Narnia: The Magician's Nephew Release Date, Cast, and 2026 Delay

Greta Gerwig's adaptation of C.S. Lewis's The Magician's Nephew will not reach screens in 2026 after all. Netflix announced that Narnia: The Magician's Nephew has been pushed back to a theatrical release on February 12, 2027, followed by a Netflix streaming debut on April 2, 2027. IMAX-only sneak previews will begin two days earlier, on February 10, 2027.

The film had originally been planned for a Thanksgiving 2026 IMAX debut, after which it would have moved quickly to streaming around Christmas. According to Deadline, a production delay tied to an injury to a movie star forced the shift to a new date. In its announcement, IMAX framed the delay as an opportunity to give Gerwig's film a fuller theatrical run rather than the shorter window originally envisioned.

This is the first time The Magician's Nephew, published in 1955, has been adapted for the screen. The story serves as a prequel to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and follows two children, Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer, who discover the Wood between the Worlds through magic rings given by Digory's uncle. Their adventures culminate in the creation of Narnia by Aslan the lion.

Gerwig wrote the screenplay and is directing the film. Netflix Tudum reports that the cast includes David McKenna as Digory and Beatrice Campbell as Polly. Emma Mackey will appear as Jadis, the future White Witch. The ensemble also includes Carey Mulligan, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Daniel Craig, Meryl Streep, Denise Gough, Susan Wokoma, and Ciarán Hinds. Industry reporting from The Wardrobe Door has identified Mulligan as Digory's mother Mabel, Craig as Uncle Andrew, Holdbrook-Smith as the Cabby who becomes King Frank, Gough as Aunt Letty, Wokoma as Queen Helen, and Streep as the voice of Aslan.

Netflix acquired the rights to all seven Chronicles of Narnia books in 2018, marking the first time the entire series had been controlled by a single company. The previous theatrical adaptations, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, were released by Disney and 20th Century Fox. For the new film, Netflix will handle domestic distribution, while Sony Pictures Entertainment will distribute the movie internationally.

The February 2027 release places Narnia: The Magician's Nephew squarely in a season shaped by the Christian calendar. The IMAX previews land on Ash Wednesday, and the wide theatrical window runs through Easter Sunday on March 28. That timing has drawn notice from observers who point out that the film's central creation story echoes themes associated with the Easter season.

With a reported 45-day exclusive theatrical window, Narnia: The Magician's Nephew represents a notable experiment for Netflix, which has typically given its films much shorter runs before streaming. Gerwig told Tudum that she cannot wait for audiences to see the film first in theaters on February 12 and then on Netflix on April 2. Douglas Gresham, representing the C.S. Lewis Estate, praised her for embracing Lewis's world with what he described as joy, heart, and genuine love for the story.