Netflix’s ‘Narnia’ Scenes to Film Inside One of the World’s Tallest Studios

NarniaWeb has learned that scenes from Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Narnia adaptation will be filmed in Hangar 2 at Cardington Studios in Bedford, England. Filming is expected to take place from mid-October through to Christmas.

Originally built to house airships during the first World War, Cardington’s massive hangars were later converted into film studio space. Over the years, they’ve hosted other large blockbusters, including Inception, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and The Dark Knight.

With ceilings reaching 158 feet high — compared to Shepperton Studios’ maximum of 45 feet— Cardington is one of the largest indoor spaces in all of Europe and is more than five times the size of the largest soundstage in Hollywood.

Production designer James Chinlund was previously described to us as having “huge ambition” for the project’s scale. To help realize that vision, NarniaWeb can first report that Academy Award-winning Set Decorator Lee Sandales (Wicked, 1917, The Batman) has been tapped to collaborate on the production design.

Locals have also spotted directional signs marked “OT” on roads leading up to the studio, similar to those seen around filming locations in Bradford and London, indicating that production activities will be ramping up shortly.

“OT” refers to the film’s working title, Ordinary Time — a phrase taken from The Magician’s Nephew when Digory resists Jadis’s temptation to steal the Apple and gain immortality for himself or his mother. 

Stay tuned to NarniaWeb for more details on filming at Cardington, Shepperton, and Longcross Studios over the coming months.

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