Oct 14, 2026 9:30pm IST
‘Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew’ Trailer Breakdown: Greta Gerwig Brings 80s Rock-n-Roll, Cosmic Aslan and ‘Stairway to Heaven’ to Narnia
In a year of polarising films like “Digger,” arrives the trailer for “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew,” directed by "Barbie" filmmaker Greta Gerwig. Based on C.S. Lewis's 1955 children’s novel, the film is a prequel to “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.” The film’s first look had already sparked intense discussions about its psychedelic style and unusual treatment of high fantasy. And now with the first trailer out, it’s clear that this is, both literally and figuratively, a world before the Narnia we know existed. And Gerwig is treating it exactly so.
Greta Gerwig’s Narnia looks nothing like the previous ‘Narnia’ movies
Unlike the well-lit, warm, realistic color palette of Andrew Adamson’s 2005 film and its sequels, “Prince Caspian” (2008) and “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010), Gerwig’s “Narnia” is a lot more 80s retrofuturistic rock-n-roll fused with steampunk, complete with the first official use of Led Zepellin’s “Stairway to Heaven”. Fittingly, its White Witch, played by Emma McKay, gives David Bowie, and its Aslan, voiced by Meryl Streep, is made up of stars. For hardcore “Narnia” and Lewis loyalists, this might not strike the right chord, but for fans of this vibrant, fantastical visual style that pays an ode to the 80s fantasy films and reminds you of early Cartoon Network shows and films like “Spy Kids,” this might be a treat waiting to happen.
The book details in Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” trailer
Visually, the trailer looks fantastic, with plenty of details for keen-eyed book fans. As the trailer begins, “The Magician’s Nephew” is a story that is "the beginning of all the others”. It doesn’t take place in Narnia, but features its creation. The first shot is of the Wardrobe that the Pevensie kids will use to enter Narnia, suggesting that we might either get a prologue or epilogue explaining its origin.
The trailer begins on a London terrace with a young boy named Digory Kirke (David McKenna). Along with his best friend, Polly (Beatrice Campbell), he looks upon Digory’s Uncle Andrew, aka Mr. Ketterley (Daniel Craig), wondering if he is truly a magician, as Digory’s mother (Carey Mulligan) said. The kids open a door to the world of magic, and the shot from the trailer of Uncle Andrew’s workshop casts a spell with how bright and jewel-toned everything is. Spoiler alert: Digory’s Uncle Andrew is indeed a magician (even if not a very good one), and he tricks the kids into trying out magic rings that take them to a “World Between Worlds”: Woods, full of pools of water that are portals to other worlds. With an entire multiverse open to them, Digory and Polly set off on an adventure.
When Digory says, “How can I be ready when I don’t know what’s on the other side?” it’s the exact sentiment one might echo when watching “The Magician’s Nephew” trailer. Greta Gerwig brings to life the landscape of the “World Between Worlds” with dense, mossy woods that look alien to Earth and pools of fluorescent water that seem perfect as gateways to other worlds. The aesthetic carries on to the ancient world of Charn, where Digory discovers the bell that will awaken Jadis. In her pre-White Witch era, Mackey’s Jadis looks like she's a pixie straight out of “Euphoria,” jumping onto a scene that resembles a destroyed amusement park. Lewis wrote “The Magician’s Nephew” in a much lighter tone than the other books. And Gerwig appears to be maintaining that. The shot of a truck with wings painted on it stopping right beside what might be Strawberry the Horse is a fun way to foreshadow a later scene.
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Greta Gerwig’s ‘Narnia’ trailer nods to ‘The Lord of the Rings’
Gerwig also offers plenty of nods to C.S. Lewis’ love for his friend and contemporary J.R.R. Tolkien and “The Lord of the Rings.” The scene where Digory puts on the magic ring is a dead ringer for Frodo putting on the One Ring. Both Tolkien and Lewis wrote how there was music during the creation of the world, an idea that is adapted by “The Rings of Power” series in its opening credits and now by “The Magician’s Nephew,” too. For the first time, the British rock band Led Zepellin has officially given their blessing for “Stairway to Heaven” to be used in a film.
At a climactic point in the trailer, a voiceover by Ciarán Hinds, who is credited as the older Digory, asks, “Have you ever seen a world born?” as the last line of the song plays. It's the perfect background to the Big Bang moment, when an Aslan made of stars and cosmic dust takes a deep, warm breath and the world of Narnia erupts from his body to a guitar riff—a goosebumps-inducing way to present the film’s title card!
As per a deal negotiated by Greta Gerwig, “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” will be the first Netflix film to have a wide theatrical release, that too in IMAX. And even though the experimental style is a huge gamble, looking at the trailer, it deserves nothing less than the biggest screen. The film arrives on February 12, 2027, before streaming on Netflix from April 2, 2027.
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