Last month, we reported that animal trainers were present on the set of Greta Gerwig’s upcoming adaptation of The Magician’s Nephew, confirming that live animals were being used. NarniaWeb has also learned that one of those animals was, in fact, a guinea pig.
We can also confirm that the guinea pig was used specifically on the Wood Between the Worlds set, which was likely filmed at Shepperton Studios.
In the book, guinea pigs are cruelly used by Uncle Andrew to test his newly created magic rings. Digory and Polly later encounter one of the animals in the Wood Between the Worlds, with a ring tied to it. Seeing the guinea pig helps break the trance-like forgetfulness induced by the Wood, reminding them of London and why they entered the pools in the first place.
While much from the set remains under wraps, Gerwig previously referenced the Wood Between the Worlds in a 2023 interview when describing her stage in the preparation process for Narnia:
There’s a thing in one of his books called the Wood between the Worlds. That’s where I am. I’m in the Wood between the Worlds. It’s a wood that goes on forever, you can’t see the sky, it’s so dense, you can’t see the end of it. And there are all these pools and at the bottom of each pool is a universe. […] The problem with the the Wood between the Worlds is that you can often forget what you’re doing there (laughs). This is actually a feature of it. You kinda get a little bit of amnesia. So you have to remember, ‘where am I going? Which world am I trying to get to now?“
Netflix’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew is scheduled to open in IMAX on November 26, 2026.
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