The doors to Narnia are opening again — but this time, audiences are going back to the very beginning.
Netflix has released the first official trailer for Greta Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, offering the clearest look yet at the filmmaker’s ambitious adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ fantasy world.
The movie marks Gerwig’s major directorial follow-up to Barbie and is the first screen adaptation of Lewis’ 1955 novel The Magician’s Nephew. Rather than beginning with the familiar story of the Pevensie children, Gerwig is taking viewers back to the creation of Narnia itself.
The trailer introduces young adventurers Digory and Polly, Daniel Craig’s eccentric magician Uncle Andrew, Emma Mackey’s dangerous Jadis and, perhaps most importantly, Aslan.
Meryl Streep provides the voice of the legendary lion.
With an enormous fantasy world, a star-filled cast and an unusual theatrical release strategy from Netflix, Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew is shaping up to be one of the biggest fantasy films of 2027.
The First Narnia Trailer Takes Us Back to the Beginning
The new trailer begins far away from the Narnia most audiences remember from earlier movies.
David McKenna plays Digory Kirke, while Beatrice Campbell stars as Polly Plummer. The two children become caught up in the experiments of Digory’s mysterious Uncle Andrew, played by Daniel Craig.
Andrew possesses magical rings capable of transporting people between worlds.
Those rings eventually send Digory and Polly into the Wood Between the Worlds, a mysterious place connecting different universes.
From there, their adventure becomes much bigger than either child expected.
The footage shows strange landscapes, magical portals and glimpses of the characters who will eventually shape the history of Narnia.
But the trailer saves one of its biggest moments for Aslan.
Viewers see the great lion as Narnia itself begins to come into existence, establishing that this movie is not simply another adventure inside the fantasy kingdom.
It is an origin story for the kingdom itself.
Meryl Streep Voices Aslan
One of the biggest talking points surrounding Gerwig’s adaptation is the casting of Meryl Streep as Aslan.
Aslan is one of the most important figures in C.S. Lewis’ entire Chronicles of Narnia series.
The powerful lion was previously voiced by Liam Neeson in the three Narnia films released between 2005 and 2010.
Gerwig’s version is taking a different direction by casting Streep.
The trailer provides audiences with an early sense of this interpretation as the story approaches the creation of Narnia.
It is a major role for the three-time Academy Award winner and one that will inevitably be compared with earlier portrayals of the character.
Emma Mackey Becomes Jadis
The trailer also gives viewers a new look at Emma Mackey as Jadis.
Fans of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will recognize Jadis as the character who eventually becomes the White Witch.
However, The Magician’s Nephew takes place much earlier in the timeline.
That allows the movie to explore the character before the events most audiences associate with her.
The trailer shows Mackey in an elaborate silver costume as Jadis enters the human world, offering a very different image from the frozen Narnia ruled by the White Witch in later stories.
Mackey previously worked with Gerwig on Barbie, where she played one of the Barbies.
Their reunion gives Gerwig another familiar collaborator as she moves from the colorful world of Barbie Land into a much larger fantasy universe.
Daniel Craig Plays Uncle Andrew
Daniel Craig is another major addition to the cast.
The former James Bond star plays Andrew Ketterley, better known as Uncle Andrew.
He is responsible for creating the magical rings that allow travel between worlds, making his experiments crucial to the events that follow.
The trailer presents him surrounded by strange objects and experiments while Digory and Polly try to determine whether he really possesses magical abilities.
Craig’s appearance is noticeably different from the polished image audiences may associate with his years as James Bond.
Instead, Uncle Andrew appears eccentric, unpredictable and fascinated by forces he does not completely understand.
Carey Mulligan Joins the Star-Studded Cast
The movie extends well beyond Streep, Craig and Mackey.
Carey Mulligan is also part of the cast, alongside Ciarán Hinds, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Denise Gough and Susan Wokoma.
At the center of the film, however, are newcomers David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell.
Casting relatively new young actors alongside some of Hollywood’s biggest names follows a familiar fantasy-film tradition.
The approach allows Digory and Polly to feel like ordinary children discovering something extraordinary while the supporting characters are played by recognizable stars.
Netflix’s confirmed cast includes:
David McKenna
Beatrice Campbell
Emma Mackey
Carey Mulligan
Ciarán Hinds
Daniel Craig
Meryl Streep
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
Denise Gough
Susan Wokoma
Why The Magician’s Nephew Comes Before the Wardrobe
For viewers who only know Narnia through the earlier movies, starting with The Magician’s Nephew may initially seem unusual.
The novel was published in 1955, several years after The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
However, its events take place much earlier.
The story explains the origins of Narnia and several important elements that later become central to the series.
That makes it a natural starting point for a new film franchise.
