Max McLean Is Bringing C.S. Lewis’ ‘The Screwtape Letters’ to the Big Screen
Author and actor Max McLean has no illusions about turning C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters into a theatrical movie. It will be daunting, McLean says, but also deeply worth it. McLean's New York City-based nonprofit, Fellowship for Performing Arts, recently partnered with the C.S. Lewis Company to bring The Screwtape Letters -- one of Lewis' most influential novels -- to the big screen. It's a story close to McLean's heart: As founder and artistic director of FPA, he has overseen a successful stage adaptation of the work for nearly two decades.
The Screwtape Letters follows the story of Screwtape, a senior demon, as he coaches his young nephew Wormwood in the art of leading a man away from God. Toward the end of the story, Screwtape loses the battle, and the man soars to heaven.
"There's gonna be lots of challenges," McLean told Crosswalk Headlines. "I think it's the challenge of doing it and being true to Lewis. It's an epistolary novel. It's set in hell. Screwtape is a senior demon in hell. And so with the theatrical production, we focus very heavily on what Screwtape says through the genius of Lewis.
"But on the big screen, we have to really open it up and take that kind of internal monologue and put it in settings that will resonate for that medium. It's going to be a challenge."
FPA's stage production of The Screwtape Letters is currently on tour in major cities and has received high praise from faith-based and mainstream media. Christianity Today labeled it "a profound experience," while The Wall Street Journal dubbed it "wickedly witty."
The film is in its early stages, with both a writer and director yet to be selected.
"Quite frankly, Lewis never expected any of his work to be dramatized, let alone made into film," McLean said.
The story's themes, he said, are rooted in the Christian faith..
"It's Lewis's attempt to identify spiritual warfare," McLean said of The Screwtape Letters.
Part of such spiritual warfare is Satan masquerading "as an angel of light," McLean said.
"Therefore, we have to guard our hearts, we have to put on the armor of God, so we want to be true to those themes," McLean said. "And Lewis also spoke about how temptation actually works on a kind of a micro level -- much more than a macro level. If you look at the book, it's about the little tiny daily pinpricks that shape our character, that if we don't get a hold of them, they become much bigger than they needed to be."
Lewis died in 1963 — the same day President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas — yet he remains a towering voice in Christian thought, not only due to The Screwtape Letters but also other classics, including Mere Christianity and The Great Divorce.
McLean has been a fan of Lewis for much of his life.
"Lewis read everything from the Greeks to the moderns," McLean said. "He had a steel trap mind that could remember everything he read, and he had this incredible ability to translate all of that into magnificent prose and speech. And he did it all under the headship of Christ -- and so if you're a Christian, a serious Christian, and you want to deal with the intricacies of contemporary life, Lewis has done so much of the spade work for us that still resonates."
It will be McLean's second Lewis-themed movie in recent years. In 2021, he starred in CS Lewis: The Most Reluctant Convert, which he co-wrote and executive produced.
Photo Credit: ©Right: C.S. Lewis Foundation; Left: Fellowship for Performing Arts
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
Listen to Michael's Podcast! He is the host of Crosswalk Talk, a podcast where he talks with Christian movie stars, musicians, directors, and more. Hear how famous Christian figures keep their faith a priority in Hollywood and discover the best Christian movies, books, television, and other entertainment. You can find Crosswalk Talk on LifeAudio.com, or subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an interview that will be sure to encourage your faith.
Originally published July 02, 2025.
