Forum

Share:
Notifications
Clear all

Narnia Characters Ages in Movies

Thef Maria
(@thef-maria)
NarniaWeb Regular

Calculating the ages of the Narnia characters in the movies!

So I know I am notoriously known in this website for mainly ranting about Ramandu's Daughter and how I dislike her but today I am not here for that. I am here for something different, actually something I did long ago and never talked about it here. And I don't want my presence in this page to be mainly for arguments. This discussion is not here to compare the books to the movies in general or to judge the casting choices, it is mainly to discuss about the characters ages in the movies. 

We are familiar with the timeline in Narnia and the characters ages in each book. There is even a space in this website for that purpose which shows it in detail. But when in the movies, the actors' real ages play a major role on the picturing of the characters as well and it opens a new discussion, not only for the characters ages but also for the timeline of the story as well, at least in the real world. 

 

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005):

So the actors at that time were in fact kids so it's not like we're seeing an entire different world. But the ages of the characters in the movies clearly don't 100% match with the books. And at this point I think the aging in the movies I am going to place here also alter the date of birth of each character so bear with me. Here's my headcanon: 

- Peter Pevensie: 16  (Born in 1925)

- Susan Pevensie: 14 (Born in 1927)

- Edmund Pevensie: 12 (Born in 1929)

- Lucy Pevensie: 8 (Born in 1932)

 

Golden Age:

Assuming 18 years have passed since their coronation to their return in their world. 

- High King Peter the Magnificent: 16-34

- Queen Susan the Gentle: 14-32

- King Edmund the Just: 12-30

- Queen Lucy the Valiant: 8-26 

 

Prince Caspian (2008):

I know very well that in the movie it's stated that after they go back to their real world a year passes before they return to Narnia but to be honest I cannot imagine the characters aging so quickly. Like two whole years had passed for the actors. So I am assuming that two years have actually passed since 1940 and I am assuming that, when Peter says "It's been a year" he may as well mean that they just waited an entire year that passed and the year they live now in England is 1942. And I know very well that Caspian's age in the books is 13 but Ben Barnes was 27 at the time of the filming. In the movie, I can say that Caspian actually has the mindset of a pre adult teenager, and I think I can speculate and say that Ben looked a bit younger than 27 at that time. So here's my headcanon: 

- Peter Pevensie: 18 

- Susan Pevensie: 16 

- Edmund Pevensie: 14 

- Lucy Pevensie: 10

- Prince Caspian: 17

 

The Voyage of the Dawn Trader (2011):

Now here I am going to speculate again that 2 years have passed for Edmund and Lucy since in the movie we don't get a mention of that matter and let's say now it's 1944 in England while of course in Narnia 3 years have passed for Caspian separately. And I think Eustace himself comes a bit closer to his age in the book.

- Edmund Pevensie: 16 

- Lucy Pevensie: 12

- King Caspian: 20

- Eustace Scrubb: 11

 

That is my speculation. I hope you find it interesting and in terms with the books and the movies. The ages of the characters of course change some course of the story in the movies themselves but I don't think that is necessarily good or bad. It's as it was with Game of Thrones where the characters in the books were mostly teenagers and it's a bit less alarming to see them more grown in the series in such situations. And that's all. Tell me your own opinions!

 

 

This topic was modified 1 hour ago by Thef Maria
ReplyQuote
Topic starter Posted : March 11, 2026 11:27 am
DavidD liked
icarus
(@icarus)
NarniaWeb Guru

Some interesting ideas. I definitely agree with the central premise that the characters in the movie are supposed to be older than the characters in the book, but younger than the actors who are actually portraying them.

However, I can spot a couple of minor nitpicky problems with your estimates:

  1. The school leaving age in the UK is 16, and yet Peter is depicted in school uniform at the start of Prince Caspian. Therefore the very oldest he is likely to be in this film is 16.
  2. The age of conscription in the UK during World War 2 was 18, and yet Peter is not shown or mentioned to be in the Army during VDT. 

Potentially there's some wiggle room with both propositions above, where you could maybe argue about the technicalities of school uniform policies in.post-16 education in the UK, but by and large I would take those two factors above as key data points and shape the family ages around that. 

* * * *

I think though your estimates for Prince Caspian himself though are pretty spot-on. At the start of that film Miraz is ruling by proxy in some sort of Lord Protectorship role, implying Caspian is not yet of inheriting age.

I think it's a reasonable assumption to make that the age of adulthood in Telmarine society is 18, all things considered. 

This post was modified 12 minutes ago by icarus
ReplyQuote
Posted : March 11, 2026 11:53 am
DavidD liked
Col Klink
(@col-klink)
NarniaWeb Guru

FWIW, the early draft of the script for the first Narnia movie gives their ages as Peter (15), Susan (13), Edmund (11) and Lucy (8.) It's possible though that those were the ages the screenwriters were thinking for the actors rather than the characters. 

Chronicles_of_Narnia.pdf

For better or worse-for who knows what may unfold from a chrysalis?-hope was left behind.
-The God Beneath the Sea by Leon Garfield & Edward Blishen check out my blog!

ReplyQuote
Posted : March 11, 2026 12:04 pm
icarus and DavidD liked
Share: