Netflix’s Narnia trailer featuring Led Zeppelin divides fans as some brand it a ‘disgrace’

The first trailer for Netflix’s upcoming Narnia adaptation The Magician's Nephew has divided fans online.

Directed by Barbie filmmaker Greta Gerwig, the new movie version of the C.S. Lewis classic is set to be released in theaters next February 12 before arriving on the streaming service.

Lewis famously began his Chronicles of Narnia series with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in 1950, before publishing prequel The Magician’s Nephew five years later. It is the first of the seven novels when the story is arranged in chronological order.

Based on the trailer, Gerwig’s adaptation leans into a glam rock aesthetic. It is soundtracked by Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven.”

This artistic choice has divided social media users. On X, one wrote: “Anyone who defends this slop should be ashamed. They have disgraced C.S. Lewis. His family should be ashamed to sell out like this. Netflix destroys everything that is good.”

Another added: “Made by a monster who doesn't care about source material. Movie looks like crap. Congrats Netflix, another movie that disrespects the source material.”

However, others were more positive, with some praising the decision to start the story with the prequel rather than the better-knownThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

“Starting the whole cinematic run with the actual origin story instead of jumping straight back to Wardrobe is the ultimate dream for book purists,” wrote one user.

Another opined: “Gerwig is an exceptionally talented film-maker. The aesthetic quality of the trailer is impressive. If all the trailers strike this note, it will be hard for all but the most resolved audiences to resist watching. Personally, I enjoy the cosmic rock aesthetic.”

If the film is a success, Gerwig intends to adapt further Narnia novels for Netflix.

In a statement, the filmmaker said: "Working with Netflix to bring this film to life has been extraordinary and IMAX continues to be an incredible partner. I cannot wait for people to see the film in theaters on February 12 and on Netflix on April 2.”

She added: “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. 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. It is the honor of a lifetime to be asked to imagine it into being. Because of C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, I believed in magic and hidden worlds and adventure. I believed that anywhere could be enchanted and that anyone could be swept up into an epic. That wonder and awe was available to everyone, even ordinary people like me... It transformed me.”

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