Guinea Pig Used on ‘Wood Between the Worlds’ Set For Netflix’s Narnia

Last month, we reported that animal trainers were present on the set of Greta Gerwig’s upcoming adaptation of The Magician’s Nephew, confirming that live animals were being used. NarniaWeb has also learned that one of those animals was, in fact, a guinea pig.

We can also confirm that the guinea pig was used specifically on the Wood Between the Worlds set, which was likely filmed at Shepperton Studios.

In the book, guinea pigs are cruelly used by Uncle Andrew to test his newly created magic rings. Digory and Polly later encounter one of the animals in the Wood Between the Worlds, with a ring tied to it. Seeing the guinea pig helps break the trance-like forgetfulness induced by the Wood, reminding them of London and why they entered the pools in the first place.

While much from the set remains under wraps, Gerwig previously referenced the Wood Between the Worlds in a 2023 interview when describing her stage in the preparation process for Narnia:

There’s a thing in one of his books called the Wood between the Worlds. That’s where I am. I’m in the Wood between the Worlds. It’s a wood that goes on forever, you can’t see the sky, it’s so dense, you can’t see the end of it. And there are all these pools and at the bottom of each pool is a universe. […] The problem with the the Wood between the Worlds is that you can often forget what you’re doing there (laughs). This is actually a feature of it. You kinda get a little bit of amnesia. So you have to remember, ‘where am I going? Which world am I trying to get to now?

Netflix’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew is scheduled to open in IMAX on November 26, 2026.

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14 Responses

  1. Harfang says:

    257 days to go!

  2. Impending Doom says:

    What are the chances the guinea pig also ends up in Narnia rather than being left alone in the Wood Between the Worlds?

    • Narnian nick says:

      I can easily see it becoming a bit of a fan favorite, so it wouldn’t surprise me for them to have someone scoop it up when the group gets back into the Wood Between the World in order to keep it from Uncle Andrew.

      • SusanArcher says:

        That would be such a cute idea and a change that I would totally be okay with! 😉

  3. HTP says:

    Genuinely happy to see they’re not completely ignoring all details from the book. Hopefully we get more stories like this one!

    • Narnian nick says:

      If they were completely ignoring the books, The Wood Between the Worlds wouldn’t make the cut nevermind the guinea pig which doesn’t really factor into the plot much at all. Though, we might still be more in line for an adaptation “inspired by The Magician’s Nephew’ than a traditional approach.

  4. Wally says:

    The Wood Between the Worlds is one of the best scenes in the whole series. Lewis made something so special and memorable in its atmosphere that if Gerwig can capture even a third of it, it’ll be amazing to experience it on the big screen. Don’t mess this up!

  5. Kalavin says:

    I’m glad they’re keeping the guinea pig, and I look forward to seeing it in the movie. That said, not to be a downer, but I think it’s slightly discouraging that this is one of the most hopeful bits of news for book fans so far. I think this is the first time I’ve seen any piece of news since we found out it was The Magician’s Nephew where my reaction was, “Oh yeah! I remember that from the book!” and the guinea pig is a very small part of the book. It’s also been a long time since we’ve gotten updates on the Meryl Streep thing.

    • W says:

      The Devil Wears Prada 2 is being released soon so there may be some new information when Meryl does interviews.

    • DavidD says:

      Well, the Guinea Pig sounds cute – and while its a small detail, I am grateful to hear that this is going to be included in the movie. Let us hope for some more good news along this lines. 🙂

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