Narnia: The Magician's Nephew Trailer: Greta Gerwig Takes The Fantasy Classic To Netflix

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Just when it looked like Greta Gerwig was poised to become one of a master of the character study with her superb first two features, "Lady Bird" and "Little Women," she smoothly segued into blockbuster filmmaking with the buoyant and insightful "Barbie" and the forthcoming "Narnia: The Magician's Nephew." Budgeted at $200 million, Gerwig's adaptation of C.S. Lewis' prequel to "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" is her biggest swing yet. And she's using her industry leverage to make her movie the first wide theatrical release in Netflix's history.

Lewis's novel was published one year before "The Last Battle," the concluding chapter of "The Chronicles of Narnia," and takes place 1,000 years before the events of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." He wrote it in response to a friend's question about how the lamp-post found its way to the woods of Narnia, and it took him five years to complete it, while the other books came more effortlessly. Though it's generally considered one of Lewis' weaker books, Gerwig has long been a fan. As she said in a press release, "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."

So, this is not some cynical attempt to cash in on a valuable property. And given that Gerwig is three-for-three in her career as a director, there's every reason to expect her passion for the material will make this a must-see when it hits theaters. She's already assembled a killer cast that includes Meryl Streep as the mythical lion Aslan and Daniel Craig as the titular magician, but can she succeed where previous "Narnia" movies failed? Let's check out the trailer!

Greta Gerwig's The Magician's Nephew looks expensive and expansive

"Have you ever seen a world born?"

We need to keep telling ourselves "it's just a trailer," but, man, this is how you sell a $200 million piece of epic fantasy. Gerwig's working on the biggest scale of her career, and she looks like she's bucking to become one of the most bankable filmmakers in Hollywood.

This trailer has swagger to spare. Let's start with the use of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven." Once upon a time, the band considered this song untouchable (they wouldn't even let their one-time Rolling Stone chronicler Cameron Crowe use it for "Almost Famous"), but they've softened over the years. Nevertheless, this song doesn't come cheap, which signals to me that Netflix is going to do some full-court-press marketing in the run-up to the film's February 12, 2027 release.

The footage? Gorgeous. Eye-popping. Exhilarating. Even if much of it looks unfinished (which is often the case nowadays). There's a vast difference between this seamlessly cut footage and the pea-green slop of the "Avengers: Doomsday" teaser. The compositions are considered rather than covered. What a difference a real director makes.

Daniel Craig looks perfectly cast as the eccentric Uncle Andrew, while the kids seem completely at home in their roles. I'm especially excited to see Emma Mackey bring the ruckus as Jadis (who will become the White Witch). And I'm saying this as someone who's never been a raging fan of C.S. Lewis' series (though I did love the animated "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" as a child). Since I'm confident these visual effects will get cleaned up before February, consider me sold.