Narnia: The Magician's Nephew has assembled an impressive cast, including former James Bond star Daniel Craig as Uncle Andrew, the movie's titular magician.
Without getting into spoilers, it's his lifelong obsession with magical objects and artefacts which sets the story in motion. When that happens, the lives of his young nephew Digory (David McKenna) and neighbour Polly (Beatrice Campbell) are changed forever.
Now, a first look at Uncle Andrew has been revealed, generating discussion on social media as fans liken Craig—who came close to joining the MCU as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' Balder—to Doctor Who.
In an interview with Empire (via SFFGazette.com), Craig teased, "I’d like to say that his intentions are good, but I’m not sure that they are," with filmmaker Greta Gerwig adding, "He’s the stupidest magician in the world who actually made magic."
Craig's love of Narnia extends back to his own childhood, when he enjoyed The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in one sitting. "I stayed up all night and read it. It was the first time I started a book and finished it near dawn, and I’d never read a book cover-to-cover before."
Along with Craig's magician, we also have a new still featuring Emma Mackey's Jadis, a.k.a. the White Witch. She previously worked with Gerwig in 2023's Barbie, as Physicist Barbie.
"There’s this great line in the script where she’s described as 'all chaos and bad plans,'" the actress explains. "She’s this larger-than-life creature who appears in Digory and Polly’s world and takes them by surprise."
"We had to have that duality of fun, which is what the kids are seeing — [a] shiny, exciting person — but also, 'Wow, you’re a little bit scary, and I don’t really know what foot to dance on with you,'" Mackey adds. "It was very shiny and exciting, but also comfortable and ready for war."
In The Magician's Nephew, the touch of a magical ring sends two friends hurtling into another world. They accidentally release an evil sorceress from her enchanted sleep. Hungry for ultimate power, she’s determined to destroy everyone—and every world—in her path. But a song from the Great Lion, Aslan, awakens a new hope and a new world: Narnia, where anything is possible.
The movie stars David McKenna, Beatrice Campbell, Emma Mackey, Carey Mulligan, Ciarán Hinds, Daniel Craig, and Meryl Streep.
It was recently confirmed that, following IMAX previews on February 10, 2027, Narnia: The Magician's Nephew will be released theatrically on February 12, before streaming on Netflix on April 2.