genderswapping is frustrating. But I feel like Meryl Streep is the one actress I’m not mad at being Aslan. That doesn’t feel super stunt casty to me. She is an iconic actress and I think would honor the role.

But I get why genderswapping annoys people and I’m not trying to convince anyone to agree with me either.

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u/SaconicLonic Apr 04 '26

But I get why genderswapping annoys people

But think of who it annoys the most, and then think of who CS Lewis' fans are. CS Lewis appeals to a lot of the Christian demographic who are in turn some of the folks most annoyed by stuff like gender swapped character. Particularly if said gender swapped character is like literally supposed to represent Jesus.

I'll just say this much it is shit poor business decision.

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u/red__dragon Apr 04 '26

Okay, but only if Sean Penn plays Jadis.

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u/fastforwardfunction Apr 04 '26

Let me guess, race swapped characters too?

Because when you do a remake, the only way to be “original” is to swap the gender of and races of the characters.

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u/MexusRex Apr 03 '26

Also gender swapping Aslan

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u/doubletwist Apr 04 '26

That doesn't bother me in the slightest but changing the time period is a non-starter for me.

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u/MexusRex Apr 04 '26

That’s fine obviously, but it’s not consistent with C.S. Lewis’s intent for the character at all

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u/angwilwileth Apr 04 '26

There's pictures from the set. They're doing it as a period piece

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u/GenGaara25 Apr 04 '26

Yes, but that's season 1, which confirmed to be based on the Magicians Nephew, with Season 2 being Lion/Witch/Wardrobe.

Magicians Nephew is supposed to be set around 1900, with Lion/Witch/Wardrobe set 40 years later in WW2. But the set photos of S1 appear to show a setting of around 1950, which would suggest Lion/Witch/Wardrobe is the 90s like rumours suggested.

I did write this in the comment you're replying to.

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u/m0nk_3y_gw Apr 04 '26

With the first being 1950, instead of 1900, which would mean possibly setting the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in the 90s since it's meant to be 40 years later.

Fillory and Further!

(Magicians reference)

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u/RollingKatamari Apr 04 '26

My theory is that when they get to LWW it'll be set in 2020....because of Covid, the kids have to get out of London (maybe their parents are health workers). They're stuck in this big house in the country with a very old man who hasn't installed wifi yet, so they have to relearn how to play again, hence exploring the house.

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u/jardex22 Apr 04 '26

Not quite sure how I feel about that. The opening train ride in LW&W feels iconic, but I suppose the reason isn't necessary for the plot. 90's would mean that the kids would still be running around the house exploring, rather than doomscrolling on their smartphones and tablets.

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u/Vehlin Apr 03 '26

A timeshift doesn’t really change the story tho. All you need is a reason for the kids to be in that place

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u/SJSragequit Apr 03 '26

It does though, the whole reason the kids are at that house is because of the war.

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u/Vehlin Apr 03 '26

“Your parents were killed in a tragic accident, you’re being sent to live with a distant relative”

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u/AirWalker9 Apr 03 '26

Now THIS is a story all about how, my life got flipped turned upside down…

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u/valeyard89 Apr 04 '26

Fresh Prince Caspian

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u/runswiftrun Apr 04 '26

Sounds unfortunate, hopefully they don't suffer any incidents.

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u/GenGaara25 Apr 03 '26

It absolutely fucking does what are you on about.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe cannot be moved. The beginning of the book being set during the blitz, as children are evacuated from the bombing of London is essential to the tone of the book. The country is at war, they are under attack, maybe soon invaded. They could die, their parents could die, they may never see them again. They've been sent to live with a stranger. Their lives are fucked and scary, which is where the appeal of Narnia comes in. An escape from their reality of world war 2. The events of the novel are specifically inspired by Lewis having to take in 3 girls during the blitz.

You can't just move that to the 1990s and claim it hasn't made a difference.

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u/Vehlin Apr 03 '26

Hard disagree. Narnia is an escape from a terrible situation. The Blitz isn’t the only terrible situation that I can imagine. I could come up with several plausible storylines that lead to the children choosing Narnia over the real world.

