The problem is that basically all the characters are either children, villains, voiceovers, or too small of roles to be worthy of an actress of her caliber. 

So, Jadis could work, although she's not really particularly tall and Saoirse is a bit young. Maybe the Lady of the Green Kirtle. Queen Helen seems like basically a nothing role. If she just wants to be in the movie and doesn't care about the size of the role, maybe an animal voiceover (although there aren't many female animals featured other than Mrs. Beaver and Hwin - and I doubt they're doing HaHB) or Digory's mum. Ramandu's daughter would also fit into that category. Of course, a lot depends on which movie Greta is doing. 

My first-choice would be as an older Lucy in LWW where she could continue in HHB and LB. But as much as I'd like her to have a larger speaking part, I think she'll end up with a smaller role or cameo. Maybe as Queen Helen in The Magician's Nephew.

I admit I've never seen her in anything other than trailers, but I know she's a big deal and I cannot see her in some small role.

I went and listened to her in an interview just now and all I can hear is "Good day T-r-r-r-ravelers!" 

@fantasia she does have quite a striking look, and I can imagine her in a red wig and green dress! I agree that she's not quite right for a mere cameo role like Queen Helen.

I notice that she was born in  April 1994, making her a year older than Georgie Henley (July 1995).  This is too young to play Digory's mother or Aunt, or Mrs McCready. 

Hmmm, well, so far we've been told that Gerwig has been commissioned to make two Narnia movies, with no talk (yet) of her doing any more than that. So if Saoirse Ronan does get a role, it'll have to be in one of the first two films. And despite the fantasising of some die-hard Walden fans that Netflix will pick up the series where Walden left off and do SC first, the only logical places for Gerwig to start her own version of Narnia are either MN or LWW, as we've all discussed extensively before. So while the Lady of the Green Kirtle / Green Witch could be a good fit for Ronan, it's very unlikely that that role's on offer at all at this stage.

MN and LWW could be the two stories Gerwig has agreed or chosen to adapt, or if she's starting with LWW, the next one could be either PC or HHB. So there could be a possibility for a role in any of those. But as others have said, unfortunately there aren't many major roles in Narnia for young adult women. Adult Lucy in HHB and LB could be an idea (though we don't know when LB will be made or by whom — it definitely has to come last!), but then that means they have to find a child actress for Lucy who looks reasonably like she will grow up to look like Saiorse Ronan! Ditto if Ronan were to play adult Susan in HHB (which is a much bigger role in that book than adult Lucy).

It's nice to know that at least one "big name" actress already wants to be in the new version of Narnia, but it's still all speculation at this stage and she may indeed just go for a cameo role, if anything. (There could be a few of those "spot the famous face" characters in there, really, if other well-known actors decide to have a bit part!)

Posted by: @courtenay

So if Saoirse Ronan does get a role, it'll have to be in one of the first two films.

I think she could do a very good job with Jadis.

But I'll throw another idea out there I haven't seen mentioned before. Strawberry/Fledge does not have to be a male role. Obviously I'd prefer it not change, but it doesn't do anything to the story if it does. So there's another possibility. 

Posted by: @justin

The problem is that basically all the characters are either children, villains, voiceovers, or too small of roles to be worthy of an actress of her caliber. 

Pardon me but is there a reason Ronan couldn't play a villain? I know she's usually cast as the protagonist but that doesn't mean she always has to be. In fact, she might be excited to do something a little different, especially if she's really interested in Narnia enough that she specifically asked the screenwriter/director for a role. And, anyway, it's not like all the protagonists she's played have the exact same personality. I can imagine her playing an antagonist. 

As to her doing voiceover, I'm not sure how great she is at acting with her voice specifically. She seems more like a thespian you hire for her facial expressions. That's not to say she'd be bad at voice acting! I just imagine there are better actors to cast.

I'm sorry I can't cite this, but I remember reading a fun anecdote about Ronan asking Gerwig for the role of Jo in Little Women and Gerwig being reluctant at first since Ronan had starred in her recent and arguably first big hit and she didn't want people to think she was leaning on her laurels. (She ultimately decided to cast her though, thinking that going up to a director and demanding such a big part was a very Jo-like thing to do. ) If that story is true, which it might not be since I can't remember a source, it actually makes me think that either this rumor is untrue or Gerwig isn't going to agree. I imagine Ronan would be embarrassed to ask Gerwig for a role in a big project twice and if Gerwig really was worried about people thinking she relied on Ronan's charisma too much before, she'd definitely be worried about it now after putting her in a lead role twice. 

