Director Greta Gerwig breaks silence on new Narnia film

Award-winning filmmaker Greta Gerwig described her love for the Narnia series in her first public remarks in years on her upcoming movie. Speaking at a Next on Netflix event in Hollywood last week, Gerwig said the movie was still under wraps, the Los Angeles Times reported. But she emphasized that C.S. Lewis’ series defined her childhood, and she constantly spent time imagining herself inside Narnia. She said she was thrilled to be the person to imagine, in film, the fictional universe created by Lewis, according to the Times. The comments marked Gerwig’s only public comment on the movie project since May 2024.

Gerwig’s Narnia film is set for a November debut in theaters, before being released to Netflix a month later. Her upcoming Narnia movie is widely believed to focus on the first book, The Magician’s Nephew. Netflix has yet to confirm this. Gerwig previously directed Barbie in 2023 and Little Women in 2019.

How have other crew members described the film? Film head Dan Lin teased last week that Gerwig’s film will have a rock-and-roll take on the book. His remarks echo what producer Amy Pascal said in 2024, that the movie was a new take on Narnia.

Who is expected to star in the film? While Netflix has not officially confirmed any cast members, several well-known actors have been reported as being part of the movie.

• In 2025, The Hollywood Reporter said that British actor Emma Mackey was cast in the role of the White Witch, or Jadis.

• THR reported that Carey Mulligan was set to play Mabel Kirke, the mother of the protagonist Digory, in The Magician's Nephew.

• Deadline said Daniel Craig had an offer to join the movie as Uncle Andrew.

• Some reports, including remarks from Mackey, indicated that Meryl Streep was cast as Aslan.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report on a film set to depict the friendship of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.