Greta Gerwig’s ‘Narnia’ Reveals First Look at Daniel Craig and Emma Mackey’s Villains
Greta Gerwig’s leap from the pop culture phenomenon of ‘Barbie’ into the world of C.S. Lewis has generated enormous curiosity ever since her involvement with Netflix’s Narnia adaptation was first confirmed. Given how thoroughly she reshaped audience expectations for a toy-brand movie, fans have spent months speculating about just how radically she might reimagine one of literature’s most beloved fantasy sagas.
That curiosity has only intensified as Gerwig chose to begin the franchise not with the familiar ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,’ but with ‘The Magician’s Nephew,’ the series’ chronologically earliest story and one that’s never previously reached theaters. That decision alone signals just how unconventional her approach to this adaptation is shaping up to be.
Empire has now unveiled exclusive first-look images of the film’s two central villains, giving fans their first real glimpse of Daniel Craig as the scheming Uncle Andrew Ketterley and Emma Mackey as the fearsome sorceress Jadis, ahead of the magazine’s full cover story arriving September 24. The images depict Craig’s disheveled magician surrounded by glowing beakers and light-bending apparatus in his cluttered study, while Mackey’s Jadis appears in a striking, glam-rock-inspired costume built around shimmering, armor-like fabric.
Emma Mackey as Jadis in Greta Gerwig's ‘NARNIA’ film.
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 18, 2026
(Source: https://t.co/1OQhhQv1cl) pic.twitter.com/vIO7MS2UH1
Craig’s character sets the entire story in motion, using his magic to accidentally launch young Digory and his friend Polly into the mysterious Wood Between the Worlds, where they eventually encounter Mackey’s Jadis. Discussing Andrew’s motivations, Craig explained that the character isn’t cruel or malicious so much as someone consumed by unchecked ambition, noting that he gets overexcited about what could be and therefore overlooks the people around him, a description he shared in comments reported by Empire.
EXCLUSIVE ✨
— Empire (@empiremagazine) September 18, 2026
Daniel Craig is the magician of The Magician's Nephew in Greta Gerwig's Narnia.
“He gets overexcited about what could be," Craig tells Empire of the scheming sorcerer, "and therefore overlooks the people around him.”
READ MORE : https://t.co/QcD6ryJSAw pic.twitter.com/przpZpSMJh
Mackey’s take on Jadis, previously brought to screen by Tilda Swinton in the earlier film franchise, appears set to diverge sharply from that prior interpretation. Trapped for ages within the ruined realm of Charn before crossing paths with Digory and Polly, Mackey’s version of the character seems poised to unleash fresh chaos the moment she’s freed, with the actress describing her costume as balancing a sense of shiny excitement with genuine underlying menace.
That aesthetic direction fits squarely within Gerwig’s broader creative vision for the project, which she’s described as drawing heavily from glam-rock cultural touchstones, including explicit inspiration from David Bowie. Gerwig has spoken about wanting to treat Narnia as a world fundamentally built out of music, translating that concept directly into the film’s bold visual language.
The ensemble surrounding Craig and Mackey includes Meryl Streep voicing Aslan, along with newcomers David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell as Digory and Polly. Carey Mulligan and Ciarán Hinds round out the supporting cast, giving the production a genuinely stacked lineup of established talent supporting its two young leads.
‘Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew’ is set for a hybrid release, opening with IMAX previews on February 10, 2027, followed by a wider theatrical run beginning February 12. The film will then move to Netflix on April 2, 2027, giving the project a substantial 45-day theatrical window before it becomes available to stream, an approach that reflects Netflix’s growing willingness to treat its biggest theatrical bets more like traditional studio releases.
Given how significant a departure this maximalist, music-driven approach represents from previous Narnia adaptations, Gerwig’s version appears determined to carve out its own distinct visual and tonal identity rather than simply retreading familiar territory. With Craig and Mackey’s villain reveals generating immediate buzz online, anticipation for the film’s full trailer and additional casting details is only likely to grow in the months ahead.
What do you think of Daniel Craig and Emma Mackey’s first looks in Greta Gerwig’s ‘Narnia’?
Have something to add? Let us know in the comments.
