Netflix has spent months negotiating with Greta Gerwig about the release of her new Narnia movie, and now the writer-director has secured the launch that she desired.
Greta Gerwig can do whatever she wants following the release of Barbie. A mammoth success, the movie was a critical hit, and grossed around $1.5 billion off a budget of just under $150 million.
The world was her oyster, and Gerwig decided to work with Netflix, overseeing the streamer’s reboot of The Chronicles of Narnia, by CS Lewis.
But Netflix movies tend to release directly onto streaming, which is something Gerwig wasn’t happy about, with the writer-director wanting the film to debut on the biggest screen possible. And it sounds like she’ll get her wish.
Greta Gerwig’s Narnia will debut in IMAX
Greta Gerwig directing Ryan Gosling in Barbie
Following lengthy negotiations, Variety is reporting that Narnia will play exclusively on IMAX screens before launching on Netflix.
The movie is slated to release over the Thanksgiving holiday in 2026, before dropping on the streamer in time for Christmas.
Netflix gives award contenders limited theatrical runs so they can compete for the Academy Awards, which is why recent releases like Maria and Emilia Perez were seen in cinemas.
But the streamer’s big-budget blockbusters tend to go directly to Netflix, which is why films like Red Notice, The Adam Project, Carry-On, and this week’s big release Back in Action bypassed cinemas.
There’s no word yet on a start date, but Narnia will likely shoot this year to hit that 2026 release date. And with there being seven books in the ‘Chronicles’ series, expect Narnia to become a franchise if film one hits big.
The books were previously adapted for television in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, while Disney released a film version of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe in 2005, which was followed by adaptations of Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
For more online action, here’s details of when Netflix releases shows (with two exceptions), and check out our comparison of all the streaming services by content and price.
