‘Magician’s Nephew’ Adaptation to Shoot at Manchester’s Victoria Baths, Scene to Take Place in the 1950s
A new casting call uncovered by NarniaWeb suggests that Netflix’s The Magician’s Nephew adaptation is looking to film at the Victoria Baths in Manchester towards the end of August 2025.
The casting call description reads:
We’re excited to share a fantastic opportunity for students to be involved in a Netflix production […] a prequel to a children’s fantasy book series, where two kids discover a portal to another world!
Although the advert uses a specific production codename to refer to the project, the description is unmistakably for The Magician’s Nephew. (similar codenames were also used on the three previous Narnia films and included aliases such as ‘The Hundred Year’s Winter’, ‘ Paravel’, ‘Toastie’, and ‘Invisible Army’).
The advert goes on to confirm an ongoing rumor which has been discussed at length in our Discord Group over the last few weeks – that the movie will feature scenes which take place in the 1950s, rather than being set entirely in 1900 as per the book.
The advert states that the production is looking for:
- 40 boys, aged 11–14
- Must be strong, confident swimmers
- Comfortable being topless in 1950s-style swimwear (Y-front Speedo-type trunks)
- Must have short, tidy hair to match the 1950s setting
At this stage, it is unclear how such a swimming scene, involving such a large number of children, would factor into the plot of The Magician’s Nephew. It is also unknown whether the time period of the entire story is being shifted forward to the 1950s, or whether this is only for certain scenes.
With production on the movie now well-and-truly in motion, stay tuned to NarniaWeb for all the latest information. Head to our Discussion Forum to discuss the implications!
This is exactly the sort of news I expected to get notifications about via Facebook- excellent job Narnia Web social media team!
As for the news itself… why would they do that? Would this then put future films in the 1980s? It’s fairly fundamental to LWW that the Biltz be occurring; both as the reason the kids go to the country and the reason the Turkish Delight is so tempting.
It’s painful how little we know about this production — hard to wrap my head around how this scene would feature in The Magician’s Nephew.
I can’t wait, but do wish it was set like the timing of the book vs the 1950’s. I will watch it, this has been long awaited for filming with all the books starting in order, and watching the characters grow!
So… they’re filming The Last Battle first??? Let the theories begin!
Two possibilities I see:
1. There are 1955 scenes that bookend the movie featuring CS Lewis himself.
2. MN is set in 1955 because LWW will be set in present day.
Maybe the Wood Between the World’s can also do a bit of Earth time traveling, and before they go to Charn, Digory and Polly jump to the 50s and we get a Eustace cameo while he’s swimming.
I hope they don’t update the whole story to the 1950s. I don’t so much about changing the time period for the other books, but I feel like the time period for The Magician’s Nephew is important to the atmosphere of it.
I’m not worried though. I’m guessing the 1950s stuff is just for a framing device (though why the framing device would involve a bunch of boys in a swimming pool is beyond me. LOL.)
@Glumpuddle, I don’t see how LWW could be in 2026, if MN is in 1950s. That’s 70 years difference. In the books it is approximately 40 – 44 years different.
Maybe it’s just me, or whether this applies to everyone over 40, but I find that anything since the 1990s counts as the “present day”
Could this be for when he becomes the Professor at the end of the book?