Jason Isaacs Reveals Greta Gerwig Will Adapt ‘The Magician’s Nephew’ For Netflix ‘Narnia’ Films

Barbie helmer Greta Gerwig is currently set to write and direct two The Chronicles of Narnia films for Neftlix after the streamer bought the rights for film and television projects in 2018. Jason Isaacs may have let it slip that Greta Gerwig is adapting The Magician’s Nephew into a film.

The Chronicles of Narnia novels follow children that are transported to the fantasy land of Narnia where they have to fight against evil forces. The novels heavily adapt and are influenced by textual religions such as Christianity, as seen in symbolism and allegories in the novels, something people have theorized to be an attractive factor to Gerwig, who was raised Catholic and has been influenced by religion in some of her past work.

The little we know of Gerwig’s Narnia adaptation is that she and the producers Amy Pascal and Mark Gordon are figuring out the “whole arc of all of it” as said by at the time Netflix film chief Scott Stuber. This could possibly allude to the fact that they’re not planning to adapt the seven Narnia novels in a traditional sense.

Jason Isaacs Says Greta Gerwig Is Adapting ‘The Magician’s Nephew’

Speaking to The Week late last month, Jason Isaacs revealed some of his favourite books which includes the sixth The Chronicles of Narnia novel The Magician’s Nephew. Isaacs said he loved all the Narnia novels when he was a kid and that he chose The Magician’s Nephew because Gerwig was adapting it into a film. 

Despite being the sixth novel, The Magician’s Nephew is the first novel chronologically which makes sense as to why Gerwig may want to tackle this novel first or lift plot points from it to separate the new franchise from Disney’s prior films. Jason Isaacs is not known to be involved with the Netflix Narnia films however the actor reportedly auditioned for the role of Aslan before it went to Liam Neeson.

The Magician’s Nephew follows two children Digory and Polly who encounter a magical world and witness the creation of Narnia by Aslan. The Magician’s Nephew serves as a prequel to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Will The Netflix Narnia Films Get A Theatrical Release?

Recently it’s been reported that Netflix and IMAX have had talks about releasing Gerwig’s Narnia film in IMAX theatres over Thanksgiving 2026 and later making it available to Netflix subscribers in Christmas. However, balancing the needs of Netflix and theatre auditoriums is said to be a problem.

Last month Netflix lost the rights to Emerald Fennell’s next film Wuthering Heights, starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, after bidding $150 million. The filmmakers went with Warner Bros.’ $80 million bid due to their commitment for a theatrical release and proper marketing push.

The loss of Wuthering Heights has been reported to have given Gerwig more firepower to ensure her Narnia film gets a theatrical release in 2026. Netflix is notorious for not wanting to play their films in theatres whom they see as competitors. Similarly, Daniel Craig reportedly told Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos “your model is fucked” at the world premiere for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story after the film received a standing ovation.

Greta Gerwig’s Narnia films currently do not have a release date but a late 2026 release window is expected as of now. Additionally, the films have no cast attached to it currently. If you liked this article about Greta Gerwig potentially adapting The Magician’s Nephew be sure to check out more news here at Feature First.