I still think that silvery outfit Jadis appears to be wearing is being worn for CGI purposes, mainly, and may not be the actual one that she appears in, when the film is complete. I'm sure that the silvery boots and tunic are mainly for reflectiveness.

Posted by: @impending-doom

My worry with this change is that, in the book, this is when Digory first overhears the 'land of youth' conversation with Aunt Letty. That moment is foundational to the entire thrust of the second half of the story…

If they’re adding what looks like an action sequence here, I hope it’s still framed in such a way that the audience comes away with the same concern Digory has in the book which is his desperate hope for his mother. 

Yes! That is a real concern.

I think they could probably move the ‘land of youth’ conversation earlier in the story - possibly before the introduction of the rings.

(The more I think about it, the less I like the idea, this is not a direction I hope the film goes in. Nonetheless, a search for a cure for Digory s mother could be used as Digory’s motive for visiting other worlds when Digory and Polly first realize the nature of the wood between the worlds. It could also be used to justify why he awakes Jadis [if he thinks she could help his mother]. It could even justify why Digory doesn’t use his yellow ring when riding on the horse with Jadis [because he thinks this woman will help his mother and hence is conflicted whether he wants to stop her]. This would change the story WAY too much for me - very green mysty - but it would keep Digory and his mother central in the viewer's mind throughout.)

I guess the benefit of having Digory along for Jadis’s rampage is that it allows him to witness the chaos firsthand. So instead of Digory only seeing the aftermath of the witch's destruction in Charn & London, he's able to see a glimpse of it himself.

I'm not sure it's completely necessary, as Digory should still feel the weight of ringing the bell regardless, but it probably makes for a more dramatic scene on screen.

We all seem to be assuming Digory is more or less being held hostage here. But could there be a scenario where he willingly goes along? Maybe Gerwig is stretching out his character arc a bit more than the book did?

I'm thinking about the two bits of filming. 

In one,  on Digory's walk home from school, he happens to meet Polly, who is different in two ways:  she's friendly (slightly challenging) and she's a girl.  It's not necessary for her to live next door to him, but it would be handy for her to live nearby (depending on whether the attic passage will be included in this).

In the other, Jadis has been inadvertently brought to London by holding Polly's hair. After this Digory is somehow caught up in Jadis's rampage through London, and all the horse-riding occurs. 

Even though he's probably in the same clothes it needn't be the same day.

@icarus 's latest report directly from the Narnia set in London is now up on the front page. Just a word of caution, it's getting to be more and more spoilery, so consider yourselves warned if you go watch the videos and read the report!

And I am going to speak to said spoilers without using that feature, so yeah.

I strongly suspect that the climax of Jadis's short time here on Earth will be moved to the front of Buckingham Palace rather than in front of Digory's house. And if that turns out to be the case, it makes sense to me because she's trying to take over our world so why would she go back to Digory's quiet little street? Of course, if that happens, how will they get everyone into Narnia then? Particularly Polly. I could see a way that makes sense for Frank and Uncle Andrew to show up, but Polly is a bit more difficult. 

I imagine that the front of Digory's house will be a set, not an actual street. I'm sure they're only doing the outdoor filming at the moment before autumn kicks in - the light and temperatures will be different. 

@fantasia (Since you didn't use spoilers, I guess I won't either.) Is it possible they could just move Aunt Letty's house to be nearer Buckingham Palace than in the book? 

@col-klink within a mile perhaps.  Earl's Court, or Chelsea,  west of the Palace. I've lived and stayed in the  Earls Court area, but I don't know what they were like in the post-war years.

It obviously remains to be seen how accurate to real-world London geography they are going to be with their movie (some movies just disregard it completely and have characters more-or-less teleport between the major landmarks) but if we assume at least some sense of real geography, then it kind of makes sense that Jadis has gone from Digory's working class house in the East End, then headed west along the north bank of the river to the Tower of London, and then along further west still to get to St James's Park.

The key thing is though, that in none of the on-set takes, from any of the locations, have we ever seen Jadis going in both directions. She's only ever filmed going one-way. I think this was most telling in the Bradford Alleyway scene, where we see Digory walking home in his school uniform (again, only in one direction - up the hill) and then we see Jadis and Digory galloping out again (down the hill).

Everything to me suggests that this is a one-way horse rampage, and not a circular route, or a back-and-forth.

I suspect Polly and Uncle Andrew will be in the chasing pack, possibly in their own car, or possibly with one of the Police cars.

I also agree it would make sense to have the dramatic finale of the chase be outside Buckingham Palace, as this would most clearly establish Jadis' motivations, and also visually emphasise the high stakes that Digory only imagines in the book.

