Aslan & The White Witch's Gritty Narnia Origins Officially Unveiled By Netflix In Epic New Fantasy Adaptation

Published Oct 13, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT Jordan is the Senior Editor for Movies & TV News at Screen Rant. She graduated from the University of Oregon with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Media Studies. An editor, writer, and digital media specialist based in New York City, you can also find her bylines on Business Insider. Jordan originally hails from Washington State, giving her an undying loyalty to any Seattle sports team, though she's also spent time in Virginia, Oregon, and New Orleans. She runs on coffee and classic movies, taking pride in having seen every film on AFI's 100 Greatest Films list and every Best Picture Oscar winner. Netflix is bringing C.S. Lewis' magical world back to life in Narnia: The Magician's Nephew's first trailer. Directed and written by Greta Gerwig, The Magician's Nephew adapts Lewis' 1955 Narnia book of the same name, which serves as a prequel to the original The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe story. The high fantasy movie is set to be released theatrically in IMAX on February 12, 2027, followed by its streaming premiere on Netflix on April 2. While details surrounding Gerwig's highly anticipated adaptation have been slim ahead of its debut, Netflix is finally giving a deeper look at its massive worldbuilding in the first trailer for The Magician's Nephew: In the trailer, young Digory and Polly are seen being transported from England into a magical world by using rings kept in the former's Uncle Andrew's study. As they travel through various universes, Digory and Polly encounter figures such as Jadis and Aslan. The first trailer is scored by Led Zeppelin's iconic rock song "Stairway to Heaven," highlighting the more steampunk fantasy edge that The Magician's Nephew adaptation brings to the Narnia franchise. The cast of the Narnia: The Magician's Nephew movie brings together industry icons and up-and-coming stars to tackle the legendary characters. Meryl Streep is taking over as the voice of the lion Aslan and Emma Mackey plays Jadis, the future White Witch, with David McKenna as future professor Digory Kirke. The actors in Gerwig's 2027 adaptation also include Beatrice Campbell as Polly Plummer, Carey Mulligan as Flora Kirke, Daniel Craig as Andrew Ketterley, and Kobna Holdbrook-Sith as Frank, alongside Tom Bonington, Ava Jager, Ciarán Hinds, Denise Gough, Susan Wokoma, Gerard Monaco, James Murray, and Samantha Spiro. ScreenRant's Jordan Williams was in attendance at Netflix's exclusive IMAX Sneak Peek event for The Magician's Nephew trailer release in New York City, which also included a Q&A with screenwriter and director Greta Gerwig. Hosted by Stephen Colbert, Gerwig discussed the origins of her love for Lewis' novels, how signing on to write and direct the film came about, and her approach to the themes of the beloved story. In addition to the Q&A, Netflix exclusively revealed behind-the-scenes footage of Gerwig, Craig, the cast, and the crew on set bringing the fantastical world to life. As it turns out, Gerwig submitted early drafts for The Magician's Nephew script in 2020 and 2021, long before her box office smash hit Barbie movie. After she learned that Netflix had acquired the rights to The Chronicles of Narnia, CEO Ted Sarandos asked her to write the film once she advised him to begin the streamer's adaptations with the prequel novel rather than The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Gerwig's reasoning for kicking off with The Magician's Nephew is inspired by author C.S. Lewis himself, who wrote that readers should begin the novels with the prequel. Gerwig also discussed how she landed the rare opportunity to include "Stairway to Heaven" in the trailer, a song whose licensing rights Led Zeppelin is notably strict over. The Oscar-nominated director revealed that she spoke with band members Robert Plant and Jimmy Page to get their permission, explaining that the pair also share reverence for the work of C.S. Lewis. Per Gerwig, the Narnia team began working on the music for the epic fantasy franchise film earlier than usual in prep due to its integral role in The Magician's Nephew's story and themes. After the first trailer, there's still plenty more from this magical adaptation that Netflix has yet to reveal. While the latest footage includes a snippet of the lion's roar, The Magician's Nephew still hasn't revealed Meryl Streep's voice for Aslan, one of the most anticipated aspects of the Netflix film's take on these characters. With four months still remaining before Narnia: The Magician's Nephew's theatrical premiere, Neflix has only just given a quick peek into the massive scope and fantastical universes that will be unveiled in February.