Led Zeppelin has let "Stairway to Heaven" be used in a film for the first time. The 1971 song soundtracks the first trailer for Greta Gerwig's Narnia: The Magician's Nephew, released on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, ahead of the Netflix film's theatrical release on February 12, 2027.
For more than 50 years, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant had turned down every request to use it. Gerwig changed their minds by writing to them and showing them the film.
Quick facts
- Song: "Stairway to Heaven," from Led Zeppelin's untitled fourth album (1971)
- Used in: the first trailer for Narnia: The Magician's Nephew, in a heavily remixed version
- Released: Tuesday, October 13, 2026
- Film: directed by Greta Gerwig for Netflix, based on C.S. Lewis's 1955 novel
- In theaters: February 12, 2027 (IMAX previews from February 10)
- On Netflix: April 2, 2027
- In the movie itself? Not confirmed
How did Greta Gerwig get "Stairway to Heaven"?
She asked the two men who control it. Gerwig wrote to Jimmy Page and Robert Plant and showed them an early cut of the film, she told Variety.
"They saw the heart and story of the film," she said. "I was so moved that they allowed me to use this song."
She told Deadline that part of the appeal was the source material: the two musicians, she said, "too love C.S. Lewis." Gerwig has described the song as a story of a spiritual journey, which she felt matched the film.
Page answered with his own statement. He said he had "the privilege of meeting" Gerwig, called her "a powerhouse in the world of cinema," and said: "I am thrilled that she chose Stairway to Heaven in the trailer for her film."
Plant and John Paul Jones, the band's surviving bassist, have not commented publicly in the coverage so far. Drummer John Bonham died in 1980.
What does the trailer sound like?
It is not the album version. Louder describes the track as heavily remixed: Plant's vocal is isolated and soaked in reverb, and Page's solo arrives with more force than on the record.
Gerwig introduced the trailer with Stephen Colbert at the Lincoln Square IMAX in New York on the day it was released.
Is "Stairway to Heaven" in the Narnia movie?
Nobody has said. The song is confirmed for the trailer only. Stereogum noted that it isn't yet clear whether it appears in the film, and neither Netflix nor the band has said either way.
Why is this such a big deal?
Because Led Zeppelin almost never says yes, and never to this song.
The band has reportedly turned down Wayne's World, whose guitar-shop gag about "Stairway" became famous anyway, and Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous. Its catalogue has appeared in only a handful of films:
| Film | Year | Song |
|---|---|---|
| School of Rock | 2003 | "Immigrant Song" |
| Argo | 2012 | "When the Levee Breaks" |
| The Big Short | 2015 | "When the Levee Breaks" |
| Thor: Ragnarok | 2017 | "Immigrant Song" |
| The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth | 2026 | "Black Dog" |
| Narnia: The Magician's Nephew (trailer) | 2026 | "Stairway to Heaven" |
School of Rock only got "Immigrant Song" after Jack Black filmed himself on stage in front of a crowd begging the band for it.
The song survived a lawsuit, too
"Stairway to Heaven" spent six years in court. In 2014 the estate of Randy Wolfe, of the band Spirit, sued, claiming the song's opening guitar figure copied Spirit's 1968 instrumental "Taurus."
A Los Angeles jury sided with Led Zeppelin in 2016. A full panel of the Ninth Circuit upheld that verdict in March 2020, and in October 2020 the US Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal. Led Zeppelin's ownership of the song has been settled since.
When does Narnia: The Magician's Nephew come out?
February 12, 2027, in theaters, with IMAX previews from February 10. It streams on Netflix from April 2, 2027.
That is later than first planned. Netflix originally intended an IMAX run over Thanksgiving 2026 followed by streaming on Christmas Day, but in May moved it to a full theatrical release with a seven-week exclusive window, one of Netflix's longest.
The cast includes Daniel Craig as Uncle Andrew Ketterley, Meryl Streep, Emma Mackey as the White Witch, Carey Mulligan, Ciarán Hinds, and newcomers David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell as Digory and Polly. It is Gerwig's first film since Barbie (2023).
What to watch
Whether the song is in the film. If it plays in the finished movie, it would be a first for the band, not just for a trailer.
Whether Plant says anything. Page has spoken publicly; Plant has not, and fans will want to hear from the man who wrote the words.
The rest of the campaign. Netflix's marketing runs until the February release, and whether more Zeppelin music turns up is an open question.
Published Sunday, October 18, 2026. Gerwig's comments are from her interviews with Variety and Deadline; Jimmy Page's from his public statement. Release dates are from Netflix's announced schedule as reported by What's on Netflix.
