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 is 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!
Hard to know how much of this will end up in the final movie, if anything. But I think it’s a safe bet that Polly will have some tragedy in her life, not just Digory.
How can I audition
@Oliver, if you meet the age requirements (10-11 years old) you can submit a tape to Casting Director Nina Gold according to the instructions posted in the casting call;
https://x.com/ltd_nina/
It is fascinating to get real news. It feels like it has been 500 years.
“Touch it, dummy.” Oof.
Bit of a mixed bag. It’s easy for now to overlook the quality since it’s just audition sides. It’s not BAD bad. Not really great either. Dripping with precociousness. But hey, interesting that you guys got your hands on it. It’s kind of weird, and hopefully not indicative of too much regarding the actual quality of the script. Thanks for posting it!
Cool scoop but it’s some brutal dialogue to read through… but if it gets the right actors to hit the emotional beats Greta and the casting team are looking for in the characters, then so be it.
I’m exciting good things from the screenplay based on Greta’s past films, she’s always been good at character dialogue and Lewis has given her so much good stuff to use!
Isn’t the Jadis suppose to be seven feet tall, as were all members of the Royal Family of Charn? The actress rumored to play this role in the upcoming Narnia installment is 5’3.”
This could just be test dialogue… not sure how well this would work in a final script. I do see how this would help the actors demonstrate their range for the roles, though.
Great to have another substantial update!
And it’s only 617 days until release!
Who does NarniaWeb get this information from?
When I first read through this, it was a bit of a mouthful; as in it didn’t make a ton of sense without context and would be hard to read aloud with the correct expression on a first try. On a second read, the emotions and occurrences seem more clear. I see how this would be hard for young actors to read through and emote fluidly and naturally. I think it would really show their skill.
I wonder if I’m the only one to imagine it in the voices of Digory and Polly from the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre audio drama.
For any fans who have concerns, like the article says it’s important to remember than in TV and film auditions, actors are often given script selections (called “sides” in both the film and theatre world) to read that have nothing to do with the actual project. I do theatre so it’s more common there to read sides from the actual script, but in film the sides sometimes aren’t in the screenplay at all. To prevent leaks, the actors sometimes don’t even know what project or characters they’re auditioning for until they’re cast.
For example, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, who plays Sabine Wren in Ahsoka, mentioned in an interview that for her audition they had her read from an entirely different movie (I believe it was Top Gun) because they wanted to see if she could match the character’s attitude by having her read for someone with similar traits. I think she knew it was for Star Wars but she was under the impression it was for a bit part in The Mandalorian and not a main role in one of the spinoffs. So it’s likely a) this excerpt isn’t in the screenplay, and if it is it’s been altered specifically for audition purposes beyond just the names, and b) the kids auditioning do not know who or what they’re being called in to audition for and may not know until later on in the process or until they’re cast.
Personally I think it captures the personalities of Digory and Polly really well, and that’s probably what they’re looking for in the audition.
I have read all the books by c s lewis all most 50 ob
Years
Anfinwen, please know you are not the only one to imagine it with the Focus on the Family voices … those are always my first assumption whenever I think about how a character sounds!
You are right that it shows a range of emotions and is a little similar to Polly and Digory’s first meeting. This will make it easier for Greta to find the right actors.
I don’t really want Polly to be an orphan. I can see that for character reasons that it would cause the characters to be dealing with grief in different ways and audiences really like this. For selfish reasons, though, I prefer that Digory finds understanding from Aslan. I read The Magician’s Nephew first when I was eight and my dad had terminal cancer. The other kids did not understand what I was going through and the adults generally didn’t either. Digory finding out that Aslan also cares about his mother really influenced me at a time when I worried God hated me for something I didn’t know I did. I understand, though, that this is an emotional perspective and Digory going most of the book with no one else understanding may not appeal to many people.
Totally unrelated, but if anyone is interested check my YouTube channel Called Netflix Narnia Updates and I have a bunch of Narnia Update videos and Playlists such as Aslan Canidates which consists of some great Poem Readings from some potential Aslan Actors and A Playlist of Different Potential Narnia Composers.
This is starting to feel really real… let’s get the countdown going!
Timothy Dalton should play Aslan
Timothy Dalton as Aslan
who is being considered for Jadis ……tall actresses …..Gwendoline Christie, Elizabeth Debiki, Janet McTeer, Hannah Waddington, Tilda Swinton, Blake Lively, Charlize Theron ……….Taylor Swift???
daniel craig is too short to play uncle andrew