Barbie Director’s Narnia Reboot Netflix Release Is Sooner Than Fans Think

There are still some terms to iron out, but Netflix is hoping to take fans to Narnia within two years.

December 30, 2024, 2:47pm

Netflix is reportedly hoping to release Greta Gerwig’s The Chronicles of Narnia in December of 2026. There hasn’t been much news on the new adaptation lately, but this month Bloomberg learned that Netflix wants to get the gears turning soon. In the meantime, Gerwig continues to advocate for a wide theatrical release before the movie goes to streaming.

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Netflix acquired the rights to The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis back in 2018, and in July of 2023, news broke that Gerwig had been hired to write and direct the adaptation. That same month, Gerwig’s blockbuster hit Barbie came out and made her a hot commodity in Hollywood, and she reportedly hoped to continue pursuing big studio productions. Back in October, Puck News reported that Gerwig was in talks with Netflix to give Narnia a theatrical release, and according to Bloomberg, IMAX is involved in those conversations now as well.

Bloomberg‘s sources said that Netflix is interested in the idea, but the company is nervous about setting a precedent. They don’t want other filmmakers to negotiate for expensive theatrical releases for their movies. At the same time, insiders said IMAX is wary of striking a deal with Netflix based on the company’s past performance. They don’t want to put the movie on their big screens unless it meets IMAX’s standards for quality.

If this is true and all the parties involved can come to an agreement, The Chronicles of Narnia is a great place to start merging the worlds of streaming and cinema. The series is more than epic enough for IMAX, and it’s perfectly unique in style and tone for Gerwig. It also has the potential to become a huge behemoth — there are seven novels in the series, published between 1950 and 1956, all with a different adventure supporting a loose overarching plot that spans centuries.

Many fans likely remember The Chronicles of Narnia adaptations released in 2005, 2008 and 2010 by Walden Media, distributed by Disney. That series adapted the first three novels in the typical reading order, which are all about the four Pevensie siblings. After that, the series moves on to focus on other characters, but that’s not the reason the adaptation stopped. According a report by Fortune, Netflix was the first company ever to get the film rights to all seven books at once.

While things sound promising for Gerwig’s maiden voyage in Narnia, there is no firm announcement yet. For now, you can stream The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian on Hulu and Disney+. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is streaming on Max.