Carey Mulligan in talks for key role in Greta Gerwig’s Narnia movie
Carey Mulligan is in negotiations to play the sick mother of Digory Kirke in Greta Gerwig's 'Narnia' movie for Netflix.
Carey Mulligan is in negotiations to join Greta Gerwig’s ‘Narnia’ movie.
The 39-year-old actress is currently in talks to portray the ill mother of Digory Kirke, one of the two child protagonists in the fantasy tale, The Hollywood Reporter has said.
If she signs on to the movie, Mulligan will be joining a star-studded cast for Netflix’s ‘Narnia’ film, which could include Meryl Streep as lion Aslan the Great, Daniel Craig as Digory’s uncle and Emma Mackey as Jadis the White Witch.
Although Craig has been attached to the role of Digory’s uncle, The Hollywood Reporter has said conversations are at a “super early” stage, and the former ‘James Bond’ actor has not officially signed on yet.
Meanwhile, Mackey reportedly bested Charli xcx and Margaret Qualley for the role of the White Witch, both of whom had also been in contention for the part.
While ‘Narnia’ has attracted plenty of A-list talent, Netflix are currently searching for young actors to portray Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer.
The ‘Narnia’ movie will reportedly be an adaptation of author C.S. Lewis’ 1955 novel ‘The Magician’s Nephew’, which follows two children who stumble into strange worlds through magical rings and witness the creation of Narnia.
Along the way, they awaken an evil queen and must grapple with choices that shape entire realms.
As well as directing the movie, Gerwig, 41, is also set to write the screenplay.
Meanwhile, Mark Gordon, Amy Pascal and Vincent Sieber are to produce the picture.
In 2018, Netflix announced it would be making a new movie adaptation of Lewis’ fantasy series of the same name, and signed Gerwig to direct the project two years later.
While updates on the ‘Narnia’ flick have been slow since then, it was recently reported that Gerwig had successfully convinced Netflix to give her film an extended run on IMAX screens globally on Thanksgiving Day 2026 (26.11.26) ahead of its release to Netflix on Christmas Day (25.12.26).
As well as an adaptation of ‘The Magician’s Nephew’, Gerwig is also set to write and direct another project based on the fantasy series.
In a profile in The New Yorker, the ‘Barbie’ filmmaker said: “It would have to be something that has some strange hook in me, that feels like it goes to the marrow.”
After it was confirmed Gerwig would be helming ‘Narnia’, the director said she had a reverence for the series, and wanted to treat Lewis’ work with care.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4, she said: “I’m slightly in the place of terror because I really do have such reverence for ‘Narnia’.
“I loved ‘Narnia’ so much as a child, [and] as an adult, C.S. Lewis as a thinker and a writer. I’m intimidated by doing this. It’s something that feels like a worthy thing to be intimidated by.
“As a non-British person, I feel a particular sense of wanting to do it correctly … it’s like when Americans do Shakespeare, there’s a slight feeling of reverence and as if maybe we should treat it with extra care. It is not our countryman.”
