Greta Gerwig debuts first look at an epic, full-hearted 'Narnia' for Netflix -- and the big screen

NEW YORK (AP) — Greta Gerwig debuted a first look at “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” on Tuesday, previewing a full-hearted adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ allegorical adventure and an IMAX-sized spectacle made for Netflix but designed for the big screen.

Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” scores the trailer, which was also released online. A few hours earlier, Gerwig unveiled the trailer and behind-the-scenes footage on an IMAX screen at the AMC Lincoln Center in New York, where she spoke with Stephen Colbert about her “Barbie” follow-up.

Netflix, in a dramatic reversal for the company, is giving “Narnia” a wide theatrical release beginning Feb. 12. The film will land on the streaming service on April 2. Gerwig said she wrote her first draft in 2020 and 2021 after approaching Netflix chief executive Ted Sarandos at a cocktail party.

“I told Ted I only know how to make movies for the big screen,” Gerwig said. “He said, ‘Make the movie for the biggest screen you can imagine.’”

With a $280 million budget, “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” is one of Netflix’s most ambitious films. It's also a novel way into the “Narnia” series, starting not with the first book, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” but the sixth.

“The Magician’s Nephew,” published in 1955, is a prequel. It follows two children in 1900 London who, through a magic ring, are transported into another world and witness Narnia's creation by the lion Aslan. That entryway to Narnia thrilled Gerwig, who noted Lewis urged readers to tackle “The Magician’s Nephew” first. The trailer features the line: “Have you ever seen a world born?”

“Movies this size are usually about destruction,” said Gerwig.

The trailer only hints at the film’s already debated portrayal of Aslan , a thick-maned representation of Jesus in Lewis’ Christian fable. Voiced by Meryl Streep, the character appears as a cosmic outline and roars but doesn’t speak.

Some conservative pundits have criticized casting Streep as Aslan, a male character in the books. Gerwig didn’t address Streep's casting in her remarks, though she thanked Lewis’ family and estate for their public support of the film.

Newcomers David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell star in the film, with an ensemble made up of Daniel Craig, Emma Mackey, Ciarán Hinds and Carey Mulligan. The film was initially slated to open in November, but Netflix pushed it into 2027, Gerwig said, to give it a global theatrical release.

Gerwig described the story as a spiritual quest, which made the choice of “Stairway to Heaven” fitting to her. She met with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page to secure the song’s seldom-given rights permission.

“They did it because they saw the heart in the story," Gerwig said. “And they, too, love C.S. Lewis.”

The three previous “Narnia” movies were all produced by Walden Media, a family-values-oriented entertainment company owned by billionaire Philip Anschutz. In 2018, Netflix acquired the global rights to the “Chronicles of Narnia” book series.

Gerwig, 43, was raised as a Unitarian Universalist in Sacramento, California, and attended an all-girls Catholic high school — an upbringing she dramatized in her solo-directing debut, “Lady Bird.” Faith, Gerwig said, “has been a thread through all of my films.”

“For me, film and faith have always gone hand in hand,” she said, calling both communal experiences.

Gerwig described reading Lewis’ “Chronicles of Narnia” books as a foundational experience to her youth. The only comparable experience, she said, was reading Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women,” which Gerwig adapted in her 2019 film.

“I would not be who I am without these books,” said Gerwig. “They created me.”