Posted by: @fantasia

Strawberry/Fledge does not have to be a male role. Obviously I'd prefer it not change, but it doesn't do anything to the story if it does. So there's another possibility. 

I don't know much about carriage horses. Were they typically male or female? I'm not asking that to start an argument because I'm not violently opposed to switching the gender of some characters in adaptations. I was OK with Trufflehunter being a female badger in the BBC's Prince Caspian for example. I mean there are some characters gender switching of whom would bug me, but I wouldn't say Strawberry/Fledge is one of them. 

@col-klink Strawberry was, as Frank says, a country horse (and he was a country man), presumably working on a farm, since he's capable of tilling the soil and growing crops (as he tells Aslan). 

I don't think of Strawberry as a dainty carriage horse, but a more solidly built one, which makes it harder to imagine him female. 

Saoirse Ronan has got a really good range and fantastic acting abilities - I have no doubt she could pull of any role if she really wanted to.

For anyone interested in seeing her in a slightly more antagonistic role, I would highly recommend her as the cold and steely Mary Queen of Scots in the movie of the same name.

For anyone interested in seeing her in a more comedic role, I would also recommend her in "See How They Run" - a light-hearted comedy caper based on Agatha Christie's The Mouse Trap. She also uses her natural Irish accent in this which is also a delight.

And in terms of straight-up dramas, Little Women, Brooklyn, Lady Bird and Atonement are all great.

@icarus I just glanced at your post initially (thinking along the lines of the thread being about what role Saoirse Ronan could play in Narnia) and for a moment there I was thinking "What...??? Where did Mary Queen of Scots come into any of the Narnia books??"  

Posted by: @col-klink

Posted by: @justin

The problem is that basically all the characters are either children, villains, voiceovers, or too small of roles to be worthy of an actress of her caliber. 

Pardon me but is there a reason Ronan couldn't play a villain? I know she's usually cast as the protagonist but that doesn't mean she always has to be. In fact, she might be excited to do something a little different, especially if she's really interested in Narnia enough that she specifically asked the screenwriter/director for a role. And, anyway, it's not like all the protagonists she's played have the exact same personality. I can imagine her playing an antagonist. 

Not at all. 😅 All I meant to imply is that A-list stars aren't always keen to do villain roles. There isn't a lead protagonist that fits her age. An older Susan or Lucy in HaHB could be a possibility if that's what Gerwig is doing, although I kinda doubt that one is coming any time soon. 

Posted by: @coracle

I notice that she was born in  April 1994, making her a year older than Georgie Henley (July 1995).  This is too young to play Digory's mother or Aunt, or Mrs McCready. 

Wasn't it fairly ordinary for an 18 year-old to marry at the turn of the century? I'm not sure I see the problem with a 12 year old (Digory), having a 30 year-old mum. 

Posted by: @justin

Wasn't it fairly ordinary for an 18 year-old to marry at the turn of the century? I'm not sure I see the problem with a 12 year old (Digory), having a 30 year-old mum. 

I was just going to say that that's true and this is another possibility, but I just realised, there's internal evidence that suggests Digory's mother is older than that. She's the younger sister of both Aunt Letty and Uncle Andrew, and Uncle Andrew explicitly describes himself as being over 60. Of course there can be quite large age gaps between siblings, if their own mother was young enough when she started having children — she could feasibly have been in her late teens when Andrew was born and in her early 40s when Mabel (Digory's mother) was born. But it wouldn't be more than about a 25-year age gap at the absolute most. So it's very unlikely that Mabel could be younger than 35, and more likely somewhat older than that.

Of course, Ronan (or any other younger actress) could quite easily be made to look a little older with makeup, if she did decide to take that role — and of course Digory's mother is terminally ill when we first see her, so they'll need to use a fair bit of makeup to get that effect anyway. In the book, we only see her in person right near the end, but I'm pretty sure any film adaptation will give her some screen time earlier in the narrative so we can see more of how much she and Digory love each other and how desperate he is to find some way of curing her. If MN is one of the movies Gerwig makes (and there's a pretty high likelihood of that), I'm guessing she will definitely want to emphasise that parent-child relationship, as it seems to be a theme that's meaningful to her, probably all the more so now that she's a mother herself.

@courtenay That's true. I forgot how old Uncle Andrew was described to be. She must have been a decent been younger since 60+ is around 50 years older than Digory, but over 20 years younger just isn't realistic. 

Anyway, has Saoirse begun playing mothers or older women?

I recall an earlier Little Women film where Susan Sarandon played 'Marmee'- the girls' mother. She said in an interview that she was a bit shocked to be auditioning for the mother. That was 1994, so she would have been in her late 40s, which is about the right age for the role.