Greta Gerwig invites the public to enter the epic kingdom of Narnia with “The Magician’s Nephew”, the first trailer of which was unveiled on Tuesday.
Based on CS Lewis’ classic children’s book series “The Chronicles of Narnia”, the story follows two children, Digory and Polly, who are the first to discover the “Wood Between the Worlds”, otherwise known as Narnia. Set to the music of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” the cosmic trailer opens with Daniel Craig’s Andrew Ketterley – the titular magician – claiming that “sometimes one story is the beginning of all the others” before giving the youngsters a magic ring that transports them to various fantasy lands. Children are fascinated as they come into contact with mythical creatures, beings and beasts, including Emma Mackey’s Jadis, the future White Witch and last Queen of Charn, and Fledge, a talking horse capable of flight.
“Have you ever seen a world born? asks a narrator before getting a glimpse of Aslan, the mythical lion voiced by the one and only Meryl Streep, singing Narnia to life.
Prior to the trailer’s launch, Netflix hosted a preview event for press and social media influencers at AMC Lincoln Square in New York City. Attendees were treated to colorful cocktails, popcorn, boxed candies and platter-served hors d’oeuvres at 9 a.m. Gerwig was interviewed by Stephen Colbert, who asked the Oscar-nominated director to adapt Lewis’s beloved novel, find young actors David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell to anchor the film, and populate the mystical world with stars such as Streep, Craig, Carey Mulligan, and Ciarán Hinds.
“I don’t remember a time when I doesn’t I know the books,” Gerwig said. “I wouldn’t be who I am without these books.”
Gerwig said she found herself in Netflix’s orbit just as the streamer was releasing her husband Noah Baumbach’s film “Marriage Story” in 2019. A year before, Netflix acquired the rights to the “The Chronicles of Narnia” property.
“I walked up to Ted Sarandos at a cocktail party and said, ‘I really think you should start with ‘The Magician’s Nephew,'” said Gerwig, who joked that she kept talking to the CEO about her thoughts. “About 20 minutes later he said, ‘Do you want to write it down?’ At that point, I had only done “Lady Bird” and “Little Women.” I hadn’t done “Barbie” yet.
Although Lewis’s seven-book series began with 1950’s “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” the author retroactively noted that he wanted readers to begin with “The Magician’s Nephew,” which was published in 1955 and serves as a prequel to the otherworldly story. His novels were first adapted into a BBC miniseries, which ran from 1988 to 1990, and then into three films — “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” in 2005, “Prince Caspian” in 2008 and “The Odyssey of the Dawn Treader” in 2010 — by Disney and 20th Century.
“The Magician’s Nephew” is Gerwig’s first feature film since the acclaimed 2023 box office hit “Barbie,” and the adaptation is notable as the first Netflix film to receive a worldwide theatrical release. The film will be released in theaters on February 12, 2027 before arriving on Netflix on April 2.
“I told Ted I only knew how to make movies for the big screen,” Gerwig said. “‘He said, ‘Make the movie for the biggest screen and trust the process.'”
Gerwig spoke about casting McKenna and Campbell, after going through thousands of recorded auditions over the course of several months, and remembered the moment she knew she had found her leads.
“We were doing a screen test, which is intimidating for any actor, and there was a moment where Bea sniffled and David gestured off-camera to bring her a Kleenex. I thought, ‘Oh, these kids already take care of each other.'”
If McKenna and Campbell were intimidated by the idea of working with stars like Craig and Mulligan, they didn’t show it. Gerwig recalled a funny moment from filming before the cameras started rolling. “We were doing rehearsals and Daniel Craig said to the kids, ‘I’m a little nervous,’ just to be nice,” Gerwig said. “And they told me, ‘Don’t worry, Greta is really nice. Everything will be fine!’
Gerwig described “Narnia” as “a world made of music,” so finding the right songs — including “Stairway to Heaven” — was essential to bringing the story to life. Led Zeppelin has always been reluctant to license its discography for film or television. So Gerwig wrote to the band’s singer, Robert Plant, and guitarist Jimmy Page, and showed them an early clip of the film to convince them to let her use their rock anthem on the big screen.
“It’s an epic song, and narratively, about a spiritual journey, a path of false idols and bad roads that one can take. It made sense to present the world,” Gerwig said. “I was so moved that they allowed me to use this song. They saw the heart and the story of the film.”
Gerwig wants audiences to feel a similar feeling when they finally see “The Magician’s Nephew.”
“I hope they laugh. I hope they cry. I hope they feel like they had an adventure,” Gerwig said. “I hope that when they leave the theater they want to make something, a song or a cake or a song or a painting. Doing something is an act of hope.”
Watch the trailer below:
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