Matilda the Musical trailer delivers a dark but soaring take on the Roald Dahl classic

Since being published in 1988, Roald Dahl's novel Matilda has inspired any number of adaptations, most famously a 1996 film starring Mara Wilson and a 2010 musical that won multiple Tony and Olivier awards.

Now Netflix is bringing that musical to the big screen — or rather, to your TV, laptop, or mobile device — and you can check out the full trailer. Helmed by Matthew Warchus, who won an Olivier for his direction of the Broadway production, Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical looks every bit as magical as its source material.

Alisha Weir stars as Matilda Wormwood, a little girl with big curiosity, a sharp mind, a vivid imagination — and the worst parents in the world, played by Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough.

Matilda loves to lose herself in the pages of books, while her parents spend their time watching trash TV and coming up with dodgy money-making schemes. Matilda finally finds a kindred spirit in her inspirational teacher Miss Honey (Lashana Lynch), who encourages the young girl's fertile imagination.

Initially excited to attend the prestigious Crunchem Hall, Matilda soon finds the school is run by the cruel headmistress Miss Trunchbull (Emma Thompson), who's not above tossing a little girl by her pigtails over a playground fence.

Unwilling to back down from the bullying Trunchbull, and armed with a superpower of her own, Matilda dares to take a stand for what's right and teach the headmistress a lesson she won't soon forget.

Dan Smith/Netflix Alisha Weir in 'Matilda the Musical'

Featuring original music and lyrics by Tim Minchin and a screenplay by Dennis Kelly, Matilda the Musical recently opened the London Film Festival to rave reviews. Audiences stateside will get a chance to see it themselves when the film premieres in select theaters on Dec. 9 before opening wide on Dec. 25. Sony Pictures UK and TriStar Pictures will release the film across the U.K. and Ireland exclusively in theaters on November 25, 2022.

Check out the new trailer above.

Related content:

• See Emma Thompson as the monstrous Miss Trunchbull in new trailer for Netflix's Matilda musical

• Netflix's Matilda musical casts newcomer as lead, Emma Thompson as Miss Trunchbull

• How modern Hollywood transformed the movie musical (for better and for worse)

• Matilda review: Read EW's original take from 1996