Although much has been made of Narnia’s unconventional “rock’n’roll” soundtrack in recent weeks, new evidence indicates that a traditional orchestral score might also be used as well, much as was the case for the soundtrack on Greta Gerwig’s previous film, Barbie.
On Saturday, Narnia co-composer Andrew Wyatt posted two new photos to his public Instagram account showing him at the Such Sweet Thunder recording studio in London, alongside sound engineers Peter Cobbin & Kirsty Whalley.
In the background you can see the orchestra assembling, and if you look really closely you can just about spot The White Witch on one of the monitors, bathed in a blue light, much as she appears in the recent trailer.
Over the past few weeks, we have also seen a steady flow of new orchestra members being added to the film’s IMDb page, including flautist David Cuthbert, double bassists Laurence Ungless and Roger Linley, French horn player Richard Bissill, and choir director Ben Parry.
Ben Parry is the director of the London Voices, a professional choir based in the UK which specializes in film soundtracks, and which has worked on countless movie projects including Greta Gerwig’s Barbie in 2023.
IMDB have also added Darren Tsai as a music coordinator at Netflix, joining the previously announced music coordinator George Drakoulias, as well as primary composers Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt.
Commenting on the release of the new trailer a few weeks ago, Mark Ronson posted to his Instagram account that he and Andrew Wyatt have been “hard at work for a long time on this one”.
What about the rock music?
At this stage, it is unclear what proportion of the movie’s soundtrack will be scored, or how many licensed songs will feature in the film.
Gerwig did, however, mention a range of different bands and artists during her recent interview with Empire Magazine, including David Bowie, Paul McCartney (The Beatles), David Gilmour (Pink Floyd), and Pete Townshend (The Who).
The trailer for the movie prominently featured Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’, for which Greta Gerwig was granted special permission by the band to use in a filmed medium for the very first time.
However, Gerwig’s comments at the launch event in New York indicated that she merely requested the song to “introduce [the film] into the world”eature on the soundtrack
Some of those influences were also reflected in the music played at that trailer launch event. NarniaWeb staffers Glumpuddle and Doom reported hearing The Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and “Sympathy for the Devil,” along with David Bowie’s “Starman,” as part of the pre-show music.
While Gerwig has spoken extensively about the film’s rock influences, these latest developments suggest that a traditional orchestral score will also have a place in bringing Narnia to life.
