Audition Scene for Greta Gerwig’s ‘Narnia’ Film Revealed
NarniaWeb has obtained some dialogue being used in auditions providing a glimpse into the kind of material young actors are using for auditions in Netflix’s upcoming Narnia film—almost certainly based on The Magician’s Nephew—written and directed by Greta Gerwig.
Critical context:
- This is probably a scene written specifically for audition purposes. We have no expectation that it will appear in the final screenplay as is.
- The names of the characters, Isadore and Frannie, are likely codenames for Digory and Polly.
Their back-and-forth starts as a simple dispute over a curious object but gradually reveals more about their personalities and backgrounds.
Even in this brief exchange, the dialogue moves through several emotional beats—wariness, argument, pride, curiosity, and empathy—suggesting that the script is more focused on assessing an actor’s range rather than accurately representing a scene from the film.
The audition scene unfolds as follows:
FRANNIE: What have you got there?
ISADORE: Nothing.
FRANNIE: Yes you do, you have got something. I saw you playing with it and now it’s all shut up in your hand.
ISADORE: I found it, it’s mine.
FRANNIE: Can I see it?
ISADORE: Do you want to see it or touch it?
FRANNIE: Touch it, dummy.
ISADORE: But literally, “see it” means?
FRANNIE: Literally my foot, let me see it.
ISADORE: Will you give it back after?
FRANNIE: Of course, I’m not like all the others.
ISADORE: I don’t know what you are or aren’t.
FRANNIE: I’m Frannie, which you would have known if you’d asked.
ISADORE: I’m Isadore.
FRANNIE: That’s a girl’s name.
ISADORE: It isn’t.
FRANNIE: I like it, it’s just that it’s a name for girls.
ISADORE: Isadora is for a girl, Isadore is for me. It was my great-grandfather’s name.
FRANNIE: Did you know him?
ISADORE: Yes, for a little.
FRANNIE: I never met my great-grandfather, or my grandfather, or my father. Everyone I know is dead.
ISADORE: I’m sorry.
FRANNIE: Don’t be, I never knew them. Nothing to miss. I’ve never seen one like this before. It almost, it’s like you could see another world inside it. Where did you find it?
ISADORE: Just on the pavement.
FRANNIE: I don’t have any friends, I won’t tell.
ISADORE: I don’t have any friends either.
FRANNIE: You do now.
It’s common for audition scripts to use alternate character names or even unrelated scenes to prevent early details from leaking. While this dialogue does not directly match any moment in The Magician’s Nephew, the dynamic between Frannie and Isadore resembles Digory and Polly’s first encounter in the book where they argue over their names.
And what about the names? Frannie and Isadore are most likely placeholders. Interestingly, Isadore happens to be the name of Greta Gerwig’s youngest son, while Frannie (the name we first reported in January) could be a nod to Frances Ha, the titular character of a film Gerwig co-wrote and starred in.
Our understanding is that callbacks for these two roles are still ongoing, and the casting process is far from finalized. Meanwhile, Deadline is reporting that Charli XCX and Daniel Craig are being pursued for roles in the film.
Related:
- Netflix’s ‘Narnia’ Begins Casting Search For Two Lead Child Actors
- Daniel Craig in Talks for Greta Gerwig’s ‘Narnia’—Offered Role of Uncle Andrew?
- Greta Gerwig’s Cinematic Influences for Narnia Revealed?
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It seems as though Greta is picking actors/ actresses that can really portray very deep emotions, which with her previous works seem to match up to what the movie might possibly would carry a lot of very emotional scenes. I wonder which scenes in the Magician Nephews will these emotions really hit the cord. Also, Greta seem to be focusing a lot on what aspects make the characters feel real based on just the brief script showing a sense of complexity in each of them. I hope casting come out soon. So excited.
I think this is a really interesting little scene. There is clearly enough reason to suspect that it might not be entirely indicative of the actual shooting script, however it is also clearly modelled on the initial meeting between Digory and Polly in the book well enough that we might be able to draw “some” contextual inferences from it.
Overall, I rather quite like the snappy back-and-forth between the two, and it feels like it matches that initial playful dialogue from the book about who has the funnier name more than well enough.
Yeah your right Professor Digory, for instance Daniel Craig is widely known for his Emotionaly Complex Portrayal Of James Bond
I had a thought. In the book, Polly, out of sensitivity, refines from interfering when Jadis is trying to convince Digory to give the apple to his mother instead of Aslan because “you see, it wasn’t her mother who was dying.” Maybe they want Polly to have undergone some traumatic loss in her past so that she has more of a right to advise Digory during that part. Maybe the filmmakers are thinking it’d be awkward if Polly and Fledge just stand around and look scared during the big dramatic scene.
That’s the best theory I can invent right now anyway. 🙂
I wonder when they’ll admit it’s The Magicians Nephew. I can’t wait for this movie to come out and make me an emotional wreck with Digory’s mother. Can’t wait.
Scripts can be hard to interpret and get a good feel for without knowing how the director wants the dialogue to move.
First bit is quite rough but I actually like most of the second half of the script. Some of the lines are very much in the spirit of MN.
We’ll see how much of this (if any) reflects the scene in the final movie!