In line with what will be its biggest theatrical debut in history, Netflix has debuted the first trailer for Greta Gerwig’s film. Narnia: the magician’s nephew Tuesday in the IMAX theater atop the AMC Lincoln Square on New York’s Upper West Side.
The preview begins with David McKenna’s Digorey Kirke wondering about his “crazy” uncle Andrew, played by Daniel Craig, who his mother says is a “magician.”
Soon, Digorey and the other children learn from Andrew that magic is real and, with the help of a magic ring, they are transported to the surreal and magical land of Narnia, complete with talking animals and a flying horse, which the children ride in a scene that Gerwig said was her favorite to film.
The trailer features Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” an impressive timing given that the band has always been reluctant to license its music for films and TV shows.
Gerwig explained that she showed the film to singer Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page and they were so moved that they allowed her to use their iconic song.
“They saw the heart of the film,” Gerwig explained, adding that the musicians understood his love for CS Lewis.
Gerwig and Colbert agreed that it was an appropriate song for the film, with Gerwig calling it “the story of the film”, as the track also explores a “spiritual quest”.
Seeing the trailer with an audience, all wearing light rings in sync with the premiere’s big moments, was an emotional experience for Gerwig, who said she “had tears in her eyes” after the trailer began, as she put her hand over her mouth.
The event featured tables with bottled water, popcorn (in Narnia-branded cartons) and cinema candy as well as coffee (suitable for early morning timing) and mini pancakes passed around. It was attended by select members of the press and influencers, who watched Gerwig speak with moderator Stephen Colbert about making the film, a process that involved a lot of faith and began with a focus on the big screen.
Gerwig said she only knew how to make films for theaters, explaining how she began by imagining watching the film in theaters, recalling how she told Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos that this was part of her process.
“Make the movie for the biggest screen you can imagine,” Gerwig told Sarandos.
An earlier conversation between Gerwig and Sarandos was key to her landing the job writing and directing the film.
Gerwig recalled how she discovered Netflix when her husband Noah Baumbach did Marriage story for the streamer. After learning that Netflix had acquired the rights to Chronicles of Narnia books – some of her childhood favorites and ones that shaped who she became – she “headed over to Sarandos at a cocktail party.
She shared her excitement about Netflix making films based on the Narnia books and started talking about his vision for the project, which The magician’s nephew should be the first film. About 20 minutes later, Gerwig recalls, Sarandos asked her if she wanted to write the film.
Gerwig landed the job before making a box office hit barbieso she praised the streamer for taking a chance with her when she had only done Lady Bird And Little women.
Beyond imagining the theatrical experience, Gerwig spoke about the challenges of telling an intimate story involving, as Colbert put it, “lonely children.”
“If it’s in the heart, it can be big or small, and both can be true,” she said.
Gerwig also spoke about her immersive approach to understanding Lewis’s state of mind while writing the adaptation, saying she not only read what he wrote and read, but “tried to put herself in his shoes,” visiting the places he inhabited. She also extracted Lewis’s best and most visually evocative quotes from his writings and kept them in mind as she worked on the script.
Narnia: the magician’s nephew is set to hit theaters on February 12, 2027, with the film enjoying a wide theatrical release, a first for the streamer. The film will run in theaters for 49 days before hitting the streaming service on April 2.
Gerwig said she hopes viewers will find themselves thinking, “I love watching movies in the theater. I can’t wait to come back. And then watch this at home.”
And she hoped that moviegoers would leave the cinema “with the desire to do things,” which she called an “act of hope.”
More to come.
Gn entert
