James McAvoy responds to Greta Gerwig’s Narnia remake as he addresses Mr Tumnus return

Hollywood star James McAvoy has teased a potential return to Narnia, revealing he would be open to playing an "older Mr. Tumnus" in Greta Gerwig's upcoming adaptations of the fantasy franchise.

The 47-year-old actor played the iconic, scarf-wearing faun in 2005’s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, a breakout role that cemented him as a household name and spawned an unexpectedly massive internet fan base.

Appearing on the BIFA Podcast to promote his directorial debut California Scheming, McAvoy was asked how he felt about "passing the baton" of the character to a new generation as Gerwig prepares her highly anticipated Netflix reboot.

However, the actor was quick to point out a crucial book detail for fans holding out hope.

"They are starting with the book before... They’re doing The Magician’s Nephew," McAvoy explained, noting that Tumnus doesn't actually appear in that story.

"So Tumnus does not appear... you can keep the crown."

McAvoy famously played Mr.Tumnus in the 2004 movie adaptation (Walt Disney Pictures)

When the hosts suggested he might eventually get a call if the franchise eventually tackles later storylines, McAvoy joked about taking on an older version of the character.

"Tumnus only really appears in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Horse and His Boy," he pointed out.

"And I think The Horse and His Boy takes place a lot longer later. So maybe there’s a shout that I could play the older Tumnus. Whoa. That will... bring about the frenzy. I'll shoot the mic and the internet."

Elsewhere in the wide-ranging interview, McAvoy reflected on his early career, admitting he used his Scottish accent as a psychological trick in auditions when he first broke into the industry.

"My ability to change my accent was almost like, 'Oh my god, look at this trick that this Scottish guy can do,'" he recalled.

"I've come in: 'All right, man. What's going on? You all good? Let's go for a take.' [Switches accent] 'Hello, sir. I've never before seen the color of your eyes gleam so bright.' And they'd be like, 'Oh my god, you can really act!'"

McAvoy also spoke candidly about why he chose California Scheming—the wild true story of two Scottish rappers who faked American identities to get signed—as his directorial debut.

He revealed that after announcing his desire to direct, he was constantly sent "poverty porn" scripts about Scottish council estates.

Having grown up in a Glasgow scheme himself, McAvoy wanted to showcase working-class life with joy, humor, and ambition rather than bleak suffering.

"Everything that I was fielding was gritty drama set in Scotland and council estates. And I did want to tell stories about people in council estates... but I didn't want to tell a story about, you know, poverty through the lens of poverty porn," he explained.

He then went on to expand on why that trend bothered him so much: "The filmmakers become interested in the people who are suffering, suffering, suffering, not the people who are striving, striving, striving."

McAvoy went on to share that he grew up loving big, fun blockbusters like Back to the Future. So he wanted his first film to be the kind of movie working-class Scots would actually want to go to the cinema and watch—something exciting and funny rather than a quiet, depressing 'gritty' drama.