It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like The Magician’s Nephew | Talking Beasts
Podcast: Play in new window | Embed
There is still no official word on which of The Chronicles of Narnia books Greta Gerwig will adapt for the big screen. But last week, we got our biggest clue yet in the form of a casting call for a boy and a girl aged 10-11. Fans were quick to declare that all signs pointed to Digory and Polly. Listen to our analysis and then post a comment!
Join our Discord group!
Watch the post-show chatter.
Great episode, guys! I enjoyed hearing your thoughts. I’m also leaning towards it being Magician’s Nephew. I think that film fits with what Gerwig likes to do. Personally, I think a lot of the stuff with the name and so forth is probably just production speak, but I could be wrong.
One interesting thought that occurred to me while listening as another possibility… could they be casting only Lucy and Edmund (ages do make that seem unlikely, though) because they’ve gotten more well-known child/teen actors already on board for Peter and Susan? I don’t know that it’s a likely scenario, but might be possible?
I think the seeds of intrigue were planted in a lot of people’s minds by Greta’s own ‘Little Women’, a film which on the one hand is a very straight-forward, period-authentic, costume drama… And yet on the other, it has this really clever non-linear structure, as well as a meta-textual framing device in which Jo March = Louisa May Alcott.
Given that Digory serves as something of a Lewis Proxy in LWW, and that all of Gerwig’s films so far feature thematic reflections on adulthood vs childhood, it’s easy to see why people might think she must have “something” up her sleeve, along these sorts of lines, that she’s still not revealed to us.
@Icarus, not to downplay the virtues of the 2019 Little Women (I consider it the best written adaptation) but expanding on the parallels between Jo March and Louisa May Alcott is actually pretty standard for modern Little Women adaptations. Both the 1994 and the 2018 movies end with Jo writing a book which is implied to be basically Little Women. I hasten to add though that I think the 2019 movie is the one that does this to the best effect.
As long as I’m writing this comment, can I get some things off my chest? 😉 While the main characters in Little Women were modeled on Louisa May Alcott and her family, the book was much more fictionalized than all those movies make it out to be. I don’t necessarily mean that as a criticism of them. I just hope no viewers assume that Alcott was exactly like Jo or that her sisters were exactly like Jo’s sisters, let alone that all the events in the book actually happened to her family.
Also, it bugs me when fans of the 2019 Little Women imply that everything about it is what Louisa May Alcott would have wanted and that the ways in which the book and film differ are only because of the genre conventions of when she was writing. It’s true that Alcott went on record as writing that Jo “should have been a literary spinster” like herself and that she had to create Professor Bhaer to make the story marketable. However, she also didn’t want to write a book about young girls at all (she preferred writing about boys) and only did it because her editor made the request, and she needed the money. Does that mean people like Greta Gerwig, who clearly appreciate the way the book focuses on women and relationships between them, aren’t real fans? No! And readers like my grandmother, who enjoy the romance between Jo and the professor, are real fans too. (For the record, I’m not a particular fan of Prof. Bhaer and, as a writer, I appreciate the 2019 Little Women’s ranting against authors being forced to include romance to make their stories marketable.)
There’s no way this is not Magician’s Nephew. But that makes me excited – we’re going to see Charn, the creation of Narnia, the Wood Between the Worlds, and the best character duo in Polly and Digory!
In my opinion, what they name the movie is not important. I’m not going to read into it too much yet.
The Magician’s Nephew is the perfect choice to start their new franchise. As much as there is a lot Greta Gerwig can do with a new LWW, the general public AND fans don’t want a retread of past attempts. I am intrigued by the idea proposed in the episode of utilizing adult Digory in MN, whether as a narrator or in the opening/closing scene with the wardrobe. That would require some restructuring of the first few chapters of LWW but that might work!
Honestly, I don’t think we need to be concerned. Could this still not be the adaptation some want? 100%, but I feel that what we’re going to be getting (if we’ve followed our noses correctly) is simply a mostly faithful adaptation of The Magician’s Nephew.
It’s understandable that in the current climate of filmmaking and the producers behind it, it’s easy to be worried that they’ll want to do all these things to play around with the material and connect concretely to something general audiences can recognise, but with Gerwig at the helm, I personally don’t have those concerns and feel again that we’ll be getting a faithful adaptation of The Magician’s Nephew.
I also believe that will be the title, whether they’ll have a “The Chronicles Of Narnia”-like addition or not, I don’t see them removing that title completely in favour of name recognition.
