Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew could be the biggest release in Netflix history, and fanfare will surely follow the first cosmic rock-opera trailer for Greta Gerwig’s new film.
Scored to Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’, the trailer offers fans a glimpse at Daniel Craig’s titular magician, the wood between the worlds, Emma Mackey’s White Witch and Aslan.
The Magician’s Nephew is the first of Netflix’s planned adaptations of C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia novels.
Through Sony Pictures, the film will arrive in IMAX cinemas on 10 February 2027 and in cinemas everywhere from 11 February 2027.
It will later land on Netflix on 2 April 2027, making The Magician’s Nephew arguably the streamer’s largest-ever theatrical release.
What is ‘Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew’ about?
Chronologically, The Magician’s Nephew is the first story in Lewis’ Narnia saga.
However, it was the sixth of seven books published, arriving in the hands of readers way back in 1955.
The story leads into the widely known The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first Narnia novel to be published.
Two kids, Polly Plummer and Digory Kirke, are at the centre of this story.
When they find their way into Digory’s uncle Andrew’s attic (Craig’s magician Andrew Ketterly, to be precise) and discover a set of magical rings, the two children are transported to the wood between the worlds.
From there, they go on a cosmic journey, enjoying several worlds.
They even encounter Fledge, a talking horse who can fly.
Crucially, Polly and Digory, portrayed by Beatrice Campbell and David McKenna, encounter Mackey’s Jadis, the future White Witch and last Queen of Charn.
Mackey’s character will go on to be the big bad of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
We get beautifully crafted glimpses of all of this in the new teaser, as well as the majestic, godly lion Aslan, who will be voiced by Meryl Streep.
The trailer is full of colour and grandeur, and the excitement is elevated by the iconic Led Zeppelin soundtrack.
The cast also includes Ciarán Hinds, Denise Gough, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Susan Wokoma and Carey Mulligan as Digory’s mother, Mabel.
A master filmmaker in control
One of the most exciting parts of this film is writer/director Gerwig’s involvement.
Netflix unveiled its plan to adapt The Chronicles of Narnia in 2019, and Gerwig, the maestro behind Barbie, came on board in 2023.
Gerwig’s hits also include Lady Bird and Little Women.
She also personally reached out to Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and Jimmy Page to include their music in this new mega movie.
“It’s an epic song, and narratively, about a spiritual journey, a path of fake idols and wrong roads you can go down. It made sense to introduce the world,” Gerwig said (via Variety).
“I was so moved that they allowed me to use this song. They saw the heart and story of the film.”
Gerwig has spoken on her passion for the project via Netflix Tudum, saying, “I was a child when I first read The Magician’s Nephew, and I fell in love with the gorgeously improbable but completely brilliant concept of a cosmic lion singing the world of Narnia to life.
“I didn’t know that I would grow up to make films, but a universe built out of music is an idea that always lived in my heart.
“It is the honour of a lifetime to be asked to imagine it into being. Because of C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, I believed in magic and hidden worlds and adventure.
“I believed that anywhere could be enchanted and that anyone could be swept up into an epic.
“That wonder and awe was available to everyone, even ordinary people like me … It transformed me.”
At $280 million with a wide theatrical release, this is Netflix’s biggest swing yet, but with Gerwig at the helm and this early teaser, things look promising.
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