Greta Gerwig's 'Narnia: The Magician's Nephew' trailer reveals Meryl Streep as Aslan

Celebrity & Entertainment journalist
Director Greta Gerwig and actress Saoirse Ronan
Greta Gerwig and Saoirse Ronan Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0

Greta Gerwig's take on C.S. Lewis is finally out in the open, and it is, in the director's words, a punk rock multiverse. The first trailer for Narnia: The Magician's Nephew dropped Monday, revealing a modernized spin on the very first book in the Chronicles of Narnia — and confirming Meryl Streep as the voice of Aslan.

The clip opens with Beatrice Campbell's Polly Plummer and David McKenna's Digory Kirke wondering whether Digory's Uncle Andrew Ketterly has lost his mind, after a sheet is tugged off the famous wooden wardrobe in the Ketterly attic. "Sometimes, one story is the beginning of all others," says a voice that sounds like Ciarán Hinds.

Daniel Craig plays the eccentric Uncle Andrew, who insists he is a magician and hands the children golden rings. "See for yourself," he says, as the pair tumble into what the trailer calls "infinity worlds."

The mood flips when Digory touches a magical object he shouldn't. That summons Emma Mackey's Jadis, the White Witch, in silver sparkly eyeshadow and a metallic dress, brandishing her wand as Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" kicks in — the unmistakable punk rock energy Gerwig promised.

A lion born from cosmic dust

Carey Mulligan appears as Digory's mother Mabel, insisting that "magic, it's everywhere," while a winged horse carries the two kids off a cliff. The payoff arrives at the end: "Have you ever seen a world born?" Hinds' voice asks, as Aslan roars into existence out of cosmic dust.

The film lands in theaters February 12, then hits Netflix on April 2. Alongside Campbell, McKenna, Craig, Mackey, Mulligan and Hinds, the cast includes Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Denise Gough and Susan Wokoma.

Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt wrote the original score, with Seamus McGarvey on cinematography and Jacqueline Durran — Gerwig's longtime Barbie and Little Women collaborator — handling costumes.

More in the section Entertainment

Entertainment

Brad Pitt's Cliff Booth is back - and the new trailer finally shows the plot

The new trailer for The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth drops Booth into a 1977 Hollywood scheme with a star played by Scott Caan.

Entertainment

Travis Kelce 'can't wait' for first Christmas as a married man with Taylor Swift

The Chiefs tight end says he's ready to blend old traditions with new ones now that he's married to Taylor Swift.

Entertainment

Scarlett Johansson: her secret 'The Batman 2' role gave her 'existential angst'

The actress says her still-undisclosed role in The Batman: Part II was 'very hard to figure out' and left her with 'a lot of existential angst.'

Entertainment

Ariana Grande crashes her Focker-in-Law cast chat - and roasts a Booksmart reunion

The pop star popped into an on-set cast video and hugged Beanie Feldstein, telling the camera she loves the Booksmart trio.

Entertainment

Justin Timberlake's 'tell-all' docuseries will have Janet Jackson discuss the 2004 Super Bowl moment

A four-part docuseries arrives on Apple TV in December, with Janet Jackson speaking on the infamous 2004 Super Bowl 'wardrobe malfunction.'

Entertainment

Robert Downey Jr. and Pedro Pascal trade MCU roles in a playful Halloween costume swap

With Avengers: Doomsday weeks away, Robert Downey Jr. dressed as Mr. Fantastic while Pedro Pascal went as Dr. Doom in a paired costume.

Entertainment

Harry Styles recreated his 2010 X Factor audition at Harryween, bakery line and all

Styles swapped mid-show into the exact outfit from his teenage audition and covered Stevie Wonder's 'Isn't She Lovely' at Madison Square Garden.

Entertainment

Taylor Swift's 'I Knew It, I Knew You' tops the movie songs chart for a fourth month

Taylor Swift's Toy Story 5 cut logs a fourth straight month at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Movie Songs chart for September.

Entertainment

James Gunn says Harley Quinn will 'almost certainly' return, but Margot Robbie 'may be over' the role

The DCU boss confirms Harley Quinn will almost certainly come back, but admits Margot Robbie might not return to the role she originated.

Entertainment

Rihanna says A$AP Rocky keeps draining her vanilla-flower body wash bottle

Rihanna says her partner A$AP Rocky is using up her favourite Fenty body wash - and she's on to him.

Celebrity

Billie Eilish's Halloween was a blue bob and head-to-toe latex as Noodle

Food

Turkuterie: a Bosc pear becomes a turkey-shaped cheese board in 30 minutes

Entertainment

Brad Pitt's Cliff Booth is back - and the new trailer finally shows the plot

Travel

Montreal is a gluten-free paradise - here's exactly where to eat

Lifestyle

Margot Robbie just debuted her sharpest, iciest bob yet

Sport

CeeDee Lamb blasts Cowboys offense: 'We stop ourselves. That sh*t is frustrating'

Celebrity

Nicolas Cage and wife Riko Shibata hit the red carpet after sinkhole left them 'homeless'

Food

Stanley Tucci's real holiday hack: a splash of San Pellegrino in your martini

Entertainment

Travis Kelce 'can't wait' for first Christmas as a married man with Taylor Swift

Travel

United's SFO-Adelaide nonstops return Dec. 17 - and South Australia is the real prize

Lifestyle

Zendaya's Dune: Part Three look came from a London mechanic's garage label

Sport

Kurt Warner praises Cam Ward after 298-yard, two-TD game in Titans' OT loss

Celebrity

Kim Kardashian's metal-disc GMA gown is 1989 Paco Rabanne couture

Food

We tried 8 boxed stuffings - these 5 taste homemade enough to fool your guests

Entertainment

Scarlett Johansson: her secret 'The Batman 2' role gave her 'existential angst'

Travel

The best hot dogs in Chicago, chosen by a local who's eaten thousands

Lifestyle

Mariah Carey on holiday hosting: eggnog, diamonds and no cooking till Christmas Eve

Sport

LeBron James sipped a fan's spilled wine mid-game, then reviewed it

Celebrity

Taylor Swift hugged babies and schmoozed journos at her Toy Story 5 Oscar push

Food

The $70 apple pie baked in a paper bag is worth the hype, Delish editors say