As Netflix and Barbie director Greta Gerwig prepare their take on The Chronicles of Narnia, they have filled one of the film’s most important roles as Emma Mackey (Sex Education) is set to play Jadis, better known as The White Witch.
The new Narnia films from Gerwig and Netflix will follow a different format than the previous films by beginning this adaptation chronologically rather than the novels’ release order. Gerwig will direct The Magician’s Nephew, the sixth book in the Narnia series, as the entry point that depicts the events before The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and how Narnia was shaped into the land it was by the time of that book.
The White Witch was previously played by Tilda Swilton in the 2005 Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and its two sequels while Liam Neeson provided the voice of Aslan.
Mackey, who starred in Gerwig’s hit Barbie, joins a cast that includes former James Bond star Daniel Craig as Digory Kirke’s uncle and Meryl Streep as the powerful lion Aslan the Great. The Magician’s Nephew will follow Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer as they discover the magical world of Narnia through Digory’s uncle’s magic.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew will be written and directed by Gerwig. Production will begin next year and is set for an exclusive two-week Imax global run for Thanksgiving 2026 before streaming on Netflix.
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