Netflix unveils the first trailer for Narnia: The Wizard’s Nephew by Greta Gerwig | Greta Gerwig

The first glimpse of Greta Gerwig’s vision for Narnia has been revealed.

Today, Netflix gives its first look at its vision of CS Lewis’ magical world in the trailer for The Magician’s Nephew, the first chronological book in the beloved series.

Featuring the soundtrack of Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven, the trailer opens with magician Andrew Ketterley (Daniel Craig) intoning that “sometimes one story is the beginning of all the others”, as he gives a group of children a magic ring that will transport them to strange and wonderful lands.

Elsewhere, the trailer gives a first look at many locations and characters familiar to fans, including Jadis (Emma Mackey, the future White Witch) and Aslan, the mythical lion voiced by Meryl Streep.

The Magician’s Nephew tells the story of two children in Edwardian England named Digory and Polly (newcomers David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell) who stumble upon the Wood Between Worlds, a realm with numerous portals to different dimensions. There, they witness the birth of Narnia.

At a trailer premiere in New York this morning, Gerwig spoke about her longtime passion for the CS Lewis series. “I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know the books,” she said, according to Variety. “I wouldn’t be who I am without these books.”

The film, which is Gerwig’s first since her billion-dollar megahit Barbie, will be released in theaters for eight weeks on February 12 before streaming on Netflix starting April 2, in the studio’s first global theatrical release.

“I told Ted (Sarandos, Netflix CEO) that 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.'”

The director added that she asked Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and Jimmy Page for permission to use Stairway to Heaven in the trailer.

“I talked to them about a lot of the themes of the film,” Gerwig said, as reported by Rolling Stone. “They saw the heart of it, the history and the drama.”

“It’s an epic song,” she added. “It’s about the two paths of good and evil… It’s a spiritual quest and a spiritual journey. So for me, it was a song that made sense to introduce the film to the world.”