Bringing Hell to the Big Screen: Max McLean’s The Screwtape Letters

Max McLean, founder and artistic director of Fellowship for Performing Arts, is taking on the daunting task of adapting C.S. Lewis’ classic novel, The Screwtape Letters, into a theatrical movie. McLean has no illusions about the challenges involved, but he’s determined to stay true to Lewis’ work while bringing it to life on the big screen. “There’s gonna be lots of challenges,” McLean said. “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.”

The story follows Screwtape, a senior demon, as he coaches his young nephew Wormwood in the art of leading a man away from God. McLean’s nonprofit, Fellowship for Performing Arts, has partnered with the C.S. Lewis Company to bring this influential novel to the big screen. The film is still in its early stages, with a writer and director yet to be selected. McLean’s stage adaptation of The Screwtape Letters has been a critical and commercial success, with sold-out performances in New York, London, and across the US. Christianity Today labeled it “a profound experience,” while The Wall Street Journal dubbed it “wickedly witty”.

McLean believes that Lewis’ work remains highly relevant today, particularly in its exploration of spiritual warfare. “It’s Lewis’s attempt to identify spiritual warfare,” McLean said. “Part of such spiritual warfare is Satan masquerading ‘as an angel of light’.” McLean also appreciates Lewis’ ability to translate complex ideas into magnificent prose and speech, all under the headship of Christ. “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,” McLean said.