Greta Gerwig Reveals How She Pulled Off the Impossible With Led Zeppelin for Her NARNIA Trailer
Getting Led Zeppelin to license “Stairway to Heaven” for a movie trailer is practically impossible, but Greta Gerwig somehow pulled it off for her upcoming fantasy epic, Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew.
It turns out the secret involved a personal meeting with two rock legends and a conversation about what makes the story so special.
Led Zeppelin has a long history of rejecting requests to use “Stairway to Heaven” in movies, making its inclusion in the Narnia trailer a pretty big deal. Gerwig recently shared how she managed to convince the band to make an exception.
During a conversation with Stephen Colbert at AMC Lincoln Square IMAX in New York, the Barbie director revealed that she personally met with Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page to discuss the film.
“I talked to them about a lot of the themes of the film,” she shared. “They saw the heart and the story and the drama in it.”
Gerwig was clearly grateful that the musicians connected with her vision, adding, “I was so moved that they allowed me to use this song.”
Of course, “Stairway to Heaven” isn't exactly the first song you'd expect to hear in a trailer for a Narnia movie, but Gerwig had a specific reason for choosing it. She believes the legendary rock anthem shares some important themes with C.S. Lewis' fantasy story.
“It’s an epic song,” Gerwig said of the legendary track. “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.”
That connection makes sense when you consider the larger themes of Lewis' world, where good and evil are constantly at odds and the characters face choices that shape their destinies.
The trailer puts the song to good use, opening with its instantly recognizable guitar intro before building toward the famous solo as audiences get their first look at Gerwig's imaginative take on Narnia.
The whole thing reaches its peak with a spectacular shot of Aslan roaring as the cosmos comes to life around him in a display of psychedelic imagery, all playing out alongside the song's climactic finale.
It's a pretty awesome way to introduce audiences to this new version of Narnia, and having Led Zeppelin's music accompany those visuals certainly gives the trailer something special.
Based on Lewis' 1955 novel, Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew explores the origins of the magical world and the events that lead to its creation. The film features a cast that includes David McKenna, Beatrice Campbell, Emma Mackey, Carey Mulligan, Daniel Craig, and Meryl Streep.
Gerwig already proved with Barbie that she can bring a distinct creative vision to a beloved property. Now she's tackling one of fantasy literature's most iconic worlds, and she's managed to get one of rock music's most protective bands involved.
Convincing Plant and Page to approve “Stairway to Heaven” is quite an accomplishment, and it's cool that they were won over by the story Gerwig wants to tell.
What do you think of Led Zeppelin's “Stairway to Heaven” being used in the Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew trailer? Does it fit the fantasy world Gerwig is bringing to life?