Greta Gerwig's Narnia movie hits IMAX in February with Meryl Streep as Aslan

Greta Gerwig wrote and directed a Narnia movie for Netflix, and it's hitting IMAX screens on February 10, 2027 before a wide theatrical release on February 12. The film streams on Netflix starting April 2, 2027. This marks Netflix's first wide theatrical release with a full 50-day window before it lands on the service.

The movie adapts The Magician's Nephew, the sixth book C.S. Lewis published but the first chronologically in the Narnia timeline. It follows two kids, Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer, as they stumble through magical worlds and witness Aslan creating Narnia itself. If you read the books as a kid, you know this is the one with the origin of the White Witch and the lamppost in the woods.

The cast is stacked

Meryl Streep voices Aslan the lion. Daniel Craig plays Uncle Andrew Ketterley, the magician who kicks off the whole mess. Emma Mackey plays Jadis, who becomes the White Witch. David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell play Digory and Polly. The cast also includes Carey Mulligan, Ciarán Hinds, Denise Gough, Susan Wokoma, and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith.

The trailer dropped with Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven backing it, which is a bold swing for a fantasy prequel.

Why this matters

Netflix usually dumps movies straight to streaming or gives them token theatrical runs. A 50-day IMAX window says they think this has legs. Gerwig proved she can handle big IP with Barbie, and Narnia has decades of built-in nostalgia for anyone who read the books or saw the mid-2000s movies.

The story itself is a solid entry point. You don't need to know the other Narnia books to follow it, and it explains how the world began instead of dropping you into an existing conflict. If Gerwig nails the tone, this could reboot the franchise properly.

Mark your calendar for February if you want the full IMAX experience. Otherwise, you can wait until April and stream it at home.