Movieguide Founder Warns Netflix's Narnia Adaptation Could Abandon C.S. Lewis' Christian Message

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Dr. Ted Baehr, founder of Movieguide, is urging Netflix not to distort the biblical allegories in the upcoming film adaptation of The Magician's Nephew, the sixth book in C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia series. "The Christian community is not a niche," he wrote in an open letter. "It is a vast, values-driven audience that is hungry for stories that reflect their worldview, honor their convictions, and stir their souls. With over 62% of American adults identifying as Christian in 2025, and 33% attending religious services monthly, this is not just a spiritual demographic — it's a formidable market segment."

According to Faithwire, the upcoming Narnia adaptation will be directed by Greta Gerwig, who directed the 2023 live-action film of "Barbie." It was also reported earlier this year that actress Meryl Streep will take on the role of Aslan the Great Lion, whom Lewis created as an allegory of Christ, Deadline reported. The decision of Streep's reported casting was met with outrage due to gender-swapping of a male character with a female actress.

Baehr noted that many "spiritually rich" films end up alienating faith-based audiences and said he will personally promote "The Magician's Nephew" if the movie meets certain criteria including Faithful Representation of Lewis's lore, story chronology and Christian Themes, Moral Integrity in Storytelling, Respectful Portrayal of Aslan, Biblically Resonant Themes, High Artistic and Production Quality, Family-Friendly and Edifying, and Avoidance of Secular Reinterpretation.

He added that upholding the criteria would "lead to enthusiastic endorsements from other respected pastors, theologians, or Christian reviewers, as well as screenings hosted by other churches or faith-based organizations, inclusion in the broader Christian media outlets, and could be co-promoted with Lewis's apologetic works like Mere Christianity."

"Potential pathways towards capitalizing on these opportunities and further fine-tuning for the greatest possible appeal to the largest target audience would include careful and thoughtful reflection by the Director, screenwriter, or producers for a better understanding of Lewis's Christian worldview, which could be achieved by consultation with theologians and/or Lewis scholars during development," Baehr continued. 

Baehr concluded his open letter by encouraging the Netflix producers to collaborate with him and his team, as working together would "could easily lead to a new standard for marketing these types of products across America and the world."

Narnia: The Magician's Nephew is scheduled to release in theaters in the United States and Canada on November 26, 2026, as part of a two-week Imax global run in 90 countries across 1,000 auditoriums before streaming on Netflix on December 25, 2026.

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Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.