‘Narnia’ Cinematographer Shares Insights Into Gerwig's Adaptation
Door Jam: August 17, 2026
NarniaWeb has in-person reporting from a masterclass with Seamus McGarvey, cinematographer on Greta Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew.
He described the production as “the biggest budget hand-knitted project.” While they were working, he said the filmmakers had “a dream of poetry in our souls.”
McGarvey has seen a “rough cut” of the movie and said he was lost in it, which is how he knew it was a good film.
Talking directly with the NarniaWeb correspondent, McGarvey said the film touched on grief and recommended reading Lewis’ A Grief Observed, calling it “the ultimate book on grief.”
McGarvey has been nominated for an Academy Award twice—Atonement (2007) and Anna Karenina (2012).
He’s done big budget spectacle movies like The Avengers (2012), Godzilla (2014), and The Greatest Showman (2017), as well as adaptations, including High Fidelity (2000), Sahara (2005), Charlotte’s Web (2006), Pan (2015), and Cyrano (2021).
Magician’s Nephew will mark the first time he has been the cinematographer for Gerwig.
For more from McGarvey’s masterclass and conversation about Narnia, read NarniaWeb’s article: Greta Gerwig’s ‘Narnia’ Praised as a “Hand-Knitted” Production Despite $280M Budget.
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
The Last Battle
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