Greta Gerwig seems ready to open the wardrobe door and slip back into the nostalgic and spellbinding world of Narnia. She has returned for yet another classic book adaptation after 2019's Little Women, Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, pulling in both longtime fans and a curious new generation. To bring the fictional and magical world to life, she had picked up renowned talents along the way, such as Meryl Streep and Daniel Craig.

Now, another name, and an Olivier Award-winning one, is rumored to be part of the project. An actor who has been part of Zack Snyder's Justice League and Wonka could also star in the movie.

Several cast members lending their voices and appearing in the Netflix project have already been revealed. Recently, Narnia Web reported that Ghanaian-born British actor, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is part of the cast of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew. As for his role in the movie, details have been tightly guarded. 

Holdbrook-Smith is a revered actor with an impressive resume spanning film, television, and theatre, including Paddington 2, Mary Poppins Returns, and Doctor Strange. After playing his first lead in Mustapha Matura’s Playboy of the West Indies, he went on to star as Ike Turner in Tina in the West End, earning the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical. If the rumors are true, he has joined a cast of immense talent, including Meryl Streep, who is rumored to voice the talking lion in the story, Aslan. 

Daniel Craig has been confirmed for the role of Uncle Andrew Ketterley, while Emma Mackey is expected to portray the White Witch. Carey Mulligan has also been confirmed to play Mabel Kirk, a sick mother, with David McKenna, Beatrice Campbell, and Denise Gough also part of the cast. Given the nostalgia and love surrounding the book, expectations for the adaptation are understandably high, and director Greta Gerwig is well aware of that. 

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In one of her interviews, adhering to the strong cast lineup being formed, Gerwig spoke about the extra care she is taking with the project.

The fictional and magical world of Narnia was created by C. S. Lewis in his beloved series The Chronicles of Narnia in 1955. The talking animals and enchanting creatures hold a soft, nostalgic place for many. Director and writer of the upcoming movie adaptation, Greta Gerwig, feels the same, and this is why she has taken extra care while bringing Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew to life.

“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,” she told BBC Radio 4. 

“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,” the filmmaker explained, talking about the sensitivity being put into the adaptation.  

The Magician’s Nephew is the first book in the chronological order of The Chronicles of Narnia, though it was published as the sixth. And Gerwig’s film will be the first-ever adaptation of this story, following Aslan as he establishes the world. Now, if Gerwig successfully translates her dedication and talent into the project, Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew could be a new beginning altogether.

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What role do you think Kobna Holdbrook-Smith could be playing in Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew? Share your thoughts.