Emma Mackey Teases a “Surprising” and “Wonderful” Narnia Adaptation
Emma Mackey has been discussing her role as Jadis in Greta Gerwig’s upcoming adaptation of The Magician’s Nephew in a string of interviews whilst promoting her latest movie, Ella McCay, in which she plays the titular role.
Whilst Narnia’s strict non-disclosure policy meant that the actress gave predictably tight-lipped responses to many of the questions posed, there were still a few interesting insights to be gleaned from her answers.
First, speaking to Entertainment Tonight at the world premiere of Ella McCay in Los Angeles, Emma said that she said she thought fans would be “surprised” by the film, and that they were “in for a treat”, echoing similar sentiments raised in the past few weeks by composer Andrew Wyatt and distributor Rich Gelfond.
Q: What do you think might surprise fans the most about this take on the franchise?
A: On Narnia? Oh, I mean, everything. I think people are in for a treat, and… I hope, I think, it’s going to be wonderful, it feels wonderful. We’re in it right now, so I can’t say anything about it, but yeah, it’s a dream come true.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Time Magazine, Emma remarked that the “stakes are high” for a big project such as Narnia, whilst when speaking to USA Today the actress once again clarified that the books had been a “big part” of her childhood and that playing the role of Jadis had been “very meaningful” to her.
Q: Working with J.J and Greta, have you enjoyed your fantasy movie phase?
A: I grew up on those kinds of films and those books. “Narnia” was a big part of my childhood, as were the “Star Wars” movies. I do gravitate to them. I’m very happy to be in that space right now.
Q: After growing up on the “Narnia” books, what’s it like to now play a beloved character like the White Witch?
A: It’s very meaningful, and what’s even more meaningful is that Greta gets to bring her interpretation. She’s so deeply passionate about cinema, and her brain is just constantly ticking away. I like to be around those kinds of brains every day, if possible, because it’s very elevating, enriching and playful, too.
Continuing on with movie website Collider, who also asked about her recent work on both Greta Gerwig’s Narnia and JJ Abram’s Ghost Writer, Emma said that it had been a “thrill” to work with both directors and that the projects were both “very exciting” but “very different”.
Likewise, Hollywood trade paper Variety also asked Emma to compare and contrast some of her recent projects by articulating the differences between the characters of Ella McCay and Jadis:
There’s a big gap between Ella and Jadis, which I’m currently filming on, but I get to be around some of the greatest, most passionate cinema brains in movie history. It’s such a privilege. Both Greta and Jim are very truthful in their approach and in their manner, and they care about the work deeply. Being around people like that is very invigorating and enriching and they lead by example all the way.
Emma Mackey can next be seen starring in Ella McCay, which releases in cinemas on December 12th, and JJ Abram’s Ghost Writer, which is set for release sometime during 2026.
It’s such a shame that the final interview there wasn’t available on audio, as it would have been a delight to hear her say “Jadis” for the first time! Would have loved to have heard her pronunciation.
We have like 2 weeks left before the year of 2025 is closing, I am wondering if how far the production and filming has wrapped up because it seems like Emma Mackey is stilling in her promoting spree for Ella McCay (now say that repeatedly : “Emma Mackey’s Ella McCay, Emma Mackey’s Ella McCay, Emma Mackey’s Ella McCay, …”) it seems like she has already finished filming all her important parts for Jadis already. Also, it is possible that the parts for Uncle Andrew or whatever Daniel Craig is doing has also finished given how he been on his promoting spree as well even though his film “Wake up Dead man” is on Netflix already, either he is done with his part or is returning to do some small parts just to finish up. In addition, the actors and actresses for DIgory, Polly, and Digory’s mom have not been mentioned a lot and given the timing and everything it is possible they are currently filming the “emotional” parts of the film cause Greta Gerwig in some interviews for her past films said she would usually film those near the end so it is possible right now they are currently filming the Narnia scenes and Digory and his mother scene given the timing of the filming being “isolated”.
Honestly, someone should have asked Emma how far is the filming like in percentage just to get an idea where they are in the process of everything.
@Professor Digory I totally agree with you.
@Professor Digory, if you click through to the Time Magazine interview, the article there says that Emma was “a little over halfway done shooting Narnia” at the time of the interview. However, its not quite clear exactly when the interview took place. I’d imagine many of these interviews were conducted at various points over the last month or so and then held under embargo until the release week of Ella McCay on December 12th.
Our current estimate is that Narnia is about a month behind the original July-December shooting schedule, and so will likely wrap in January sometime. However its something the news team are currently looking into with various sources, so keep an eye on the homepage and we’ll hopefully let you know once we have a clearer answer.
@icarus, that make sense but usually if they interviewed Emma like in magazine / recordings that for the movie, it maybe already done beforehand or ahead of time so when she mentioned halfway, it might be different say currently, so like I mentioned instead of like reporters asking her “how is it feels” questions which she not likely gonna answer them, it better to ask her “how far is the process” like in real time setting like say red-carpet or like interview that at least date when it was recorded so at least we know the duration cause I know some interview videos tell you when it was recorded just for context I guess.
This is just hopeful thinking but do you think for the “emotional” scenes they are doing them around or during Christmas like why do I get this feeling of like when Georgie Henley sees Narnia in snow for the first time, something of that sort of “magical” flickering would happen around this period cause I get the vibe that after the filming of the “emotional” scenes like the Narnia scenes or Digory and his mother scene, there gonna be some sort of celebration of the completion (or almost completion) of the film like a big farewell party in a way. Not sure why I get that feeling given the old estimated duration of the filming from July to December, it might be the cause for this one where the production want to wrapped up in a very satisfy way like that sign we saw in the leaks like “A New World, A New Home” poster but like for the end of the year like “Out with the old, In with the New”.
Anyway, I hope we can at least find out about it more as the little Christmas present can last me for another year of wait, I hope.
Professor Digory, I think there’s a chance of Christmas parties on set. I hope they have at least a week off and feel joy like in Narnia. They could have Father Christmas come to give gifts directly to the employees if they wanted too, like he does in LWW.
There are a lot of decorations on one of the locations…!
I hate that all they talk about is how excited they are for Greta’s vision and what a passion she has for cinema. I don’t give a rat’s hat about if she loves cinema or not, I’d rather hear she loves the books and is passionate about adapting them instead of turning them into her own things.
Movies (like books) used to be windows into other worlds, now they’re usually mirrors to reflect the ego of their creator.
Too bad Emma Mackey’s ‘Ella McCay’ film bombed as badly as it did at the box office. Will need to check out her performance in it when it comes out on streaming!