Daniel Craig is far too old for Frank. He and Helen are meant to be a young couple. 

We haven't had any confirmation of the casting of any familiar characters yet other than Digory and Polly, Digory's mother, and Jadis. Daniel Craig is confirmed but his role hasn't been disclosed. No further word either on whether Meryl Streep really HAS been cast as Aslan, or as some other character, or whether some other actor (preferably male) has been chosen for Aslan, or whatever.

It's still all mostly mysterious and I'm still baffled at how badly Netflix seems to handle their PR, and at how little regard (so far) Gerwig seems to have for being faithful to the book. But we still just don't know enough to be sure about anything much.

That said, regarding Frank and Helen specifically, they aren't "iconic" characters in the original story — we barely learn anything about them as people, and they're pretty much just dragged in (literally) for the purpose of giving Narnia a good, honest, humble pair of salt-of-the-earth working-class people as the new land's first King and Queen. There are several much more memorable characters within the story — apart from Digory and Polly themselves, there's Uncle Andrew, and Jadis (the former is the most likely role for Daniel Craig, and the latter has been confirmed in the casting already), and Fledge as well. And of course Aslan! I would think we'll hear about their casting before we hear about Frank and Helen. But we just don't know. 

Posted by: @courtenay

... at how little regard (so far) Gerwig seems to have for being faithful to the book. 

To be fair, of the very few things we do know about her adaptation, one of the biggest is that she has been exceptionally faithful to the opening line of the book, so I don't think any of the changes really come from a lack of regard.

Anyway, in terms of a prediction...

Option 1 is "never" because they have been cut from the story, which I don't think is true, as I do actually think this movie will be a lot more faithful than people expect right now.

Option 2 is it will be in a press release along with the main cast, which my current best guess would be either at the 1 year mark in November (which is when IMAX did its poster and trailer release for The Odyssey) or around Christmas time once filming has finished. However we've been wrong so many times about when Netfllix will finally play it's hand on a press release, that I'm not holding my breath.

Option 3 would be at Tudum 2026 next summer, assuming that's an annual event, though last year's didn't really strike me as having that sort of vibe for a big reveal like that.

And then I guess Option 4 is when the movie actually releases on Thanksgiving 2026, in the event that Frank and Helen are either such minor actors so as to not be worth prior reporting, or they are such massive stars that they are aiming for a Marvel style surprise cameo.

Janurary 21st. And, of course, it'll be on a random podcast you've never heard of 😆 

Posted by: @icarus

To be fair, of the very few things we do know about her adaptation, one of the biggest is that she has been exceptionally faithful to the opening line of the book... 

Well, yes, there is that. I'm more than old enough to have Narnia-reading-age kids if my life so far had gone that way, and yes, my own parents were children in the 1950s. So in that regard, it's a faithful adaptation of a story that's supposed to take place "long ago when your grandfather was a child"!! 

so I don't think any of the changes really come from a lack of regard.

This, on the other hand, looks like a more interesting assumption to make, I'd say. Is it at all essential to the plot of the story that it takes place in the era when the reader's grandfather was a child? For the record, I first read the book as a child in the late 1980s, and it didn't trouble me one bit that the story was set in the late Victorian era — I could tell that much from the Sherlock Holmes reference — and my own grandfather wasn't born until 1912.

And talking of the Sherlock Holmes reference, there it is: Gerwig ISN'T being faithful at all to the second line of the book. So if we really want to start splitting hairs about what constitutes regard, or a lack of regard, for the original story...

My point was simply that, on the face of it, almost nothing we've seen of the early stages of the production bears a close resemblance to the book. Time period change — doesn't mean in itself that the plot will be vastly different, but we've already lost the late Victorian atmosphere, which Lewis makes far more of than he does of the (to him, almost present-day) setting of the this-world scenes in the other books. Scene with a large group of schoolboys in a public swimming pool. Polly having at least three sisters. Jadis riding around London on Strawberry the horse with Digory sitting in front of her (raising the question of why he doesn't just use his yellow ring to get her out of there), and apparently using a wand (which may mean she does have at least some magic power in our world) — all while wearing an outfit that, from what we've seen, would look more at home in a 1960s B-grade sci-fi movie, or else in a 1980s pop music video, than it does on the Empress of Charn. And that's all before we even have an answer to the burning question of whether Aslan will be portrayed as female, or as outwardly male but with a female voice.

There are a number of different ways we could interpret all these still rather sketchy bits we've seen so far. And to be fair, we haven't heard any further statements from Gerwig herself, or from anyone closely associated with the production, as to what she's aiming for here. But on balance, I'm leaning more towards the side of those Narnia fans (probably the majority) who just can't square all this with the high regard Gerwig has previously claimed to have for the original books and their author.

I could be wrong and I'm hoping against hope that I am — there's still just over a year to go and there's a lot we haven't seen or confirmed yet. But if Netflix and Gerwig were hoping to get the well-established Narnia fandom excited about this production (in a positive way, that is)... they really haven't done a good job so far.

Back on topic, though — that is reassuring to be reminded that there are several good opportunities coming up for a press release (and you're a lot more familiar with the film industry, and with Netflix, than I am). I really hope we'll have some more substantial news soon, and preferably from an official source. But I'd still say that as Frank and Helen are not well-known characters and don't play a huge role in the plot (although I probably wouldn't object to them being made more central), I don't feel certain that they'll get a mention in a general press release. 

I was wondering about when we'll hear about Frank and Helen being cast, because they play a major role in the story. Frank actually sees the creation of Narnia with Uncle Andrew, Digory, and Polly, and he and Helen become the first king and queen of Narnia. So I don't think you can leave them out. 

I will be interested in to hear who they'll cast as Frank and Helen. I don't know if there's any I could think of. 

Is it possible Mr. Potts could be Frank or a version of him? We never learn his last name in the book. 

Posted by: @col-klink

When will that change?

I've started mentioning this here and there, but haven't posted in this thread yet. In my limited amount of research, it appears that Netflix likes to do a full casting announcement at the conclusion of filming. I'm expecting late December 2025/early January 2026. @icarus mentioned it in his Option 2 as well. We'll see if that's right.

Posted by: @col-klink

Is it possible Mr. Potts could be Frank or a version of him?

Not in my opinion. He's a bit too old.