A Netflix film written and directed by Greta Gerwig, filming begins in London, England for the highly anticipated adaptation of The Magician’s Nephew by CS Lewis.
Known for directing the 2023 fantasy comedy “Barbie,” Gerwig brings the film to the big screen for the second half of 2026 to release the film.
The actors for the new film have not been officially announced by Netflix. However, the fan site “What’s On Netflix” was not identified by David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell, who were identifiable as leads for Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer.
Hollywood actress Meryl Streep is reportedly expected to play the main role of Aslan. Other casting rumors for “Netflix’s What’s” include former James Bond 007 actor Daniel Craig, perhaps Uncle Andrew Ketterley and Emma Macky as White Witch. Carrie Mulligan is also rumored to be Diggory’s mother.
Scenes from the new film were reportedly spotted around London last weekend, including at the Royal Exchange and the banking station. The postwar 1950s background was created with extras dressed in wartime clothing for filming.
“Photographing Greta Gerwig’s “The Ne of the Sorcerer” is finally underway in London this morning, filmed on a public road in London near Cornhill,” reported Narnia Web, an independent online fanbase.
“The set appears to portray the street scene of the 1950s in Britain during the post-war reconstruction era, with a highlight being a huge sign for a new residential development featuring a spectacular golden lion,” the report continued.
According to Narniaweb, this confirms that multiple scenes within the film are set in the 1950s “not entirely in 1900 according to the book.” Whether this represents a shift in the entire story or simply an addition to a framing device corresponding to the year the novel was published in 1955 remains unconfirmed.
“The rest of the street scene has a variety of street furniture items suitable for the 1950s, taxis, cars and buses from that era,” Fansite reported.
The Ne of the Magician, published by Bodleyhead in England in 1955, is the sixth book in the Narnia series by CS Lewis, but chronologically provides a powerful all-talk of Narnia’s creation by Aslan, providing an echo of the Biblical Genesis. That’s why some Narnian fans believe that they should read the story first before other Narnian stories.
The plot includes two children, Digory Kirk and Polly Plummer, who are fooled by Uncle Andrew of Digory on a trip to another world. They accidentally awakened the evil Queen Jadith from a dying world called Chaan, and brought her back to London, then travelled to a new world where the lion, Aslan, had created and witnessed the creation of Narnia.
Netflix first announced the adaptation of a new series of Narnia films in October 2018 following a “multi-year” deal between Netflix and CS Lewis Company. Douglas Gresham, CS Lewis’ son-in-law, was a common producer at the time.
“It’s great to know that people all over the world are looking forward to seeing more Narnia and that advances in production and distribution technology have made it possible for us to make Narnian adventures happen around the world,” Gresham said at the time of its 2018 announcement. “Netflix seems like the best medium to achieve this goal and we look forward to working with them towards this goal.”
Last August, Narniaweb revealed that Gresham was suffering from a long-term illness “not expected to recover” and was being cared for at his home on Malta.
