Is This Queen Helen of Narnia?
Door Jam: March 9, 2026
In early February, NarniaWeb reported that British actress, writer, and director Susan Wokoma had been cast in Greta Gerwig’s Magician’s Nephew adaptation. She is most known for her portrayal of Edith in Netflix’s Enola Holmes movie franchise, with extensive film and television credits over the past decade and a half.
In the most recent episode of their Talking Beasts podcast, writers for the website revealed that their sources indicated Wokoma would play Helen, the wife of Frank the cabby. The couple become the first king and queen of Narnia.
For now, I will say that for those skeptical of Gerwig’s adaptation, this would be further evidence of her deviating from the books. Those skeptics may be animated by fair criticisms, unfair criticisms, or a mix of both.
This would be an obvious deviation from Pauline Baynes’ illustrations, but not necessarily from C.S. Lewis’ text.1 Having an ethnic minority actress play Queen Helen is not like casting a woman to voice Aslan. Wokoma could play Helen in a faithful adaptation.
I don’t want to comment much on rumors, though NarniaWeb has repeatedly proven to have excellent news sources. But if this casting is confirmed by Netflix or a movie industry trade publication, I’ll share more.
Not Safe But Good
C.S. Lewis quote of the week
“In our world too, a Stable once had something inside it that was bigger than our whole world.”
Lucy in The Last Battle
This is one of the top quotes in the 2026 Narnia Madness bracket. Voting in the Magnificent Eight starts Wednesday.
The Problem of Printers
Bad but unfortunately real C.S. Lewis book covers
Yes, this is a real cover. No, I have no idea what a dog wearing a scarf and hat has to do with The Abolition of Man. But even now, this is the cover when you look at the hardcover version of the book on Amazon. Woof.
Behind the Wardrobe
Sneak peek at the bonus articles
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More Lewis and aliens discussion
A casting rumor for Aragorn in Hunt for Gollum
Vintage Hobbit recordings discovered
New Middle-earth game coming this year
50,000-piece Lord of the Rings Lego build
And more!
