Everything We Know So Far About Greta Gerwig’s ‘Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew’

Reported by Vogue.

When Greta Gerwig describes a childhood memory of "a cosmic lion singing the world of Narnia to life" and calls adapting it "the honor of a lifetime," you believe her — because her track record earns that kind of sincerity. The filmmaker behind the cultural reset that was Barbie is heading back to a beloved IP, but this time she's working with C.S. Lewis's 1955 prequel to The Chronicles of Narnia, and according to Vogue, the result is already shaping up to be one of the most anticipated films of the decade.

The cast alone reads like an awards-season fever dream. Emma Mackey — fresh off Sex Education and Barbie — is stepping into icy robes as the White Witch, a role Tilda Swinton made iconic in the early 2000s adaptations. The torch is in formidable hands. Carey Mulligan, Ciarán Hinds, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, and Susan Wokoma are also confirmed, alongside Denise Gough, David McKenna, and Beatrice Campbell. In conversations still to be officially confirmed: Meryl Streep in talks to voice Aslan — the benevolent, god-like lion at the heart of Narnia's mythology — and Daniel Craig reportedly being courted to play Andrew Ketterley, the magician of the title.

What the Story Actually Is

The Magician's Nephew is technically the sixth book in Lewis's series but the first chronologically — a detail that matters enormously to the plot. It follows two London children, Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer, whose curiosity leads them into Digory's uncle's study, where a set of magic rings catapults them across dimensions. What unfolds is nothing less than the creation mythology of Narnia: the origins of the White Witch, the world itself, and yes, that wardrobe. It's a story built on wonder, and Gerwig — who once said a "universe built out of music" has always lived in her heart — seems constitutionally designed to tell it.

Producer Amy Pascal, who also worked with Gerwig on Little Women, told Deadline in late 2024 that this would be "a very new take on Narnia — it's all about rock and roll." The first trailer confirmed that energy isn't just marketing speak. Key roles, including Digory, Polly, and the first king and queen of Narnia, are still uncast — which means the conversation around this film is far from over.

Narnia: The Magician's Nephew hits IMAX on February 10, 2027, wide theatrical release February 12, and Netflix on April 2 — which gives the industry plenty of time to either prepare for a masterpiece or brace for a hot take.

Gerwig has already proven she can make a billion-dollar toy commercial feel like a feminist manifesto; a singing lion creating the universe might actually be her most natural subject yet.

Read the original at Vogue.