Will Greta Gerwig’s NARNIA Debut in Theaters? Netflix Says…
By Movieguide® Contributor
Netflix announces that the Greta Gerwig-directed NARNIA will debut in theaters two weeks before becoming available on the streaming platform.
The news is unusual for the streamer who allows only a few movies a year to go to theaters. Most often this decision comes with movies that are Academy Award hopefuls like this year’s EMILIA PEREZ and MARIA. One exception, however, was 2022’s GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY which ran for a week in nearly 700 theaters worldwide.
While it is unclear if Netflix believes NARNIA will have the mass appeal of GLASS ONION or if it is an Oscar contender, there is a chance the streamer believes it could be both. Gerwig’s previous two hits, BARBIE and LITTLE WOMEN, were both commercial successes that won an Oscar apiece.
Another question about the movie comes from Gerwig’s lack of a professed faith. Though she grew up in a Christian home, the director now appears to most likely be agnostic. Nonetheless, she has assured fans that she will remain faithful to C.S. Lewis’ original vision for the story, keeping it rooted in faith.
READ MORE: WILL NETFLIX’S NARNIA PROJECT RESPECT LEWIS’ ORIGINAL STORIES?
“I’m slightly in the place of terror because I really do have such a reverence for Narnia,” Gerwig told BBC Radio in January 2024. “I loved Narnia so much as a child. As an adult, C.S. Lewis is a thinker and a writer. I’m intimidated by doing this. It’s something that feels like a worthy thing to be intimidated by.”
“As a non-British person, I feel a particular sense of wanting to do it correctly…it’s like when Americans do Shakespeare, there’s a slight feeling of reverence and as if maybe we should treat it with extra care. It is not our countryman,” she continued.
“I think when I’m scared, it’s always a good sign,” Gerwig added that summer. “Maybe when I stop being scared, it’ll be like, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t do that one.’ No, I’m terrified of it. Its extraordinary. And it’s exciting.”
The chairman of Netflix Films, Scott Stuber, reaffirmed that Gerwig was partially chosen for the job because of her understanding of both Narnia and the Christian faith.
“[Gerwig] grew up in a Christian background. The C.S. Lewis books are very much based in Christianity,” Stuber said, per MovieWeb. “And so we just started taking about it… so it was just a great opportunity, and I’m so thrilled that she’s working on it with us. And I’m just thrilled to be in business with her. And she’s just an incredible talent.”
Netflix is eyeing a Thanksgiving 2026 Imax release for NARNIA before it becomes available on the platform around Christmas.
READ MORE: GRETA GERWIG WANTS TO HONOR C.S. LEWIS WITH NARNIA ADAPTATION: ‘SHAPED ME’
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