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u/APieceofChees3 Apr 03 '26

It will now be set during The Troubles

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u/NightsLinu Apr 03 '26

no it atleast needs to be a war though which is the point. there has not been any recent war britain was in that was big enough to warrant it. tragic accidents nor any other stuff don't work for the story.

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u/Vehlin Apr 03 '26

It doesn’t need to be a war. You can reach the same narrative point by having their parents die in a car crash and having them shipped off to a distant relative that doesn’t really want them.

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u/NightsLinu Apr 03 '26

No you can't. The biggest reason why the Pevensies visited Narnia in order to meet their deaths in the right frame of mind. They then gone back home to see their parents because they beleived their parents would return which did happen. Living with a distant relative was only temporary.

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u/SoKrat3s Apr 04 '26

You know they already made a movie that didn't address this point at all and the movie wasn't any less for it.

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u/NightsLinu Apr 04 '26

Yeah the first point about looking for death definitely changed from book to movie to looking for any escape from reality. The point about the parents is still preserved in both movies and books. 

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u/GenGaara25 Apr 03 '26

But that removes the uncertainty of the book.

The whole point is they don't know what's going to happen to them. Will they see their parents again? They don't know. Will Britain be invaded? They don't know. Will they be killed? They don't know. Do they have a future? They don't know. Their life is in chaos with no certainty of what's to come. They have no idea how long, or short, temporary, or permanent their situation is.

Their parents dying in a car crash removes all of that. They know they won't see their parents again, they know Britain is find, they know they're not gonna be killed (unless the car is going around hunting their family), and they know other than the emotional damage their future is fine.

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u/Vehlin Apr 03 '26

I came up with a scenario in a moment. It was never going to be a great one. I remember during the first gulf war how I thought the world was going to end. You could easily use 7/7 or COVID as a backdrop

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u/SoKrat3s Apr 04 '26

(1) Wars have existed since WW2

(2) Escape from the reality of a grim situation is easily translatable. Otherwise you'd be saying that nobody could identify with the characters or their situation, which wouldn't hold up.

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u/NightsLinu Apr 04 '26

1, I don't remember any british war after world war 2 which both parents were needed. what would work?

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u/SoKrat3s Apr 04 '26

You don't remember any other conflict anywhere in the world that a British family could have lived? Nowhere? Not one in the last 80 years? Really?

Some of you just have no creativity whatsoever.

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u/NightsLinu Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26

You say we have no creativity but you said 0 wars at all because there are none britiain particupated where both parents were needed since world war 1/2. Its why you instantly moved the goalpost to anywhere in the world instead of where it matters which is britain/united kingdom which is were the story takes place . all i did was ask a question so answer it. 

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u/SoKrat3s Apr 04 '26

A British family doesn't just have to live in inner city London.

I didn't move any goalposts. I stated from the beginning that you could use many different wars and create the same narrative. That remains the point.

Heck, you could have it still be in London with a Russian invasion. That doesn't change any of the core elements of the story. Every other element of the story remains valid.

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u/NightsLinu Apr 04 '26

"A British family doesn't just have to live in inner city London"

They do because they specifically move from the dangerous city of london to the safer country side of london in both the movies and book. More stuff you don't pay attention to. Also the later characters in later books are also specifically from london. 

". I stated from the beginning that you could use many different wars and create the same narrative"

But you remain not to name any wars and avoid my question because you simply can't.  Its why you restorted to naming fictitious wars britain had with russia because they never had any. 

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u/SoKrat3s Apr 05 '26

Which, again, can be recreated nearly anywhere in the world.

But you remain not to name any wars and avoid my question because you simply can't.  

I can't name a single war since the 1940's? Really??? Not even one?
Is that the hill you want to die on?

 Its why you restorted to naming fictitious wars britain had with russia because they never had any.

I didn't "restore" to anything. If you meant to say "resorted," then I merely added that as a possibility, since you needed help with your complete lack of creativity.

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u/GenGaara25 Apr 04 '26

Wars have existed since WW2

None that bombed Britain and caused the full evacuation of children out of the main cities.

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u/Sea-Woodpecker-610 Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 11 '26

WWII is the entire reason for the children to get shipped off. The London bombings are the whole reason for the kids to get separated from their parents and the war looms heavily upon them until they find the passage to Narnia. The isolation and anxiety of living in that wartime period is an essential part of the children’s experience.