Netflix has released the first trailer for Greta Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, offering an early look at her adaptation of C.S. Lewis’s fantasy world. The film marks Gerwig’s return to directing following the success of Barbie and takes audiences back to the creation of Narnia, before the events of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Set to Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven, the trailer introduces two young adventurers, an eccentric magician and the beginnings of a world populated by extraordinary creatures. It also reveals Emma Mackey as Jadis, the future White Witch, Daniel Craig as Uncle Andrew and a first glimpse of Aslan, voiced by Meryl Streep.
What the Trailer Reveals
The story follows Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer, played by newcomers David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell, who discover that Digory’s uncle has been experimenting with magic. Their curiosity leads them to a set of enchanted rings and the Wood Between the Worlds, a mysterious forest containing portals to other universes.
The trailer opens with Uncle Andrew introducing the possibility of travelling beyond the familiar world. From there, the footage moves through fantastical landscapes and encounters with characters whose actions will shape Narnia’s future. Jadis appears in elaborate costume, while other sequences introduce a winged horse and the vast, cosmic imagery associated with Aslan.
Unlike previous screen adaptations, Gerwig’s film begins with the origins of Narnia rather than the Pevensie children’s arrival through the wardrobe. First published in 1955, The Magician’s Nephew was the sixth book released in Lewis’s seven-part series, although its events come first in the fictional chronology. The story explains the creation of Narnia and introduces the history of several figures who later appear in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
For Gerwig, the film is closely connected to her childhood reading. Speaking about the adaptation, she recalled being fascinated by Lewis’s idea of a world brought into existence through music. That connection is reflected in the trailer’s use of Stairway to Heaven, which the director personally sought permission to use from Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and Jimmy Page.
Gerwig has described the song as particularly appropriate to the film’s themes of good and evil and its spiritual journey. Her comments, detailed in Netflix’s official feature on the adaptation, explain how the music relates to the story’s spiritual themes. Its inclusion gives the trailer a musical identity distinct from the orchestral scores traditionally associated with fantasy adventures.
The Cast and Release Date
Emma Mackey, who previously worked with Gerwig on Barbie, plays Jadis, a powerful figure who will eventually become the White Witch. Daniel Craig takes on the role of Uncle Andrew, whose magical experiments begin the children’s journey, while Carey Mulligan plays Digory’s mother.
Meryl Streep voices Aslan, the lion central to Lewis’s mythology. The ensemble also includes Ciarán Hinds, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Denise Gough and Susan Wokoma. McKenna and Campbell lead the film as Digory and Polly, placing the two young characters at the centre of a production featuring several established performers.
Gerwig has written the screenplay as well as directing the film. Her creative team includes costume designer Jacqueline Durran, who previously collaborated with her on Little Women and Barbie, and composers Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, who are providing the original score. Cinematography is by Seamus McGarvey, with production design by James Chinlund.
Gerwig’s film joins a series of major literary adaptations made for cinema. Christopher Nolan has also brought a well-known work of literature to the screen, with STORY examining the characters and mythology behind The Odyssey.
Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew will begin IMAX previews on 10 February 2027 before opening in cinemas worldwide on 12 February. It will then arrive on Netflix on 2 April 2027. The theatrical release is a significant part of the film’s rollout, with Gerwig having spoken about her intention to make the adaptation for the big screen. The dates are confirmed in Netflix’s official film listing and its accompanying Tudum announcement.
The film is the first screen adaptation of The Magician’s Nephew, introducing Lewis’s fictional universe through its creation story rather than revisiting the events of the earlier Narnia films.
For more Netflix film coverage, read STORY’s earlier feature on His Three Daughters.
