Greta Gerwig is taking audiences into a new version of Narnia. Her upcoming film, “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew,” draws inspiration from 1960s and 1970s British rock and the music and visual style of David Bowie.
The “Barbie” and “Little Women” director has described the film as a “rock opera” rather than a traditional fantasy adaptation. Gerwig wants the origin story to feel “big and transporting.”
The film will arrive in IMAX and cinemas worldwide on February 12, 2027. IMAX sneak previews will begin on February 10. Netflix will then release the movie on its streaming service on April 2.
Mixing magic and Bowie
Gerwig said music played a major role in shaping her vision for the film.
C. S. Lewis’ story describes Narnia as a world that comes to life through music. Gerwig used that idea as a starting point for her adaptation.
“I wanted a rock opera. I wanted it to be big and transporting,” Gerwig said in an interview with Empire.
“Narnia is literally a world made out of music,” she added. “It is a world sung to life by Aslan, and rock ’n’ roll to me felt like a world made out of music.”
The movie will not follow the traditional format of a musical. However, Gerwig plans to bring elements of glam rock into the fantasy world.
David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust era serves as one of the film’s key visual influences. Netflix’s first look at Aslan also reflects that influence.
Aslan, the cosmic lion who sings Narnia into existence, has heterochromic eyes and a red-striped face. The design draws inspiration from Bowie’s famous Ziggy Stardust persona.
“Universe built out of music“
Gerwig said her connection to “The Magician’s Nephew” dates to childhood, when she became fascinated by the idea of a cosmic lion creating a world through song.
“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,” she said.
“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,” she added.
“The Magician’s Nephew” is chronologically the first book in Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia,” serving as a prequel detailing the creation of Narnia.
It will be the first time the book is adapted to the big screen, as Walden Media’s film series only managed to adapt “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” “Prince Caspian”, and “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” before plans for “The Silver Chair” were abandoned.
Meryl Streep stars as Aslan
The cast of Gerwig’s “The Magician’s Nephew” will be headed by Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep, who will be the voice behind Aslan.
The film also stars newcomers David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell alongside Emma Mackey, Carey Mulligan, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith and Daniel Craig.
Gerwig said she wanted an actor for Aslan who could combine authority, emotional depth and childlike wonder.
“I wanted someone who was profound but not pretentious, who had gravitas but not morose self-seriousness,” she said.
“Someone who could communicate depth and pathos as well as joy and delight. 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 one of the greatest actors to ever do it. That list is not a long one.”
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