Narnia | Filming wraps on Greta Gerwig’s fantasy adaptation

Following a month-long delay, Greta Gerwig’s take on CS Lewis’ Narnia books has wrapped filming in the UK. That rhymes! The delay wasn’t quite as drastic as previously feared. Last year, there were reports that filming on Greta Gerwig’s Narnia adaptation – full name, Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew – was going to be delayed by ... Narnia | Filming wraps on Greta Gerwig’s fantasy adaptation

Following a month-long delay, Greta Gerwig’s take on CS Lewis’ Narnia books has wrapped filming in the UK. That rhymes!

The delay wasn’t quite as drastic as previously feared. Last year, there were reports that filming on Greta Gerwig’s Narnia adaptation – full name, Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew – was going to be delayed by several months.

Instead, the hold-up lasted a matter of weeks, and filming began last August instead of July. Following a shoot across a number of UK locations, including Shepperton Studios and Cardington (presumably at those big old zeppelin sheds that Christopher Nolan likes to use), production has officially wrapped on Gerwig’s take on CS Lewis’s novels. (Thanks, Narniaweb.)

Gerwig, who writes and directs, has assembled a formidable cast; expect to see Daniel Craig, Denise Gough and Carey Mulligan among the grown-up roles. There’s also Emma Mackay playing the White Witch and rumours that Meryl Streep will provide the voice of Aslan, the messianic talking lion.

It’s the first in what could be a lengthy series of films based on Lewis’s books. The author wrote a total of seven of them between 1950 and 1956, with the most famous being The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, which was published first. (The Magician’s Nephew was the sixth book in the series, but it’s essentially a prequel to the first book’s events.)

There have been Narnia adaptations before, including a British TV series and a trilogy of movies released between 2005 and 2010. To date, there hasn’t been a comprehensive adaptation of all seven books in the saga.

Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew has a set release date of the 26th November, with Gerwig having used her considerable post-Barbie clout to get her fantasy on IMAX screens for a two-week run. No mean feat, given Netflix appears to like cinemas about as much as Dracula likes garlic bread.

The film will then make its debut on Netflix’s application on Christmas Day. The streaming giant will no doubt be hoping it’ll be a roaring success (Aslan reference).