Rather than immediately retelling a story that already received a major movie adaptation in 2005, Gerwig can introduce audiences to a part of Narnia that has never previously received a feature-film adaptation.
Netflix describes the film as the first screen adaptation of The Magician’s Nephew.
“Stairway to Heaven” Gives the Trailer a Different Feel
The trailer also attracted attention for its music.
Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” plays over the footage as Digory and Polly move from their ordinary lives into an increasingly enormous supernatural adventure.
It gives the trailer a tone that feels different from a traditional family-fantasy preview.
Gerwig has spoken about the importance of music to her interpretation of Narnia and the idea of a universe literally being brought into existence through song.
That connection becomes especially important when considering Aslan’s role in the creation of Narnia.
The result is a trailer that mixes classic fantasy imagery with a more contemporary musical choice.
Greta Gerwig Designed Narnia for the Big Screen
Perhaps the most surprising part of Netflix’s Narnia project is how audiences will actually see it.
Netflix has built its business around streaming, and many of its original films receive either limited theatrical runs or arrive directly on the platform.
Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew is different.
The movie will receive IMAX sneak previews beginning February 10, 2027.
It will then open in theaters worldwide on February 12.
Only later, on April 2, will the movie become available to stream on Netflix.
That creates a substantial theatrical window and makes the film an unusually big cinema commitment for Netflix.
Gerwig has made it clear that she wants audiences to experience the scale of Narnia on a large screen.
At a special New York presentation, footage was shown in IMAX before Gerwig discussed the movie with Stephen Colbert.
The strategy makes sense considering the scale of the project.
Instead of treating Narnia primarily as streaming content, Netflix is positioning the movie as a major cinematic event.
Narnia Is Greta Gerwig’s Follow-Up to Barbie
Expectations are especially high because this is Gerwig’s first major directing project following Barbie.
Released in 2023, Barbie became a global box-office phenomenon and earned almost $1.5 billion worldwide.
Moving from Barbie Land to Narnia is a dramatic creative shift, but Gerwig has explained that C.S. Lewis’ books have been important to her since childhood.
She has described being fascinated by the idea of Aslan singing an entire universe into existence.
That personal connection may be one reason Netflix has trusted her with such an important franchise.
Gerwig wrote the screenplay as well as directing the film.
This Is Not a Continuation of the Previous Narnia Movies
It is also important to distinguish the new movie from the earlier Chronicles of Narnia film series.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe arrived in 2005, followed by Prince Caspian in 2008 and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in 2010.
Gerwig’s film is not a fourth installment in that continuity.
Netflix is beginning a new adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ world with a different cast, creative team and starting point.
That means audiences do not need to watch the previous films before seeing The Magician’s Nephew.
The story is designed to introduce Narnia from its beginning.
When Will Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew Be Released?
Audiences actually have two important release dates to remember.
IMAX sneak previews begin on February 10, 2027.
Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew then receives its worldwide theatrical release on February 12, 2027.
Netflix subscribers will be able to stream the movie beginning April 2, 2027.
Netflix will handle distribution in North America, while Sony Pictures Entertainment will distribute the movie outside North America.
That theatrical-first approach makes the release particularly interesting to watch.
If Narnia performs strongly in cinemas, it could demonstrate how major Netflix franchise movies can exist as both theatrical events and streaming releases.
A New Era of Narnia Is Beginning
There is considerable pressure attached to bringing The Chronicles of Narnia back to the screen.
C.S. Lewis’ stories have been loved by generations of readers, while the earlier movies introduced the fantasy world to millions more.
Gerwig is taking a potentially smart approach by avoiding an immediate remake of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Instead, The Magician’s Nephew allows audiences to discover how Narnia began.
The first trailer suggests the movie will combine that origin story with large-scale fantasy visuals, a prestigious cast and Gerwig’s own interpretation of Lewis’ world.
David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell will lead audiences through the adventure as Digory and Polly. Daniel Craig brings Uncle Andrew to life. Emma Mackey introduces a younger Jadis. And Meryl Streep takes on one of fantasy literature’s most recognizable characters as the voice of Aslan.
Most importantly, audiences will finally get to see the creation of Narnia itself on the big screen.
Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew opens in theaters on February 12, 2027, before arriving on Netflix on April 2.
For a franchise built around discovering hidden worlds, this new beginning may be exactly the fresh doorway Narnia needed.
Sources
Netflix Tudum — official trailer, cast and release information
Netflix Media Center — official film synopsis
Associated Press — Greta Gerwig’s IMAX presentation and first-look coverage
The Guardian — trailer and theatrical release coverage
Rotten Tomatoes — Narnia IMAX sneak peek and Greta Gerwig interview
