Greta Gerwig’s ‘Narnia’ Cast Is Out — Some Surprising Names in the Mix
Greta Gerwig’s ‘Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew’ now has its complete cast confirmed, and the lineup is one of the most impressive assembled for a fantasy film in years.
Netflix officially unveiled the full ensemble alongside the film’s new release date, and the names attached to this project make it feel less like a children’s adventure and more like a prestige event.
David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell lead the film as the two young protagonists, Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer, with the pair of newcomers anchoring an otherwise star-studded cast. Emma Mackey plays Jadis, the villainous White Witch and last Queen of the dying world of Charn, while Daniel Craig takes on the role of Uncle Andrew, the morally dubious magician who sets the story in motion.
The cast of Greta Gerwigʼs ‘NARNIA: THE MAGICIANʼS NEPHEW.’
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• Emma Mackey
• David McKenna
• Beatrice Campbell
• Meryl Streep
• Carey Mulligan
• Daniel Craig
• Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
• Ciarán Hinds
• Denise Gough
• Susan Wokoma pic.twitter.com/yC2xDCVlp7
Meryl Streep voices Aslan, the cosmic lion whose song calls Narnia into existence, which is perhaps the most fitting piece of casting in the entire film given Gerwig’s own stated obsession with that particular image from the book. Carey Mulligan joins as Mabel Kirke, while Ciarán Hinds and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith round out the principal cast alongside Denise Gough and Susan Wokoma.
The casting came together over more than a year, with Emma Mackey landing the White Witch role over competition that included Margaret Qualley and Charli XCX, and Streep’s voice casting being confirmed only recently. Filming wrapped in January of this year, with production having taken place in London, Manchester, and studio work at Shepperton and Longcross Studios.
Gerwig, writing about her connection to the source material, described the central concept of a lion singing a world into being as an idea that “always lived in my heart,” and called bringing the story to the screen “the honor of a lifetime.” With Mackey as the villain, Craig as the morally compromised sorcerer, and Streep giving voice to a cosmic creator, Gerwig appears to have built the film she always imagined.
The film marks the first time Netflix is giving a production a full wide theatrical release with a proper theatrical window, opening in IMAX and cinemas worldwide on February 12, 2027, before arriving on the streaming platform on April 2, 2027.
The score is being composed by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, who previously created the music for Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’, which earned more than $1.4 billion at the global box office. Whether ‘Narnia’ can replicate that kind of cultural moment remains to be seen, but with this cast and this director, the foundation is already extraordinary.
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