Here’s How Greta Gerwig Got Led Zeppelin to Say Yes to Using ‘Stairway to Heaven’ in ‘Narnia’ Trailer
Getting Led Zeppelin to sign off on using “Stairway to Heaven” for a movie is no small feat.
Greta Gerwig, however, managed to make it happen for her upcoming Narnia adaptation.
The filmmaker revealed that she personally met with Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page to secure the legendary rock song for the first trailer for Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew , which debuted Tuesday (Oct.
13).
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According to Gerwig, the musicians connected with the heart of her film, in part because of their own love for the work of author C.S.
Lewis, whose beloved fantasy series serves as the inspiration for the movie.
“They love C.S.
Lewis,” she said.
The choice of “Stairway to Heaven” is more than just having a rock classic associated with the film.
Gerwig described the song as an epic that explores themes of spiritual discovery, enlightenment and the possibility of losing one’s way — ideas that also run through The Magician’s Nephew .
Those themes come to life in the trailer’s climactic sequence, which features Meryl Streep voicing Aslan, the mighty lion at the center of the Narnia universe.
As the Led Zeppelin classic builds, the cosmic creature takes shape in a spectacular burst of light, presenting a peek at the film’s psychedelic visuals that help bring the story to life.
Released on Led Zeppelin’s fourth studio album in 1971, “Stairway to Heaven” never charted on the Billboard Hot 100 during its original release because the band chose not to issue it as a U.S. single.
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