Two-time Academy Award-nominated cinematographer Seamus McGarvey recently offered new insight into Greta Gerwig\u2019s upcoming adaptation of The Magician\u2019s Nephew, including his reaction to seeing a rough cut of the film and his thoughts on its visual approach.<\/p>\n
The report comes from a NarniaWeb reader who attended a masterclass<\/a> with McGarvey at the Armenian Cinematographers Guild<\/a> workshop on July 15, 2026, during the Golden Apricot International Film Festival in Yerevan, Armenia.<\/p>\n McGarvey spoke about Narnia: The Magician\u2019s Nephew with fondness, describing the production as \u201cthe biggest budget hand-knitted project,\u201d and said that the filmmakers had \u201ca dream of poetry in our souls\u201d while working on the film.<\/p>\n He also revealed that he had recently watched a rough cut<\/a> of the film with Gerwig in London. The screening took place on July 10, and he described getting completely absorbed in what he was watching.<\/p>\n He said that when he watched the Narnia rough cut, he was lost inside the film \u2013 that\u2019s how he knew it was a good film. He was really just excited about it and talked about the film with such wonder.\u201d<\/p>\n McGarvey also discussed the importance of having writers involved during the filmmaking process. He said his best experiences on set have come when writers are present because they can remind filmmakers of the meaning behind a story, even when production deadlines are tight.<\/p>\n McGarvey mentioned that he had read The Magician\u2019s Nephew before becoming involved with the film. During the masterclass, while responding to a question about Narnia, he described screenplays in general as the \u201crarefied version\u201d of novels, which are denser and contain more ideas.<\/p>\n Following the event, the reader also had an opportunity to speak with McGarvey privately, where the cinematographer discussed the film\u2019s visual approach and its treatment of grief.<\/p>\n When I talked to him later on, he was excited about the nature or the visuals of dreamscapes in the film. I also mentioned I read and reread the Narnia series growing up and The Magician\u2019s Nephew is the book that taught me deeply about grief during a personal experience. And he said that yes, the film will talk about grief, given what happened to the boy\u2019s mother.\u201d<\/p>\n McGarvey then personally recommended reading C.S. Lewis\u2019s A Grief Observed (1961), calling it \u201cthe ultimate book on grief\u201d. Based on their conversation, the reader came away with the impression that grief is being treated as a meaningful theme in Gerwig\u2019s adaptation.<\/p>\n During a podcast appearance<\/a> last November, Seamus McGarvey casually remarked that the film had a $280 million production budget.<\/p>\n Narnia: The Magician\u2019s Nephew recently resumed production, with additional photography<\/a> picking up at Shepperton Studios. The film is scheduled to open in theatres worldwide on February 12, 2027, just over six months from now.<\/p>\n Have a scoop or inside information about Netflix\u2019s Narnia production? Help keep NarniaWeb up to date by sending us an anonymous Spy Report here<\/a>!<\/p>\n