Greta Gerwig has secured Led Zeppelin’s iconic 1971 track “Stairway to Heaven” to soundtrack the debut trailer for her upcoming Netflix fantasy adaptation, Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew.
The Bottom Line
- Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and Robert Plant granted permission after discussing the film’s themes with Gerwig.
- Previous high-profile cinematic requests for “Stairway to Heaven” from films like Wayne’s World and Almost Famous were turned down by Led Zeppelin.
Breaking Decades of Cinematic Resistance
Led Zeppelin might be famously reluctant to license their music to Hollywood, but Jimmy Page has made an exception for the new Narnia movie. The 1971 classic, which originally appeared on the band’s fourth album, has found a new home as a heavily remixed soundtrack for the trailer of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew.
Typically, a modern Hollywood trailer makes music sound galactic in scale, and this preview is no exception. Robert Plant’s vocals are isolated and drenched in reverb, while Jimmy Page’s iconic solo clatters in with more force than ever before.
“I had the privilege of meeting Greta Gerwig, a powerhouse in the world of cinema,” says Page. “They saw the heart and story of the film.”
Creative Alignment Over Commercial Licensing
Gerwig petitioned Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and Jimmy Page for permission to use “Stairway to Heaven” in the trailer. “I talked to them about a lot of the themes of the film,” Gerwig said. “They saw the heart and the story and the drama in it.”
During a trailer premiere event in New York, Gerwig noted that Plant and Page are fans of C.S. Lewis and his Chronicles of Narnia saga. “It’s an epic song,” she added. “It’s about the two paths of good and evil … It is a spiritual quest and a spiritual journey. So to me, this was a song that made sense to introduce the film to the world.”
Previously, requests to use “Stairway to Heaven” on Wayne’s World and Almost Famous were turned down by Led Zeppelin. Meanwhile, recent movies to have benefited from the band’s more relaxed attitude towards licensing include Argo (2012) and The Big Short (2015), which both used “When The Levee Breaks,” Thor: Ragnarok (Immigrant Song, 2017) and The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth (Black Dog, 2026).
Star-Studded Cast and Theatrical Rollout Strategy
The trailer gives a first look at many locations and characters familiar to fans. Magician Andrew Ketterley (Daniel Craig) gives a group of kids a magic ring that will transport them to strange and wonderful lands. Emma Mackey appears as Jadis, sporting short black hair, dark glittery eyeshadow, and a striking metallic silver chainmail dress instead of a red one, setting up her future as the White Witch. Meryl Streep voices the mythical lion Aslan, who summons Narnia into existence via song, while Carey Mulligan plays Digory’s mother.
The film adapts the first chronological book in C.S. Lewis’s series, following children Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer (played by newcomers David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell) as they stumble into the Wood Between Worlds and witness the birth of Narnia. Gerwig revealed that she began work on the earliest drafts for the project in 2020.
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| IMAX Sneak Previews | February 10, 2027 |
| Worldwide Theatrical Release | February 12, 2027 |
| Netflix Streaming Debut | April 2, 2027 |
In a first for a Netflix film, The Magician’s Nephew will have a five-week theatrical run. “I told Ted [Sarandos, CEO of Netflix] I only know how to make movies for the big screen,” Gerwig said at the New York event. “He said: ‘Make the movie for the biggest screen and trust the process.’”
