While there has been a lot of Narnia chatter lately, we have finally heard from producer Mark Gordon because of a recent podcast appearance. He confirms pretty much everything we’ve known for a while. And even though there isn’t much here that is brand new, I still think it’s worth sharing for anyone who hasn’t heard all of this yet.
Speaking on The Gary and Kenny Show, Gordon talked about where they are in the production process, which cast members people may recognize by name, and whether they used AI on the production.
If you want to hear the exchange for yourself, here is the full interview:
It’s being called Narnia
One of the first useful clarifications Gordon offered was about the title, and this time he said it very plainly: “Yes, it’s called Narnia, we’re not calling it Chronicles. But yes, it’s based on the books, The Chronicles of Narnia, the first book, which is The Magician’s Nephew.”
That’s stronger than the usual chain of casting-report assumptions and fan inference. It’s the producer spelling out both the title being used and the story they are building from.
He also gave a small but interesting answer when the hosts asked whether this was a one-off or the start of something bigger. Gordon said, “Well, hopefully it’ll be more than one.” That doesn’t lock anything in by itself, but it does fit with the earlier reporting that Greta Gerwig signed on to direct at least two Narnia films for Netflix.
Filming is finished
Gordon again confirmed something we’ve known for months: filming is finished. Asked directly whether they had wrapped, he answered, “Yes, we’re done, we finished it.” He also confirmed that the film was written and directed by Greta Gerwig.
The release window lines up with what we have been hearing
Gordon said audiences will see the movie in IMAX at Thanksgiving, followed by its Netflix debut on Christmas Day. That fits the broad release shape that has been circulating around the project, but again, hearing it directly from the producer is more useful than hearing it repeated three steps removed.
He named the cast more plainly than we have heard in many other places
When the host asked, “Who are your stars, may I ask?” Gordon answered: “You may. Meryl Streep.” He then continued: “Daniel Craig. A wonderful British actress whose work you may know, Emma Mackey. We have two incredible kids, whose names you won’t know, but they’re wonderful and they will delight and surprise the audience. And then we have Carey Mulligan.” He closed that rundown with: “And that’s kind of our names that you would know.”
That doesn’t answer every role question we still have, of course. But it does give us a cleaner producer-side acknowledgment of the cast circle around the film than some of the messier paraphrase-heavy write-ups floating around today.
What kind of movie does he think this is?
Asked where Narnia fits in the current movie landscape, Gordon called it an event movie, but he did not stop there. He said what they hope it is is a “four-quadrant, all-audience movie” that will be “a delight for kids.”
That’s exactly the kind of sentence we will parse in different ways. Some of us will hear reassurance there. Some of us will hear studio language and tense up a little. Honestly, I get both reactions. But it’s still useful framing. At the very least, Gordon is clearly describing the film as broad, family-facing, and accessible rather than niche, abrasive, or aimed at only one slice of the audience.
He also expects a family-friendly rating. When one host asked, “You know the rating?” Gordon replied, “I’m sure it’ll be PG.” I would still treat that as producer-side expectation rather than a formal MPAA confirmation, but it fits the rest of the way he described the movie.
The movie is still deep in post-production, with a heavy visual-effects load
Gordon put that part pretty clearly too: “And it’s really, it’s really a beautiful film. You know, we’re still seriously into post-production. You know, we’ve got an enormous amount of visual effects shots in the movie.”
That part should not shock anyone who knows The Magician’s Nephew. If you are adapting Charn, the Wood between the Worlds, and the creation of Narnia itself, this was never going to be a low-VFX undertaking. Still, it is helpful to hear him say it out loud, because it gives us a clearer sense of where the work is concentrated right now.
He said they are not using AI
One unexpected turn in the conversation came when the hosts asked about AI. Gordon first said, “Not using AI.” When they pushed a little further, he added, “We could have embraced it aggressively. We didn’t,” then spoke more broadly about having mixed feelings about AI in filmmaking.
That comment will probably travel on its own now, and fairly so. It’s one of the more specific behind-the-scenes production comments we have had attached to the film so far.
Here’s the TL;DR
- It’s being called Narnia, not The Chronicles of Narnia.
- It’s based on The Magician’s Nephew.
- Gordon said filming is finished.
- He said the movie is headed to IMAX at Thanksgiving and Netflix on Christmas Day.
- He expects it to be PG.
- He named Meryl Streep, Daniel Craig, Emma Mackey, Carey Mulligan, and two unnamed child actors.
- He said they are still deep in post-production and dealing with a heavy visual-effects load.
- He said they are not using AI.
- He hopes this will be more than one film.
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