Why Does Greta Gerwig’s Narnia Start With The Magician’s Nephew? (Plus the New 2027 Release Date)

Say “Narnia” to most Americans and they picture four kids, a wardrobe and a lion. So when Netflix and Greta Gerwig announced their first film would not be The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, plenty of people asked: wait, why start there? Turns out it’s a pretty clever move.

What is The Magician’s Nephew about?

C.S. Lewis published The Magician’s Nephew in 1955, but it’s a prequel set decades before the Pevensie kids find the wardrobe. In early-1900s London, two children, Digory and Polly, get tricked by Digory’s Uncle Andrew — an amateur magician with a set of magic rings — into traveling between worlds. They pass through the Wood Between the Worlds, accidentally wake an ancient, terrifying queen named Jadis, and witness Aslan singing a brand-new world into existence. That world is Narnia.

5 reasons Gerwig started here

1. It’s the beginning. Chronologically, it’s book one. Starting a new franchise at the actual start of the timeline makes sense — and many modern box sets now number it first.
2. It’s never been filmed. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader were all made into movies between 2005 and 2010. The Magician’s Nephew gives Gerwig fresh ground with no comparisons.
3. It’s the White Witch origin story. Jadis — played by Emma Mackey — is Narnia’s great villain. This is how she gets there, and you’ll never see her the same way again.
4. Creation is a big-screen spectacle. Aslan singing a world into being is about as cinematic as fantasy gets. Gerwig secured Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” for the trailer’s creation sequence.
5. It plants the classics. The lamppost, the wardrobe and the old Professor from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe all have their roots here. Watch this first, and the rest of the series becomes a payoff.

Who’s in the cast?

• David McKenna — Digory Kirke
• Beatrice Campbell — Polly Plummer
• Daniel Craig — Uncle Andrew, the magician of the title
• Emma Mackey — Jadis, the future White Witch
• Carey Mulligan — Digory’s ailing mother
• Meryl Streep — the voice of Aslan
• With Ciarán Hinds, Denise Gough, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith and Susan Wokoma

Why was Narnia delayed to 2027?

Originally, the plan was a two-week IMAX-only run at Thanksgiving 2026, then Netflix at Christmas. In May 2026, Netflix moved it to February 2027 — but with a big upgrade: a full, wide theatrical release with a roughly seven-week window before it hits streaming. It’s a major shift for a company that usually sends its films straight to your couch. The move also keeps Narnia out of the crowded December fight between Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three.

For the latest cast and production updates, see our Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew news page, or find out which order to read the Narnia books in.