Netflix Begins Filming Greta Gerwig’s ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ With Saoirse Ronan Cast as the White Witch

Production on Netflix’s ambitious adaptation of ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ officially launched on Monday morning, with cameras rolling at Shepperton Studios in the United Kingdom. The streaming giant marked the start of principal photography by confirming the long-rumored casting of Saoirse Ronan as Jadis, the White Witch, reuniting the four-time Oscar nominee with director Greta Gerwig for their third collaboration. The production is expected to be a massive logistical undertaking, with a reported 14-month shooting schedule designed to film the first two installments of the franchise back-to-back.

Internal production memos filed with the British Film Institute reveal that Netflix has allocated a combined budget of £290 million ($365 million USD) for the two features, positioning the project as one of the most expensive undertakings in the studio’s history. The expenditure includes extensive practical set construction at Shepperton’s newly expanded “South Lot,” where a full-scale replica of the Narnian winter landscape has been built using sustainable, biodegradable artificial snow. Industry sources indicate that the production will also travel to the South Island of New Zealand in March 2026 to capture the wider topographical shots required for the Battle of Beruna.

The decision to cast Ronan anchors the production with established star power while the studio employs a nationwide open casting strategy for the Pevensie children, similar to the approach taken for the ‘Harry Potter’ series. In a statement released to investors, Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos emphasized that Gerwig’s adaptation aims to adhere strictly to C.S. Lewis’s original 1950 text, prioritizing “tactile magic” over the green-screen saturation that criticized recent fantasy flops. “Greta has negotiated a creative framework that relies on physical creature effects for the Beavers and Tumnus, with ILM providing supplementary enhancement rather than full replacement,” the statement read.

Local economic impact reports from the Surrey County Council estimate that the production will support over 2,200 jobs in the region through 2027. The ‘Narnia’ project is viewed by market analysts as Netflix’s critical bid to secure a four-quadrant fantasy IP following the conclusion of ‘Stranger Things’ and the mixed critical reception of ‘The Witcher’ franchise. With filming now underway, the first film is tentatively targeting a global release for the Christmas holiday window of 2026.

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