Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Magician’s Nephew novel!

Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Chronicles of Narnia movie is one of the most exciting projects coming to Netflix in the coming years, and it is a huge upgrade for one minor character from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. There have been a lot of questions surrounding Gerwig’s upcoming adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ iconic fantasy series, mainly having to do with how the project will differ from Disney’s trilogy. While Netflix’s adaptation was announced in 2018, details are finally starting to come out, including which book will get adapted first.

Disney’s The Chronicles of Narnia film series is iconic, with it further popularizing much of the iconography of the franchise. However, after three films were released, struggles to adapt The Silver Chair continued until 2017, when Netflix announced that it had acquired the Narnia rights. Coming fresh off of the mᴀssive success of 2023’s Barbie, Greta Gerwig will now be helming Netflix’s new Narnia project, which will consist of multiple projects set within the franchise. However, it is already getting off to a peculiar start.

Digory Is The Magician’s Nephew’s Returning Narnia Character Who Benefits The Most From The Prequel

It Explains The Professor’s Backstory

Rather than adapting the first published book in the Narnia series, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Greta Gerwig and Netflix have instead opted to adapt the first book in the series. The Magician’s Nephew is the sixth published book in the franchise, but it acts as a prequel, with it being set in the year 1900 and focusing on the origins of the wardrobe portal to Narnia. However, the film is deeply connected to the story of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, with it starring one character who only had a minor role in the first Disney movie.

The Magician’s Nephew focuses on protagonist Digory Kirke, a young boy from London who lives with his Uncle Andrew. Andrew has created a set of magical rings that allows its wearer to travel to different worlds, which Digory takes advantage of. By the end of the book, Digory plants the core of one of Aslan’s magic apples on Earth, with him later using the wood to create the тιтular wardrobe from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Digory Kirke is still around in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, with him being the character only known as the Professor. The main characters in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe find themselves in the Professor’s house, with them using his wardrobe to enter Narnia. Although he isn’t in the first entry in Fox’s Narnia series much, it is nice to see that Netflix’s series will give him the spotlight in its first Narnia film.

Digory Is The Magician’s Nephew’s Returning Narnia Character Who Benefits The Most From The Prequel

Since Aslan & The White Witch Already Get A Lot Of Screen Time

Of the characters from The Magician’s Nephew who return in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Digory is the one who benefits the most from the prequel. Aslan and the White Witch already get tons of screen time in the main series. So, while they do get fleshed out more in The Magician’s Nephew, it isn’t necessary for viewers to know their backstories.

However, the Professor gets almost no story in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, with his entire story being presented in The Magician’s Nephew. He is the crux of the entire franchise, as he is the one who creates the wardrobe to Narnia. Thus, it is important for the Netflix project to not leave viewers hanging until the sixth Narnia story.

The Magician’s Nephew Makes Digory A Key Player In Narnia’s History

He Is Behind The White Witch’s Existence

Digory plays a role in getting the characters to Narnia, but he also plays a key role in the world of Narnia itself. When he uses the magic rings, Digory initially goes to Charn. There, he awakens an enтιтy known as Jadis, who he accidentally leads to Narnia. By the end of the story, Digory plants a magic apple seed that keeps Jadis at bay for centuries. By the time that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe rolls around, however, Jadis has returned as the White Witch.

So, Digory is the one who unleashes the main antagonist of the first Narnia book into Narnia. Releasing The Magician’s Nephew first will make the prequel and the first book feel like an epic two-part saga, making it a unique path for Greta Gerwig’s Chronicles of Narnia movie to take.