Since it was announced that Greta Gerwig would develop at least two film adaptations of C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia book series for Netflix, speculations have been high on who would portray various characters. James McAvoy‘s Mr. Tumnus from the previous film series has been a favorite among the fans. And now, the actor has revealed whether his beloved character will be recast in the planned Netflix projects.
James McAvoy confirms Netflix will recast Mr. Tumnus for Greta Gerwig’s Narnia movie
In a recent interview, McAvoy revealed that he would not portray Mr. Tumnus in Greta Gerwig’s Narnia movies, and the role would be recast. McAvoy appeared as Mr. Tumnus only in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), the first of the three earlier movies, but his rendition of the character has garnered a considerable fanbase over the years.
During a recent interview with BuzzFeed UK, McAvoy was asked how he managed to inject his personality into well-established characters such as Professor Charles Xavier and Mr. Tumnus in such a way that it’s hard to see another person portray those roles.
“That’s very kind. Although, I suspect, with both those characters, we will be seeing someone else play those roles, as they’re both getting remade eminently without me,” McAvoy said in response.
“I think all you got is yourself, and you know I am a very different beast to Mr. Tumnus,” the Speak No Evil actor continued. “But you look within yourself and you look for the aspects of the character that may not be developed in you and you imagine them growing and you imagine what would have had to happen to you in your life to make you like that,” he added.
The other two movies from the previous Narnia film series, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, came out in 2008 and 2010, respectively. There were plans to adapt The Silver Chair, the fourth Chronicles of Narnia book, but they seemed to have been scrapped after Netflix secured the rights to new film and television series adaptations of Lewis’ novels.