Editor’s note: The following is an open letter from Dr. Ted Baehr, the founder and publisher of MOVIEGUIDE, chairman of the Christian Film & Television Commission, and a well-known movie critic, educator, lecturer, and media pundit.
(WND News Center) — Dear Netflix producers and creative team,
As someone who speaks daily to millions of Christians across America – through sermons, social media, and broadcast platforms – I want to extend both a challenge and an invitation.
The Christian community is not a niche. 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 percent of American adults identifying as Christian in 2025 and 33 percent attending religious services monthly, this is not just a spiritual demographic – it’s a formidable market segment.
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Faith-based movies designed for a broad audience like The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King ($382 million), The Passion of the Christ ($370 million), Home Alone ($286 million), The Grinch ($272 million), and The Blind Side ($256 million) have proven that when Christians see a Christian worldview represented with reverence and authenticity, they show up in droves and become a key element in the marketing campaign of such movies. Even secular titles, such as Top Gun: Maverick or Avengers: Endgame, that are careful not to include content antagonistic to Christian sensitivities tend to do far better than those that ignore this word-of-mouth promotion in favor of praise from peers.
Too often, adaptations of spiritually rich works, such as The Magician’s Nephew, veer into tones that feel ironic, irreverent, or campy. These choices may appeal to critics, but they alienate the very audience that would champion the movie, and prevent it from becoming an unprecedented success if it honors the sacred themes embedded in the story.
If your adaptation of The Magician’s Nephew broadly meets the following criteria, ensuring that Christians can find only content that supports their worldview, I will personally promote it to my subscriber base of over 69 million followers across our platforms. This includes email campaigns, livestream interviews, and coordinated screenings through churches and Christian schools nationwide.
Here are the key criteria we believe are essential to resonate with the faith-based audience:
- Faithful representation of Lewis’ lore, story chronology, and Christian themes:
- Emphasis on creation, fall, and redemption motifs (e.g. Aslan’s song creating Narnia),
- Clear allegorical parallels to biblical truths without distortion,
- Respect for Lewis’s theological intent, especially regarding good vs. evil.
- Moral integrity in storytellingAvoidance of gratuitous violence, sexual content or profanity:
- Promotion of virtues like courage, sacrifice, obedience and humility,
- Clear moral consequences for choices made by characters.
- Respectful portrayal of Aslan:
- Aslan depicted with reverence, majesty and divine authority,
- Avoid trivializing or reinterpreting Aslan’s role as a Christ figure,
- Voice and visual design that evoke awe and spiritual depth that maintain the key Christlike attributes of an awe-inspiring Aslan as an authentic allegory of Jesus Christ.
- Biblically resonant themes:
- Creation of Narnia echoing Genesis 1,
- The temptation of Digory’s mother and the forbidden fruit paralleling Eden,
- Redemption and healing as reflections of divine grace.
- High artistic and production quality:
- Cinematography, score, and acting that elevate the story’s spiritual tone,
- Avoidance of campiness, over-stylized, cheesy, or over-commercialization,
- Aesthetic beauty that reflects the wonder and sacredness of Narnia.
- Family-friendly and edifying:
- Suitable for children and adults alike,
- Encourages meaningful family discussions about faith and morality,
- Offers spiritual nourishment, not just entertainment.
- Avoidance of secular reinterpretation:
- No attempt to “modernize” or secularize the allegory,
- Refraining from turning Lewis’ work into generic fantasy,
- No ideological overlays that conflict with Lewis’ or biblical values,
- No reinterpretation of gender-based personalities, i.e. the two children.
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In addition to these suggestions, adherence to these criteria can 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’ apologetic works like Mere Christianity.
Potential pathways toward capitalizing on these opportunities and further fine tuning for 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’ Christian worldview, which could be achieved by consultation with theologians and/or Lewis scholars during development.
Feel free to reach out to me and/or my staff to start this journey toward unprecedented community stakeholder engagement, which could easily lead to a new standard for marketing these types of products across America and the world.
Yours sincerely,
Ted Baehr
Chairman of the Christian Film & Television Commission
Founder and publisher of MOVIEGUIDE
Reprinted with permission from the WND News Center.
