Barbie director Greta Gerwig has found a new project with Netflix and the work of novelist C.S. Lewis: She’s heading to Narnia.
Lewis wrote a series of books set in the famous magical world, which was first found by innocent children through a portal in a wardrobe. Though his stories have been adapted for film before, fans are excited to see what Gerwig’s twist on the classic series will be. They don’t have much longer to wait.
Here’s everything we know about Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew.
When will Greta Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew be released?
The film will first be released in IMAX and theaters on Feb. 12, 2027, before it streams on Netflix on April 2, 2027.
What is Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew about?
Based on C.S. Lewis’s 1955 novel, it is actually the sixth in the Chronicles of Narnia series, though it’s essentially a prequel to the main story. It follows two children, Polly and Digory, who are tricked into traveling between worlds and encounter the creation of Narnia via the powers of Aslan the lion.
Who is in the film cast?
The film stars newcomers David McKenna as Digory Kirke and Beatrice Campbell as Polly Plummer, as well as Carey Mulligan and Emma Mackey as Digory’s mother Mabel Kirke and the future White Witch, respectively.
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Daniel Craig, Meryl Streep, Ciarán Hinds, Denise Gough, and Susan Wokoma round out the cast.
Streep voices Aslan in the new movie. Gerwig shared why the actress was a perfect fit for the role in a September 2026 feature for Empire. “I wanted someone who was profound but not pretentious, who had gravitas but not morose self-seriousness. Someone who could communicate depth and pathos as well as joy and delight,” she told the outlet. “I wanted someone who was older than 70, so there was a wisdom of experience, but who also had the capacity of fresh wonder, like a child. And also to be one of the greatest actors to ever do it. That list is not a long one.”
Craig will play Uncle Andrew Ketterly in the movie and reflected on the character in an interview with Empire.
“I’d like to say that his intentions are good, but I’m not sure that they are,” he said. “It’s not to say that he’s cruel and mean and awful. He gets overexcited about what could be, and therefore overlooks the people around him and the consequences of what he’s doing.” Gerwig added that Andrew is “the stupidest magician in the world who actually made magic.”
Can I see a trailer?
Netflix released the official trailer on October 13, revealing the first look at Gerwig’s film. The footage, set to “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin, shows Digory Kirke (McKenna) and Polly Plummer (Campbell) encountering his Uncle Andrew (Craig) at work…with magic. The famed wardrobe from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe makes an appearance, and so does the White Witch in a younger form (played by Mackey). The preview includes snippets of the various worlds Digory and Polly encounter, as well as them riding Fledge the flying horse. Aslan (voiced by Streep) appears at the end of the trailer, though the famous lion doesn’t speak in the footage.
Watch the trailer below:
Of the music choice, Greta explained during a trailer premiere event that “Stairway to Heaven” is “an epic song” that’s also “about a spiritual journey,” which made it a great match for the preview.
Here’s a closer look at some of the scenes:
Who else is working on the film?
Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt (who both worked on Barbie) composed the original score, and George Drakoulias is the music supervisor. Other creatives include production designer James Chinlund, set decorator Lee Sandales, costume designer Jacqueline Durran, hair and makeup designer Ivana Primorac, visual effects supervisor Paul Franklin, visual effects producer Barry St. John, editors Andrew Weisblum, ACE, Nick Houy, ACE, and Wyatt Smith, ACE, casting director Nina Gold, creature effects creative supervisor Neal Scanlan, and animation supervisor Michael Eames.
Mark Gordon, Amy Pascal, Vincent Sieber-Smith, and Gerwig serve as producers. Christine Crais is a co-producer, and Patricia Whitcher, Douglas Gresham, and Melvin Adams, for the C. S. Lewis Estate, are executive producers.
What else has Greta Gerwig said about the project?
In a statement, Gerwig shared her excitement about working with Netflix on the story.
“Working with Netflix to bring this film to life has been extraordinary and IMAX continues to be an incredible partner. I cannot wait for people to see the film in theaters on February 12 and on Netflix on April 2,” said the director.
She continued, “I was a child when I first read The Magician’s Nephew, and I fell in love with the gorgeously improbable but completely brilliant concept of a cosmic lion singing the world of Narnia to life. I didn’t know that I would grow up to make films, but a universe built out of music is an idea that always lived in my heart. It is the honor of a lifetime to be asked to imagine it into being. Because of C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, I believed in magic and hidden worlds and adventure. I believed that anywhere could be enchanted and that anyone could be swept up into an epic. That wonder and awe was available to everyone, even ordinary people like me...It transformed me.”
Gerwig further discussed her experience on the film during an exclusive trailer premiere event in New York City. In conversation with Stephen Colbert, the director shared the importance of C.S. Lewis’s books in her life. “I would not be who I am without these books.” She was also referring to Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, which she adapted in 2019.
To prepare for writing and directing the movie, Gerwig said she re-read all of Lewis’s works, including essays and other non-Narnia pieces of writing, and tried to read what Lewis himself read. She toured places like Cambridge, Oxford, Belfast—she tried to literally follow in his footsteps to explore what his “interior life would be.” Lewis’s family even visited the set and, on October 6, released a statement celebrating Gerwig’s film, saying they were “thrilled to be working” with her.
Of casting McKenna and Campbell, Gerwig said the team saw many children audition for the roles, but she noticed that McKenna and Campbell often gravitated toward each other, seemingly forming a friendship in real time. But the moment she was sold on casting them was during a screen test, when she noticed Campbell sniffled and McKenna asked someone offscreen to get her a tissue. It proved to her that they were already caring and looking out for each other, which is something she wanted to capture in Digory and Polly’s friendship onscreen.
Lastly, Gerwig said at the event that she hopes viewers leave the film wanting “to make something.” Creating, art or otherwise, is “an act of hope,” she said.
This post will be updated.