Netflix’s ‘Narnia’ strategy just got a lot bigger — and a lot more theatrical.

Greta Gerwig’s upcoming adaptation, identified in reports as Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, has moved off its earlier Thanksgiving 2026 target and now aims for theaters on Feb. 12, 2027, before arriving on Netflix on April 2, 2027. The shift does more than change a date on the calendar. It signals a more ambitious rollout for one of the streamer’s most closely watched films, with a full global Imax release putting the project in front of audiences on the biggest screens first.

Key Facts

  • The film previously targeted a Thanksgiving 2026 release.
  • It will now open in theaters on Feb. 12, 2027.
  • Netflix plans to debut the movie on April 2, 2027.
  • Reports indicate sneak previews will begin on Imax screens ahead of the wider theatrical opening.

That sequence matters. For years, the central question around Netflix films has not been whether they can attract top talent, but whether the company will fully embrace theatrical distribution for its biggest titles. This release plan suggests a hybrid answer: keep the streaming payoff, but build momentum through an event-style cinema run first. For Gerwig, whose name now carries major weight with both audiences and exhibitors, the Imax-first play also frames ‘Narnia’ as spectacle rather than just another title in an endless queue.

The new rollout turns ‘Narnia’ from a streaming release into a global movie event.

The timing also changes the competitive landscape. A Thanksgiving corridor can swallow films whole, especially when family audiences face a crowded holiday slate. A mid-February launch gives ‘Narnia’ clearer air and a chance to define its own moment. Sources suggest the sneak-preview approach could help build early buzz, while the gap before the Netflix debut gives the film room to live as a theatrical conversation rather than an overnight streaming drop.

What comes next will test more than one movie. If this plan works, it could strengthen the case for wider theatrical windows on Netflix’s biggest prestige and franchise projects. For viewers, it means ‘Narnia’ now arrives with the weight of an event release. For the industry, it offers another read on how streaming giants may chase cultural impact in 2027: not by skipping theaters, but by using them to make the launch impossible to ignore.