Summary
Ever since HBO found success with Game of Thrones in the 2010s, every network and streaming service has wanted their own mega-hit high fantasy series. Netflix has taken a couple of stabs at it, mostly without success; Shadow and Bone was canceled after two seasons and The Witcher has received a very mixed reception.
However, Netflix is breaking new ground with its next attempt, which adapts an old favorite in a way that’s never been done before.
Netflix is bringing us The Chronicles of Narnia
Starting near the end, which is actually the beginning
The Chronicles of Narnia is one of the OG fantasy epics, second in influence only to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, and that’s an arguable point. Author C.S. Lewis published the first Narnia book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, in 1950. It’s about four siblings who go to stay with a middle-aged professor at his country estate while London is being bombed during World War II. They find a door to the magical land of Narnia hidden in a wardrobe, and go on to have spectacular adventures therein.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is easily the most famous Narnia book, but Lewis wrote six more before the series was over. The Pevensie siblings would return to Narnia in Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The Silver Chair was the first of the books not to feature any of the Pevensie children, and The Last Battle brought back everyone from the previous books for an apocalyptic final act. The Horse and His Boy is a bit of a side story, since it only involves native Narnian characters rather than any visitors from our world, and The Magician’s Nephew is a prequel that explains how the world of Narnia was created in the first place. The hero in that one is Digory Kirke, a young boy who grows up to the be the middle-aged professor who hosts the Pevensie kids during World War II.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was adapted to film in 2005, followed up by movie versions of Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Now, Netflix plans to make a whole new series of Narnia movies. Perhaps mindful of the potential for redundancy, Netflix will start at the beginning and adapt The Magician’s Nephew. And that’s not the only way the streaming service is thinking outside the box.
With The Magician’s Nephew, Netflix is bending one of its oldest rules
And we’re all going to benefit
Netflix makes a lot of original movies, but it has an aversion to actually releasing them in movie theaters. Netflix wants people to watch its movies exclusively on the service, and thinks that they won’t have any reason to do that if they can see it elsewhere. This is incorrect. Had Netflix released movies like Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, The Irishman, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, and Marriage Story theatrically, they likely would have gotten a lot more buzz, which would have translated into more people buying Netflix subscriptions to watch them at home.
Slowly but surely, Netflix has been coming around to this way of thinking, and The Magician’s Nephew represents a big step forward for them. The movie will be the first Netflix movie ever to get a wide theatrical release; it will be in theaters on February 10, 2027.
This is a great move for everybody involved. The theatrical release will please people who want to see the movie on the big screen, where a big splashy fantasy film should look great. Those who want to watch it at home will be able to under two months later, on April 12. And this could open the floodgates for Netflix to give other films wide theatrical releases, which could supercharge an industry that’s already on the upswing.
Can this new Narnia series go the distance?
The team has the skills
The Magician’s Nephew stars David McKenna as Digory Kirke and Beatrice Campbell as his friend, Polly Plummer. Emma Mackey (Sex Education) plays Jadis, the woman who becomes the villainous White Witch from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Daniel Craig is Andrew Ketterley, Digory’s uncle; and Meryl Streep voices Aslan, the god-like being who takes the form of a wise, talking lion. The film is directed by Greta Gerwig, known for making the Barbie movie in 2023.
This is an excellent lineup of talent. Will the first film be successful enough to convince Netflix to continue making the series? It seems very likely that we could at least get another adaptation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe out of the deal. Will we finally see The Silver Chair or The Last Battle put to screen?
The books are there in a pinch
Even if Netflix doesn’t adapt the whole series, Lewis’ books will always be there, waiting to be rediscovered. The Chronicles of Narnia books have a relatively gentle tone for an epic fantasy series, great for younger readers. Anything that gets people talking about (and reading) them again is a good thing.
- Release Date
- February 12, 2027
- Director
- Greta Gerwig
- Writers
- Greta Gerwig, C.S. Lewis
- Producers
- Mark Gordon, Amy Pascal, Rachel O’Connor Cast
Emma MackeyJadis / The White Witch - Meryl StreepAslan (voice) - Carey MulliganMabel Kirke - David McKennaDigory Kirke