The wardrobe doors are swinging open at last. Irish actress Denise Gough, best known for her role in Andor, has become the latest star to join the cast of Greta Gerwig’s ambitious new Netflix adaptation of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew. Gough confirmed her involvement herself on the podcast We’re Not Kidding with Mehdi & Friends, where she revealed:
“I’m doing a film with Greta Gerwig called Narnia. So that’s, I’m playing someone mean in that, but it’s fine, it’s to children, it’s okay.”
It’s not yet clear who she’ll be playing, but given that Emma Mackey has already been cast as Jadis, the infamous White Witch. The “mean” comment could point toward Aunt Letty, a smaller but still sharp-tongued figure in the source material. Uncle Andrew, another important baddie, has been widely rumored to be played by Daniel Craig. Alongside Gough, the production has confirmed Beatrice Campbell in the role of Polly Plummer. This marks the second time Gough and Campbell have been cast together, following their mother-daughter pairing in the Freeform series The Stolen Girl, which now streams on Hulu. In that series, Gough played Elisa Blix, whose daughter Lucia (Campbell) was kidnapped — a grim setup worlds away from C.S. Lewis’ enchanted Narnia.
Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan is also set to appear as Digory’s mother, while rumors continue to swirl about Meryl Streep lending her voice to Aslan. Music will come from Mark Ronson, Streep’s son-in-law, as it happens.
Has ‘Narnia’ Begun Shooting?
Filming kicked off last month in London, with Gerwig spotted directing at iconic locations like Bank Station and The Royal Exchange. The city was transformed into a vibrant 1950s setting — a notable change from Lewis’ original late-19th-century backdrop. It’s a shift that could ripple across the planned saga: if The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe also gets nudged forward, its WWII setting may end up jumping all the way into the early 2000s.
Netflix is keeping much of the casting under wraps for now, though leaked set photos have shown two young actors, believed to be playing Digory and Polly, in period costume. With filming set to continue at Shepperton Studios and across the English countryside into early 2026, an official cast reveal seems imminent. The film is slated for release in IMAX and on Netflix at the end of 2026. For fans who’ve been waiting since Netflix first announced its Narnia deal back in 2018, these glimpses of life on set feel like the start of something magical.
via Collider