Narnia: The Magician's Nephew — First Look, Cast and 2027 Release Plan

Netflix’s first official photos of Greta Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew are here. The release plan has three dates: IMAX-only sneak previews begin February 10, 2027; the film opens widely in theaters and IMAX on February 12; and it reaches Netflix on April 2. The six-image reveal is new this week. Those dates are the current plan, not all newly announced with the photos.

Gerwig wrote the screenplay and directs the film, which Netflix describes as the first screen adaptation of C. S. Lewis’s The Magician’s Nephew. Its official logline frames the story around the creation of Narnia.

October 13 update: Netflix has now released the official trailer. Our new trailer guide covers the footage and Sony’s February 11 UK cinema date; the photographs below are the earlier first-look reveal.

What do the first-look photos show?

Netflix identifies the wooded realm in the photos as the Wood Between the Worlds, a place connecting other universes. One image shows Digory, played by David McKenna, and Polly, played by Beatrice Campbell, standing together amid the greenery. The still establishes the setting and the two young leads; it does not, by itself, tell us which scene of the book is being adapted.

Other first-look images identify Daniel Craig as Uncle Andrew and Emma Mackey as Jadis. Craig appears in a room crowded with equipment and beams of light. Mackey stands in a silver outfit on a street as people move behind her. Netflix also published a behind-the-scenes photograph of Gerwig at work. These are production stills, not an official trailer or a sequence of confirmed plot events.

Daniel Craig as Uncle Andrew. Credit: Netflix / photograph by Peter Mountain.

Emma Mackey as Jadis. Credit: Netflix / photograph by Peter Mountain.

Who is in the cast?

Netflix’s current list names David McKenna, Beatrice Campbell, Emma Mackey, Carey Mulligan, Ciarán Hinds, Daniel Craig, Meryl Streep, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Denise Gough and Susan Wokoma. Its photo captions identify McKenna as Digory, Campbell as Polly, Craig as Uncle Andrew and Mackey as Jadis. The source does not assign roles to every other actor in that list, so those parts should stay open for now.

Why start with The Magician’s Nephew?

Lewis published The Magician’s Nephew in 1955, five years after The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In the story’s internal chronology, however, it explains how Narnia begins. That makes Gerwig’s choice an origin-story entry point rather than a remake of the best-known earlier film adaptation. Netflix has described the creation of Narnia as the film’s central premise; it has not laid out every scene or how closely the screenplay follows each episode of the book.

How will the theatrical and streaming release work?

Netflix says the February 10 previews are IMAX-only. Netflix’s main campaign gives February 12 for theaters and IMAX, followed by the April 2 Netflix debut. Sony Pictures Releasing UK’s October 13 official trailer instead advertises February 11 in UK cinemas, with IMAX previews on February 10. The campaign date therefore does not establish the same opening day in every territory. Netflix says it will handle domestic theatrical distribution, while Sony Pictures Entertainment will distribute outside North America. Local cinema listings will provide the practical theater and showtime details closer to release.

The film’s original score is by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, who previously worked with Gerwig on Barbie. This September first-look package did not announce a runtime or trailer date. The official trailer subsequently arrived on October 13; see the linked trailer guide for that later reveal.

Reading the novels first? Our Narnia books in order guide explains publication versus chronological order.