Forget Knives Out, Daniel Craig's next movie is a fantasy romp for the whole family
A return to a familiar fantasy world awaits
Daniel Craig is returning to the big screen in a fantasy movie that's quite the departure from the Bond role he's best known for, or his Knives Out character Benoit Blanc. In fact, it's a little more like his 2007 dalliance in The Golden Compass.
Netflix has just released the first trailer for Narnia: The Magician's Nephew, the latest installation in The Chronicles of Narnia. While The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the best known and was the first published from CS Lewis' novels, The Magician's Nephew serves as prequel for the universe in which Narnia exists and was one of the last books written.
So this is an origin story, starring Craig as the magician, but putting young actors David McKenna (as Diggory Kirke) and Beatrice Campbell (as Polly Plummer) into the frame.
The Magician's Nephew sees the children exploring other worlds thanks to a magic ring that the magician (Daniel Craig) gives to them.
The trailer shows us a fantastical world, including a glimpse of a celestial Aslan, while the story revolves around how Narnia comes into being and how evil enters that world through Emma Mackey's White Witch.
Greta Gerwig's (Barbie) portrayal of the various worlds is bright, vibrant and instantly engaging, while having a distinct Ragnarok feeling to it. As a movie it looks like a lot of fun for all ages, both long-time fans and kids who are easily distracted. Visually, at least, Narnia: The Magician's Nephew should hold their attention.
And it's probably a part of the universe that many CS Lewis readers never got to. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Price Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader make sense as a trilogy, following the adventures of Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, but that adventure concludes with Dawn Treader.
So this is an interesting part of Narnia's universe, adjacent to the characters and world that is familiar and makes for a good entry point to the adventures for new fans. It could also serve to draw some to the novel before the cinema release in February 2027, or at least put it on parents' reading lists.
This is a Netflix movie that's heading to the big screen first, so streamers will have to wait for it to hit the small screen, although typically that wait isn't long.