That said, I didn't see any direct evidence that they filmed outside the palace. However, it was notable that on the Saturday, they had all their trucks parked at that end of the park, and then by Sunday they had entirely relocated all their equipment and stuff to King Charles Street (though they appeared to have a much lower footprint overall for the Sunday shoot).

I guess it could be the case that the finale will be at the Tower of London (the crown jewels are held there, which could make for a big moment) and that the shoot on King Charles Street and St James Park were just supposed to be "generic London road" and "generic London park" respectively. However again its noticeable that they only ever shot Jadis galloping towards the Tower entrance from the East, not the West.

This post is edited. 😇 

@icarus I still don't agree with your suggestion of East End, but since you have said below that you are from North London, I will stop arguing on that issue.

As I have always understood it, in the 50s this didn't refer to southeast London, but the original East End, north of the river, directly northeast and east of the old City.  [Shadwell, Whitechapel, etc, places Dickens wrote about, but then bombed heavily in WW2. Also Bethnal Green, Stepney, Limehouse, and all the other dock areas like Poplar & Isle of Dogs]

If you're basing the idea on Digory's walking past bomb sites, I'm not convinced that Digs is a scruffy kid from a poor family whose neighbours load ships. Lewis wrote him much more middle class, and better educated than that image. 

I'm well aware of the geography and history of London. My family is North London through and through.

I do think though there are enough clues to suggest that Digory isn't quite from.the same socio-economic background as in the books.

The back gardens they shot in Bradford for example are all Factory Worker's terraced housing (they also shot scenes in the associated factory in Bradford). Maybe Digory is just cutting through here on his way home (and Jadis likewise in the opposite direction) but that seems less likely to me.

Then there's the industrial looking fish market he walks through on his School walk. Sure, the old canal system does extend to places like Camden, but it still just gives off a working class industrial vibe to me. Coupled with the fact that Jadis approaches the Tower from the East not the West, it kind of suggests he's coming from that sort of area in East London. ... and yeah, bomb damage isn't exclusive to East London, but it's certainly more prevalent.

Digory's uniform also doesn't appear to be that refined (i.e. it doesn't look like he attends an especially fancy school) and his regular clothes with that brown tank top also looks.pretty.down market, even for the 1950s.

It's by no means conclusive no, but overall it's just the vibe I'm picking up on on.

Posted by: @courtenay

Posted by: @fantasia

Oh, that's solidly rumored to be Daniel Craig. Even if Mr. Craig doesn't accept the offer, the fact that an offer was made for the role tells me the role is in the movie.

Did we ever hear specifically that the offer was for the role of Uncle Andrew, though? I remember clearly that there were several reports that Daniel Craig was being offered a role, but none of them said which character. I know, because we here on NarniaWeb were discussing what his role might be, and Uncle Andrew was the obvious one, but a few people pointed out that he could be the voice of Aslan. This was before the Meryl Streep rumour broke!!

I wonder, what if Meryl Streep is up for the role of Uncle Andrew in the movie instead of Aslan?  The character would probably be renamed "Aunt Andrew" or something similar.  The movie could still be called the "Magician's Nephew" if Meryl Streep played Digory's michevious and devious aunt.  TBH, it would actually be a more meaty role for her acting talents than Aslan (who tends to be portrayed a bit more stoic).  

Posted by: @icarus

Digory's uniform also doesn't appear to be that refined (i.e. it doesn't look like he attends an especially fancy school) and his regular clothes with that brown tank top also looks.pretty.down market, even for the 1950s.

I agree that he's not wearing a posh school uniform. It's not unlike what was worn by schoolboys in my childhood, although the shorts look like the thicker ones worn in winter. Sleeveless pullovers are still worn now;  this Argyle design is an older one, but there are lots of reasons for it (Aunt Letty knitted it for him, from an old pattern she still had?) 

The back gardens they shot in Bradford for example are all Factory Worker's terraced housing (they also shot scenes in the associated factory in Bradford). Maybe Digory is just cutting through here on his way home (and Jadis likewise in the opposite direction) but that seems less likely to me.

We can excuse the route he takes home as GG showing us various areas of 1955 London! 

I wonder, what if Meryl Streep is up for the role of Uncle Andrew in the movie instead of Aslan?  The character would probably be renamed "Aunt Andrew" or something similar.  The movie could still be called the "Magician's Nephew" if Meryl Streep played Digory's michevious and devious aunt.  TBH, it would actually be a more meaty role for her acting talents than Aslan (who tends to be portrayed a bit more stoic).  

Perhaps Meryl is Andrew's "Fairy Godmother?" That makes sense!!

We're going waaaay off topic here all of a sudden. Please redirect Meryl Streep conversation here.

No, seriously, please do, because I want to talk about the idea of Meryl Streep as Madam Lefay!