Greta Gerwig’s follow-up to Barbie is going to take a little longer than expected — but it’s also getting a full-fledged release in theaters, even though Gerwig is making it for Netflix.
That’s probably because Gerwig’s Barbie follow-up is a big-budget adaptation of a book in the Chronicles of Narnia franchise. Gerwig is tackling The Magician’s Nephew, first published in 1955 by C.S. Lewis. Although it was the penultimate book in the series in terms of publication order, it’s actually the first in terms of the chronology of events so it makes an appropriate starting point for a new film series.
Gerwig’s Narnia movie was previously set to open in limited release on Thanksgiving of 2026 with a streaming release to follow shortly after that. Instead, Netflix is pushing the film back to early 2027 — and giving it a wide theatrical release, something that is almost unheard of for the streaming service.
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That decision surely has something to do with the fact that Gerwig’s last movie, 2023’s Barbie, earned $1.4 billion in theaters. It probably doesn’t hurt that Narnia has a proven track record as a theatrical franchise. Walden Media produced three big-budget Narnia movies in the 2000s. The first two — The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian — were released by Disney. The third, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, was distributed by Fox.
All three were substantial box-office hits, although the first was several magnitudes bigger than the two that followed. ($745 million versus $419 million and $415 million for the two respective sequels.) There were plans for a fourth film in the 2010s, based on Lewis’ The Silver Chair, which at one point was going to be directed by Joe Johnston. But that project eventually fell apart.
Netflix got involved in 2018 and then announced shortly after release of Barbie that Greta Gerwig would direct the movie. Her production stars Emma Mackey, Carey Mulligan, Daniel Craig, and Meryl Streep.
Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew will now open in theaters on February 12, 2027, with a release on Netflix to follow on April 2, 2027.
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