A new era of Narnia is upon us. While audiences have already witnessed takes on The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, and Voyage Of The Dawn Treader in the form of big-screen epics, animation, and a seriously scary BBC series, Greta Gerwig is set to bring The Magician’s Nephew to screens for the very first time. This particular instalment of C.S. Lewis’ much-loved book series introduces familiar characters anew, discovered by two young world-hopping adventurers who set the events of the whole literary franchise into motion. Although it may not be the most widely known of the seminal franchise, The Magician’s Nephew shows Narnia like never before.
Here’s what you need to know before venturing into Gerwig’s bold new vision:
1) It’s the first story chronologically
Despite being the sixth in a seven-book series, The Magician’s Nephew actually kicks off the timeline, and serves as an origin story for Narnia itself. Its aforementioned two heroes are a pair of plucky London kids: Polly (played by Beatrice Campbell in the film) and her neighbour Digory (David McKenna), who grows up to become the Professor who houses Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie some 40 years later in The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe (Lewis’ debut Narnia book).
2) There are magic rings
Digory shares a house with his family, including his gravely ill mother (Carey Mulligan) and Uncle Andrew (Daniel Craig), an amateur magician who believes that he’s found the key to jumping between different worlds by using a set of two magic rings. After a series of seemingly failed attempts involving some rather unfortunate guinea pigs, Andrew sends Polly and Digory off to do his mystical bidding with a set of rings each, unaware of just what (or where) he’s sending them into. This clueless sorcerer holds more power than he thinks.
3) There’s a Wood Between The Worlds
Along their travels, Polly and Digory crash land into the Wood Between The Worlds (see above), an intricate, seemingly endless network of moss-cushioned pools that lead to, well, lots of different worlds – alongside their own homeworld, the kids also step into Charn, an eerie land that has faced total disaster. Their journey through the worlds sees them encounters various friends and foes – towering witch Jadis (Emma Mackey), Uncle Andrew, as well as a London local called Frank (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith), and his loyal horse Strawberry, accidentally tagging along for the ride.
4) It sets up the Witch and the Lion…
Cosmic lion Aslan (here voiced by Meryl Streep) was a major figure right from Lewis’ first Narnia novel – but The Magician’s Nephew gives him a proper magical introduction. And during the course of the story, we’ll witness him creating Narnia itself, through music. As for the series’ villains, we’ll witness an origin of evil too, since Jadis is destined to become the White Witch. As you may know, the pair go on to clash violently in future over the ruling of Narnia.
5) …but the Wardrobe is tbc
No storage-centric spoilers here, but the wardrobe is not a big feature of The Magician’s Nephew story. Still, for any keen carpenters out there, don’t be put off – there might be hints at future furniture adventures in Digory and Polly’s tale.
Read Empire’s full world-exclusive Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew cover story – going on set with Greta Gerwig and her cast, including Daniel Craig, Emma Mackey, and Meryl Streep, to get the first word on her epic fantasy adaptation – in the November 2026 issue, on sale Thursday September 24. Pre-order a copy online here. Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew comes to cinemas from February 12, 2027, and comes to Netflix from April 2, 2027.
