We’re just over a year out from Greta Gerwig’s The Chronicles of Narnia reboot releasing, and the cast is finally beginning to talk about it. The Barbie director’s take on the classic C.S. Lewis series has been in development at Netflix for a while now, with filming beginning back in August 2025. While some of the books were previously adapted by Disney in the 2000s, this will be a whole new take that does things a bit differently, not least because it’s beginning with The Magician’s Nephew, which is chronologically the first entry in the series, but the sixth to be published. It’s set before the Pevensie children discover Narnia, but it does include the world’s creation by Aslan.
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There have been various reports and rumors about Narnia‘s cast, including talk of Meryl Streep voicing Aslan, but one of the key roles will be Jadis, who becomes the White Witch. It was first reported back in April that Sex Education‘s Emma Mackey would be taking on the role, and she’s only just now speaking about it (although still giving next to nothing away), telling MovieWeb: “Well, there’s zilch I can tell you about it other than it’s a wonderful, wonderful process so far, and it’s an adventure. And Greta is someone that I have immense respect for, and who’s a friend and a life force. And I’m just very fortunate to be on one of her sets. Truly.”
Emma Mackey & Greta Gerwig Are Great For Narnia’s Reboot
Mackey, who also appeared in Gerwig’s Barbie, is one of the decade’s rising stars, and this should be another leap for her, as she seems a fantastic choice to take on Jadis. The Magician’s Nephew doesn’t have her fully as the villain fans know from the more widely read and adapted stories like The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, as this is instead something of an origin tale. We’ll learn more about her backstory, get to visit her own homeworld of Charn, and see how she ended up in Narnia. Mackey seems perfect for bringing nuance to the character, while still portraying her as the powerful, icy villain we want to see, something she can then take forward in subsequent movies.
Similarly, Gerwig really does appear to be an ideal fit for Narnia. With Lady Bird, Little Women, and Barbie, she’s already perfectly handled coming-of-age stories, period pieces, fantasy tales, literary adaptations, and major budgets, all of which will come in useful as she takes on Lewis’ novels. She’s also assembled a strong cast so far, with Daniel Craig, Carey Mulligan, and Denis Gough all set to appear as well.
Gerwig is expected to direct at least two Narnia movies, and it seems like Netflix is expecting big returns. The Magician’s Nephew won’t just be on the streamer, but will have a two-week run in IMAX theaters when it first releases around Thanksgiving 2026, before hitting Netflix at Christmas. If all goes as it should, then this could give the streaming service a massive new franchise that could span several years and, if it adapts all the books, seven movies.
Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew is scheduled to release in theaters on November 26, 2026.
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