I think it’s the Magican’s Nephew, Because first it was announced the first book but not clarified which first book The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe or The Magician’s Nephew. Then Louis Patridge was rumered to be cast as Digory. Then Jason Isaacs said it was The Magican’s nephew. And now this. Seems pretty clear.
I think Icarus is bang on the money there. Gerwig has publicly said very little about Narnia, but when she has, she’s referenced Lewis himself on a few occasions. I’m sure that having Digory (arguably an author surrogate) feature in Nephew and Wardrobe will have stimulated her imagination to tell a story that seeks an emotional depth beyond just the character but to the author as well. A dual perspective of both child and adult.
Lewis’ longing for a world beyond this, one free of pain and an escape for his childhood imagination, I feel sure could be a theme that Gerwig might like to explore. Thanks for another great episode NarniaWeb team.
Thank you for your podcasts! They are wonderful.
My thinking that we may be in for a “new take” was more from the traditional purist perspective. But a new approach doesn’t necessarily mean an unfaithful one.
In fact, I would go as far as to say that I think Greta Gerwig’s vision *could* better capture the books’ themes, atmosphere, and character arcs than previous adaptations, even if it’s not a beat-for-beat “traditional” adaptation. So while I do have some concerns about the project, I’m very encouraged overall based on Gerwig’s hires and what she’s said about Narnia/Lewis.
If CS Lewis had wanted MN to be the first book, he would have written it that way.
I know it be a while before any Narnia movies come out but there is an anime drawer who have already drawn The Magician Nephew; The Lion,Witch, and Wardrobe; and the Horse and His Boy so far. Here is the link of their update (Note: It is mostly in Japanese)
https://twicomi.com/search/manga/%23%E3%83%8A%E3%83%AB%E3%83%8B%E3%82%A2%E5%9B%BD%E7%89%A9%E8%AA%9E/page/1
It could also be “a horse and his boy” – those two children are the same age, but nobody is guessing that.
Edit: Magician’s nephew is the first book in the series @ BAW – is that what you mean?
Hopefully the name of the book will be somewhere in the title of the movie. Of course you cannot judge a whole movie by its title, but I would expect that out of respect for C. S. Lewis the movie should reflect the content of the original story. Something in the title should show which story is being adapted. People will want to read the original book before and after watching the movie, and they will immediately know which story to read. It is only right that the author of the individual stories be acknowledged.
I surprisingly like the idea of CS Lewis narrating, introducing, or framing the stories. It plays into the fairytale genre quite well.
An interesting discussion, if it hasn’t been done yet, would be what aspects of the Walden films were done so well that it’s hard to imagine something new? I think of the logo, wardrobe, Mr. Tumnus, Rhindon, etc.
Great discussion. I think you may be letting your imaginations run away with you, regarding some sort of twist in whatever’s being planned for this film. Has there even been an official announcement of any kind? Seems like most of our information comes from interview snippets or industry leaks.
Regarding framing devices…I’m pretty firmly in the camp that they’re unnecessary and disruptive. Maybe something brief and subtle, but having Digory as a stand-in for Lewis, or starting with the construction of the Wardrobe, it’s just…why? Save it for the end. I’d rather open with a scene of Digory riding his pony at his country house, and the doctor paying a visit and coming out with a grim face or something, while Digory looks on with growing dismay. Or better yet, start with Godmother Lefay’s part of the story, and young Uncle Andrew receiving the box. Or just start it as the book begins, with a boy with a dirty face crying in the garden.
On that note, I’d be tickled if Gerwig’s film ended as the book does, with Uncle Andrew luring a house guest into conversation and talking about the “dem fine woman, sir” with whom he drove about in London years earlier. It’s too good. Uncle Andrew will probably steal the show. Wicked though he is, he’s such an entertaining character.
I think it’s important to recognize that Little Women is a film following roughly 12 previous film, TV, and anime adaptations of a 152-year-old book that has never been out of print and is undeniably more recognizable than The Magician’s Nephew. Therefore, Little Women needed to not only honor the original book but also acknowledge the previous adaptations and the public’s relationship with the story in order to justify the new movie’s existence. That is clearly not the case for The Magician’s Nephew. While it’s obvious that there will be inspiration drawn from C.S. Lewis’s other works, the use of a meta-narrative is very unlikely.
I’m loving being a fly on the wall and hearing the Talking Beasts’ creativity! There are many different various ways that the series could be arranged into a non conventional retelling.
Maybe when the Chronicles are in public domain later this century, we can make all these versions!
It did occur to me that the synopsis we got from Production Weekly (which was probably just snagged from Harpercollins’s synopsis for the “first book”) could apply to either The Magician’s Nephew or The Silver Chair (boy and girl trying to save someone, evil sorceress out to get them) except for the detail about Aslan’s song and a new land.
