Netflix Releases First Trailer for Greta Gerwig's Narnia: The Magician's Nephew

Netflix has released the first trailer for Narnia: The Magician's Nephew, written and directed by Greta Gerwig. The trailer went live on Tuesday, October 13, at 2 p.m. ET, according to What's On Netflix. Watch the official trailer on YouTube.

The footage is the first public look at a project that has been anticipated since Gerwig was linked to the Narnia franchise at Netflix. It also confirms a release plan that pairs a limited cinema run with a streaming debut, a rollout Netflix has used selectively for its biggest event films.

What the First Trailer Reveals

According to Consequence, the trailer introduces young Digory and his uncle, who is revealed to be the magician, as he creates the world that will become Narnia. The sequence centers on the moment of invention, which fits a story built around the idea that Narnia has an origin and that people had a hand in setting it in motion.

The music choice drew attention as well. The trailer is set to Led Zeppelin's “Stairway to Heaven,” a song Consequence notes is rarely licensed for movie trailers. The track dates to 1971 and carries a reputation for being closely guarded by its rights holders, so its appearance here signals how much weight the studio is placing on the campaign. It also points to a tone that leans toward the mythic rather than the whimsical.

A Release Built Around Two Windows

The film opens in theaters on February 12, 2027, with IMAX-only sneak previews beginning February 10. It then streams on Netflix starting April 2, 2027. That leaves seven weeks between the start of the theatrical run and the streaming premiere, a gap long enough to give audiences a real chance to see the film on a large screen before it reaches subscribers' homes.

Distribution is divided by region. Netflix distributes the film in North America, and Sony Pictures handles other territories. The schedule has also changed since the film was first announced. It was previously set for an IMAX release on November 26, 2026 and a Netflix debut on December 25, according to Wikipedia, but it was moved to 2027. The shift places the film in the winter and spring rather than in the crowded holiday corridor, where it would have competed with the usual wave of year-end releases.

The Story Behind the Title

It is the first film adaptation of C.S. Lewis's 1955 novel, which tells the origin story of Narnia and leads into The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. That earlier book appeared in 1950, which means The Magician's Nephew was written as a prequel, and it has long occupied a particular place in the series. Readers who follow the books in chronological order begin with it, while those who follow publication order reach it later.

The novel follows two children, Digory and Polly, who are drawn into the experiments of Digory's uncle and find themselves traveling between worlds with the help of magic rings. Their journey takes them to a dying realm, where they wake a powerful queen named Jadis, and eventually to the creation of Narnia itself, which is sung into being by Aslan. Several details that recur in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, including the lamp-post and the wardrobe, have their origins in this book, and Jadis later returns as the White Witch. The adaptation therefore has the task of explaining how the most familiar parts of Narnia came about.

The Cast Taking On Lewis's World

David McKenna plays Digory Kirke, Beatrice Campbell plays Polly Plummer, Emma Mackey plays Jadis, and Daniel Craig plays Digory's uncle. Meryl Streep voices Aslan, and Carey Mulligan, Ciarán Hinds, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Denise Gough and Susan Wokoma also star.

The lineup combines two young actors in the central roles with a group of established names in the supporting parts. Casting a pair of newcomers as Digory and Polly puts the story's perspective with the children, while performers such as Craig and Streep give the adult and mythic figures a recognizable weight. Streep's role is a voice performance, which means Aslan's presence in the film will rely on her delivery rather than on her appearance.

Gerwig Takes On a Franchise

Gerwig arrives at Narnia after a run of films that include Lady Bird, Little Women and Barbie, the last of which became one of the biggest box office hits of 2023. Her earlier work showed a preference for adapting well-loved material and giving it a personal stamp, a quality that Netflix appears to be counting on here. Netflix acquired the rights to the Narnia books in 2018, and the film is the first major result of that deal to reach audiences.

Earlier screen versions of Narnia reached theaters in the 2000s and early 2010s, adapting The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. None of those films covered The Magician's Nephew, which leaves Gerwig free to treat the origin story as new ground rather than a retelling. Because she is both writing and directing, the finished film will reflect a single creative vision from page to screen.

What Comes Next

With the first trailer public, the focus shifts to the weeks before the February 10 sneak previews, when further marketing is likely to follow. Audiences will be watching to see how the film balances the scale of an origin story with the intimate perspective of two children, and how the theatrical window affects the film's reach before its April 2 arrival on Netflix.