When it comes to upcoming book adaptations, one of the highly-anticipated classics set to get a movie is quickly becoming Greta Gerwig’s Narnia movie with Netflix. After the writer/director made one of the biggest movies in recent memory with Barbie, she’s been quietly readying her next film for production, and a new actor has reportedly been cast. Sadly, the news means Charli XCX probably won’t be involved (as previously rumored), but it makes for another great Barbie reunion. Let’s get into it.
Emma Mackey Has Been Cast As The White Witch
Back in March, it was reported that pop star and burgeoning actress in a number of upcoming A24 movies, Charli XCX, was being eyed to play the main antagonist of Gerwig’s adaptation of The Magician’s Nephew from the C.S. Lewis’s Narnia series. However, now we have word from The Hollywood Reporter that Emma Mackey has instead been tapped for the role after being neck-and-neck with The Substance actress Margaret Qualley.
Charli XCX would have been a solid Barbie reunion for Gerwig and the brat star considering she wrote “Speed Drive” for the soundtrack, but Emma Mackey is also a great get. Mackey famously played one of the Barbies in the 2023 movie, which was especially fun because the actress notably looks so much like the movie’s star, Margot Robbie. Mackey has consistently been great in everything I’ve seen her in, especially the Netflix series Sex Education, and it feels like her role in Narnia could finally give her an exciting leading movie role!
Along with Mackey’s reported casting, we’ve previously heard that Daniel Craig may be on board for the role of Uncle Andrew, while Meryl Streep may play Aslan the Lion and ruler of Narnia. We also know that Gerwig fought for a two-week theatrical release of the movie before it goes to Netflix for next November.
I Have A Theory About What May Have Happened With The Charli XCX Casting
When the rumors started to swirl that Charli XCX might star in the Narnia movie, it felt like a bold and inspired bit of casting, but I have a feeling I know why it didn’t ultimately work out. Charli XCX is currently on her brat 2025 arena tour in the United States until the beginning of May before heading to Europe throughout the summer into August. Considering we’ve heard before that Greta Gerwig’s Narnia movie is expected to hit theaters in late 2026, I have a feeling the timing ultimately just didn’t line up between the production and Charli’s busy tour schedule.
While we don’t know for sure when Narnia is going to go into production, we would expect soon, especially for a large-scale fantasy movie like this. Charli XCX may have declared brat summer is over at her Coachella set, but she’s still spreading the hype jams of the album through her sprawling tour. Regardless, we can’t wait to see what Emma Mackey does with the White Witch!
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