I don’t dislike Glumpuddle’s idea for an opening scene to The Magician’s Nephew. I wouldn’t say I love it either though.
I have mixed feelings about starting with The Magician’s Nephew. I agree that enough people know the broad story of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe that they can still enjoy the reveals of the White Witch, the lamppost, etc. But by that logic, won’t their ensuing adaptation of LWW feel anticlimactic by comparison? Should they just take that story as read and not adapt it? But if Netflix’s Magician’s Nephew movie is really good, then I’ll want them to do The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe too.
I really don’t like this movie’s title being just “Narnia.” It sounds so…trendy. The books all have such lyrical, evocative titles. It’s a shame not to use them because they’re unmarketable. And it would disgust me so much if they advertised the film as being a standalone story and then ended it with a cliffhanger. That’s so dishonest! Maybe I’ll just have to grit my teeth through the title and the marketing and just focus on the content of the movie itself, which will hopefully be good.
As I wrote in a comment on the last podcast episode, I’m up for a twist if they’re adapting The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe but if they’re doing The Magician’s Nephew, I want a faithful adaptation. I’m openminded about nonlinear storytelling though and it does occur to me that intercutting LWW with flashbacks of MN would get around the chronological vs. publication dilemma. My main problem with it would be that I believe The Magician’s Nephew deserves its own movie. I actually wonder if Greta Gerwig might not want to use nonlinear storytelling since she did it with Little Women. She might not want to be formulaic.
If Netflix is doing a totally original story that takes place in the world, well, there’s no reason that couldn’t be good. It’s not like C. S. Lewis is the only great storyteller who ever lived. But like Rilian said about some of the changes Walden Media made to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader’s story, I wouldn’t want the movie to be good if it did that. There are so many great Narnia stories from the books that haven’t been adapted, and I’d be so frustrated if Netflix threw away their opportunity to do any of them. It doesn’t sound like they’re doing that though from the interviews we’ve gotten.
And to end on a more positive note, I’d like to reiterate Impending Doom’s above comment. There are adaptations out there that take a creative approach to their source material yet are nevertheless faithful to it. This new Narnia movie could be one of those.
As others have said, great job with discussing so much of so little that we currently know. A lot of puzzle pieces “fit” with the Magician’s nephew, but I don’t think we even have the “border” of the picture in place yet. I like the idea of possibly being a Narnia origin story, thus “Narnia” as the title would make sense. I also like the various framing ideas where the “wardrobe” and/or Lewis and/or Professor Kirk provide the audience with some context. AND as odd as it may sound, seeing Greta Gerwig, or rather hearing Greta Gerwig, in the Super Bowl commercial telling “Matthew” that nobody is going to buy the idea of a Super Bowl food conspiracy… in a humorous way, I believe it provides Gerwig’s ethos around crafting a good movie, and that does not include going off the deep end with a classic.
I believe it’s The Magician’s Nephew, And will Star Saosrie Ronan as Jadis, Because Jadis in the book is described as looking like a very young girl, hence why when she goes to London they call young lady and misses, Ronan fits that not to mention Ronan is the right height as well and is extremely fair looking perfect for Jadis. As for Aslan, I believe Timothy Dalton( James Bond) should voice Aslan he has a brilliant voice and has been working with Netflix for a while now, although it doesn’t seem likely seeing as he’s not as Popular with young people ( accept for me) but Beneduct Cumberbatch who has a big fanbase with young people ( accept for me) because of MCU, and a Frequent collaborater with Casting Director Nina Gold who.is Casting this film. Cumberbatch also has a good voice and is Frequent Collaborater with Netflix. Jason Isaacs as Uncle Andrew is definitely likely, he is a Perfect Uncle Andrew, Nostaglic to the Harry Potter Franchise, I believe with Magician’s Nephew this will work with nostalgia not just with the Original Narnia films, but with The Lord Of The Rings( Magic Rings) and Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone( Magican and Sorcerer) I believe this film will feature actors from Both Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter Franchise.
My idea for a opening for a Magican’s Nephew film, is similar to the opening of The Dark Knight with Blue Fire burning then cut to the Magic apple on the tree then back and forth in flash cuts in the middle of this cut back and forth title appears then cut to zoomed on Digory face in blue Lighting sound off he’s looking in the distance a tear rolling down his face, then he turns around in slow motion then sound comes back on, blue lighting turns to normal color and scene between Polly and digory meeting begins
Excited to listen to this episode and catch up on the rest of your podcasts. I’ve been slacking!