Greta Gerwig’s Narnia postponed to 2027 in theaters before its broadcast on Netflix

The highly anticipated calendarNarnia: The Magician’s Nephew  has been modified. Initially planned for the end of 2026, the feature film directed by Greta Gerwig will finally be released in theaters on February 12, 2027 in the United States for a duration of three weeks, before being put online on Netflix the following April 2. Advance screenings in IMAX format are also planned from February 10.

This report concerns a major project for the director ofBarbiewhose worldwide success had exceeded 1.4 billion dollars. In development for 3 years and in filming since August 2025, this adaptation of the first volume of the saga imagined by Clive Staples Lewis, better known as CS Lewis, benefits from a budget estimated at $200 million.

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According to the project partners, this schedule shift aims in particular to allow wider theatrical release and to refine the visual effects. IMAX, associated with the release, highlights the opportunity for more widespread distribution in its formats. This new Narnia is part of the strategy of Netflix, which has held the rights to the entire literary saga since 2018 and intends to develop a complete universe mixing films and series. The previous adaptations, released between 2005 and 2010, were produced by Disney and 20^th Century Fox. With this new version, the platform aims to sustainably relaunch the franchise with a new generation of spectators.

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However, there is nothing to confirm that this strategy will be applied in France. No announcement has been made to this effect, and the media chronology greatly complicates this type of simultaneous release. French regulations indeed impose a delay of approximately one year between theatrical release and posting online on Netflix. An alternative exists via the temporary visa issued by the National Center for Cinema and Animated Images, which authorizes limited screenings in theaters. But this system remains very regulated: it cannot exceed 500 sessions spread over two days. It had already attracted criticism during the broadcast of the documentary Kaizen  de Inoxtag in September 2024.

“The honor of a lifetime »

“I was a kid when I read ‘The Magician’s Nephew,’ and I fell in love with this improbable yet totally brilliant concept of a cosmic lion singing the world of Narnia into existence.”says Greta Gerwig in Tudum, Netflix’s cinematic media. “I didn’t know that I would become a director, but the idea of ​​a universe created by music stayed with me. It’s the honor of a lifetime to be able to imagine it in my turn.”

The cast notably brings together Emma Mackey in the role of the White Witch, alongside Daniel Craig, Carey Mulligan and Meryl Streep. The music is entrusted to Mark Ronson, already a collaborator of the director on Barbie.

Thought to be the starting point for a franchise of up to eight films, the magician’s nephew presents itself as a prequel to the famous The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. The plot takes place in Victorian London and follows two children, Digory and Polly, who discover magic rings giving them access to different worlds. During an exploration, they free the witch Jadis, future major antagonist, and despite themselves trigger a threat to a nascent universe, which they will have to try to save.