Is the Witch’s Wand Kind of a Big Deal? | Talking Beasts
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Amateur videos from the set of Greta Gerwig’s upcoming adaptation of The Magician’s Nephew are continuing to pour in, with the latest being the most dramatic yet. The footage appears to show Emma Mackey’s stunt double pulling a wand from her boot and “blasting” a pedestrian out of the why. This might indicate two changes from the book: 1) Jadis has a wand, and 2) She is able to use magic in our world.
Would this be a big change or small change? Listen to our discussion and then post a comment below!
Great episode! I loved that it had at least one fan with a more positive view of this potential change and at least one fan with a more negative view. It’s that range of opinions that I like about Talking Beasts.
I had sort of an instinctive dislike of the idea of Jadis retaining magic powers, but I couldn’t really articulate my reasons. I’d like to thank Rilian and Glumpuddle for doing so for me. (I mean no offense to Impending Doom BTW. He had some good points in favor of this change.) But I think for me what it really comes down to is I love the bit where Jadis tries magically turn Aunt Letty to dust and Aunt Letty thinks she’s drunk. I don’t see how that could work as well if Jadis still has magic.
Could it be that in the set video/photo Jadis is using Digory as a human shield? That doesn’t fit in with my conception of her character. I think she’d be too arrogant to think she needs a shield. But that’s what I’d assume from what we’re seeing.
I know there’s a lot to talk about now with a composer for the new Narnia movie’s soundtrack and an actress from Andor having a role, but could Talking Beasts ever get back to that series on The Last Battle? I was loving that one.
P.S.
I ended up doing a review of the 2025 Snow White on my blog if anyone wants to find out the identity of the mysterious not-dwarfs. I apologize for the shameless self-promotion but I’m probably going to sell the domain soon so people should enjoy the blog now if they can.
Im torn about this potential change! On one hand, seeing Jadis wield a wand could add a thrilling dynamic to the film – it makes her seem even more formidable. But, as Col Klink pointed out, it kinda ruins the charm of her trying to dust Aunt Letty and Letty mistaking it for being drunk. That moment defined her arrogance and the relatable humor in the interaction. Plus, using Digory as a shield doesnt quite fit her character for me either. It feels like theyre moving away from the magical mishaps that made the book so endearing. I hope they find a way to balance spectacle with the originals witty magic!
I just wanted to mention quickly that I misattributed the theory about Jadis’ wand during the discussion. Should have been to Fantasia who first suggested it in the forum 🙂
No offence taken @Col Klink. Thanks as always for your comments!
If Jadis can use magic in our world, then what on earth would stop her from dominating everything? It’s a change, one that will bring a cascade of changes to history.
@Aslan’s son I imagine this change would create a sense of urgency and place the fate of the world in the hands of children. It would also heighten the weight of Aslan’s words when he said that Digory was responsible for the evil in Narnia.
It’s actually the same reason as in the book. Jadis can’t do more damage in our world because Digory and Polly take her away before things escalate further.
The difference here is that, instead of the audience just waiting for the police to handle her, there’s a wild card element of her possessing some magic still, which helps create a higher sense of urgency like @Frazao_ mentioned. Plus, this lines up with Digory’s own vantage point in the book, where he believes she still has her powers to take over the world at this point.
You could 100% be right that it risks going off the rails, but if it turns out she only has limited magical ability in our world (as the set clip seems to suggest), then I don’t think it’s that big a departure from the book and it might even strengthen the scene.
The big question for me is why Digory is with her in the first place and where this chase sequence is leading up to.
I am curious how important viewer response will be. I can imagine that in such a project as this, no matter how skillfully a change is done, there are some things that fans will call so unfamiliar that they get upset. Nevertheless, getting rid of Tom Bombadil, although it created a mild stir, didn’t really create the whirlwind it could have. Whatever the case, it is interesting how important that first exposure is; and conjure up all the logic behind the changes as we may, most viewers are probably going to take these changes at face value.
Thank you for the podcast! I like how you mentioned that Jadis being able to use magic in our world means she would be much more of a threat beyond Digory’s imagination. But It would be funny if we see her try to turn Aunt Letty into dust and fail, like in the books
I want to add that Jadis not being able to use magic in England in the books really reinforces the idea that the England in the books is the same one that is in our world and this differentiates the series from works like Harry Potter where magic exists in our world but is hidden.
Col. Klink, I suggest you move your blog articles to a free blog site if you plan on selling. I have read a handful of the articles and I appreciate their depth and thoughtfulness in a time when so much writing does not consider as many angles or is superficial.
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