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Nina Gold (Paddington, Star Wars, Wonka) has offered some brief new insights into the casting process for Greta Gerwig’s upcoming adaptation of The Magician’s Nephew in a recent short interview with the casting website Backstage.

Gold herself kick-started the search for Narnia’s two young leads back in January 2025 with an open casting call sent to drama schools, acting groups, and talent agencies across the UK, which required children to perform a short piece to camera about their “happiest memory”.

Read more about the process and her quotes here: narniaweb.com/2026/08/narnia-casting-director-on-finding-digory-and-polly-and-the-films-gigantic-story/

James McAvoy jokingly offered to return as Tumnus in future Narnia movies in a recent interview on the BIFA (British Independent Film Awards) Podcast. He said:

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McAvoy played Mr. Tumnus in Walden Media’s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005).

Do you want to see old cast members return in Netflix's new adaptations?

Link to interview: https://www.narniaweb.com/2026/07/james-mcavoy-on-future-narnia-movies-greta-call-me/

Netflix is making one of its largest film investments yet with Greta Gerwig’s first Narnia adaptation!

According to two-time Academy Award-nominated cinematographer Seamus McGarvey, who served as Director of Photography on the film, The Magician’s Nephew is expected to carry a production budget of approximately $280 million.

If accurate, the figure would make Narnia the second most expensive Netflix film ever produced, trailing only The Electric State, which reportedly cost around $320 million.

While the budget is substantial, it is not unprecedented for the franchise. Disney and Walden Media’s The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe was produced for $180M in 2005 and Prince Caspian had an even larger budget of $225M in 2008. Adjusted for inflation, those productions would each exceed $300 million in today’s dollars.

Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew will debut with IMAX sneak previews on February 10th 2027, before expanding out to a wide theatrical release across all cinemas on February 12th.

Greta Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew has reportedly faced its first audiences. According to World of Reel‘s Jordan Ruimy, an early cut of the film (running roughly two hours) was recently shown at a test screening, with Gerwig herself on hand.

NarniaWeb’s sources indicate there have been at least two test screenings over the last three weeks, one in New York and another in New Jersey. Both screenings were for non-industry audiences, with the second apparently intended for families.

Read the full report on here!

Narnia publisher HarperCollins is gearing up for renewed interest in The Magician’s Nephew ahead of Greta Gerwig’s and Netflix’s upcoming film adaptation in early 2027, with brand new picture and board book adaptations aimed at younger readers, as well as deluxe editions and movie tie-ins!

Get the details: https://www.narniaweb.com/2026/05/new-magicians-nephew-books-arriving-ahead-of-netflixs-adaptation/