As with the Casting Call watch thread, I thought it would be useful to collate a few of the bits and pieces of Location-related information I've come across in recent weeks into one thread... partly for my own sanity so that I can better keep track of it all, and partly to see if it sparks any new leads with anyone out there in the wider community.

There aren't any mega news-worthy scoops in here just yet, but perhaps a few seeds of intrigue which may pay off in the months to come...

Shepperton Studios - Confirmed.

It probably goes without saying at this point that Shepperton Studios in Surrey - the home of Netflix UK - is going to be the primary studio location for Narnia.

As well as the recent confirmation reported in The Times, I also noted the other day that Film Base UK, a company that specialises in recruitment for staff in movie productions (specifically Art Department jobs, Set Decorators, and Props crew) listed Narnia at the top of their list for productions which are set to be hiring in the New Year as part of their 2025 Preview.

"The wardrobe doors are finally opening for the lion at Shepperton, courtesy of Netflix and Barbie's Greta"

Note - I wouldn't read anything too much into the "wardrobe" comment - they were probably just reaching for the easiest visual metaphor to hand.

Given that FilmBase are well positioned as industry insiders, and given that they gave such prominence to Narnia on their 2025 Preview, I am inclined to believe there is a chance that some of of the Crew Hire adverts they have posted recently could also be for Narnia.

For example, this one definitely fits the bill in terms of locations, timings, and the nature of the work we would expect the Narnia team to be hiring for at this stage of the production process:

Major Motion Picture, Shepperton, to start after Christmas

"A Draughtsperson, Junior Draughtsperson and a Concept Illustrator are needed for a big-budget Netflix movie getting underway in December and January at Shepperton Studios."

https://www.instagram.com/filmbase.uk/

Granted there are probably other big-budget Netflix movies looking to get underway at Shepperton soon, but I think there is a reasonably good chance they could be talking about Narnia... which would be exciting because it potentially then links in some other Crew Adverts that went out on the same day....

Malta

I've mentioned this in a previous rumour thread about some early signs of Production Activity having started in November, but the Malta angle perhaps flew under the radar a bit.... However back on November 27/28, Film Base also posted the following two adverts for crew hires to work at Shepperton Studios and Malta:

Netflix MMP - Shepperton and Malta

"This Job Alert is for three Art Department roles, which need to be filled on this Netflix [Major Motion Picture] based at Shepperton, with some of the shoot in Malta. The start date is Dec/Jan. This Job Alert was sent out earlier this week to Filmbase's Accredited members. Join Filmbase if you'd like to find out more.

Big Budget Netflix Sequel - Based in UK and Malta

A great opportunity for an experienced Art Department Assistant and a Coordinator to join the team on this [Major Motion Picture] shooting in west London and Malta over the UK winter. This Job Alert was sent out to Filmbase Accredited members

https://www.instagram.com/filmbase.uk/

Taken at face value, these are definitely for a Netflix feature film, of at least £30 million budget, which I think is the minimum threshold for the MMP (Major Motion Picture) tag, though its a bit unclear whether its for something which is starting Production Design work in January, or actually shooting in January.... obviously it would need to be the former to match with Narnia.

There is however the use of the word "sequel" - on the one hand that would seem to rule out Narnia, as it's a new series, not a continuation, however on the other hand it would also seem to rule out almost every other major Netflix film currently looking to start production in the new year.... Enola Holmes 3 seems to be the only other viable candidate, but I really cant seem to find anything concrete about that.... I'd just as easily be able to believe that the person writing the job advert saw "new Narnia film" and translated that to "sequel".

Either way, the Malta angle is an intriguing proposition, given the country's very distinctive architecture, and the fact that it has one of the world's biggest water tanks - perhaps nothing immediately jumps out as being Narnia related (other than the timing of the hiring and the Netflix / Shepperton connection) - however its one I've definitely still got my eye on, and one I haven't yet been able to rule out as being something else.

Somerset

I don't want to double up too much from the Casting Call thread, but I'm still not ruling out Somerset from the potential shooting locations just yet. Although the original casting request was advertised for "May to June 2025", its only a month out from the July date that Amy Pascal provided, and so I could easily imagine that date shifting to the right still. It also has one-up on Malta in that this is definitely confirmed to be for a High-Profile Fantasy Film.

I think the main thing though that still strikes me about this piece of info is how far in advance the casting call went out. Most of the other casting calls I've come across only tend to be a few weeks or months notice. This one was like 8 or 9 months notice, which to me indicates a big production.

Canterbury Cathedral

The smallest piece of info on this list, and the one I have least confidence in, however again its one I've struggled to rule out as being anything else...

In this article from The Knowledge (part of the Production Intelligence network - another Film Industry website) from May of this year (2024) which provided a profile on Canterbury Cathedral as a shooting location:

"The first major production to film at the Cathedral since we relaxed our regulations – and post-Covid – was Disney/FX’s The Veil, starring Elisabeth Moss. We have also had interest from a well-known fantasy film franchise, a major Netflix production, and a Ridley Scott film."

https://www.theknowledgeonline.com/features/location-spotlight-canterbury-cathedral  

My initial instinct was that the "well known fantasy film franchise" was for the new Harry Potter TV series, given that the original Potter movies did a lot of shooting at various Cathedrals in the UK... however perhaps I'm just getting overly fixated on the word "film" and noting that Harry Potter is going to be a TV series, not a film, this time around... Either way, I'm not getting overly excited about this one, but its definitely one to keep in the "maybe pile" for now.