Netflix's upcoming adaptation of "Narnia: The Magician's Nephew," directed by Greta Gerwig, carries a production budget of around $280 million, according to cinematographer Seamus McGarvey, who disclosed the figure on a podcast.
The number makes the film one of the most expensive productions in Netflix's history, second only to "The Electric State," the 2025 release starring Chris Pratt and Millie Bobby Brown, which cost around $320 million and ended up a disappointment for the streaming giant.
The scale of the spending shows how much Netflix is prepared to invest in bringing the world of Narnia to the screen under Gerwig's direction, based on the novels by C.S. Lewis.
Release plans
Filming on the project has already wrapped. The film is set to open in theaters first, on February 12, 2027, before joining Netflix's streaming catalogue roughly two months later.
Keeping a theatrical window despite the enormous investment shows how far Netflix is willing to go for one of its major fantasy bets. The company will look to recoup part of the $280 million through box office receipts before using the release to drive subscriptions and streaming viewership, as Gerwig takes on one of the most ambitious productions of her career.
Where it was filmed
Gerwig has finished shooting her adaptation of the Chronicles of Narnia. London was chosen as the starting point for filming on the new feature, which brings to the screen the sixth book C.S. Lewis wrote, "The Magician's Nephew," though it is the first in the series' internal chronology because it tells the origins of the magical world of Narnia.
After London, the production moved to the Castlefield area of Manchester, and later to Shepperton Studios in the county of Middlesex, England. Filming lasted six months, and the production has now moved into post-production.
A possible shift in the timeline
Images published during the shoot pointed to a notable departure from the original novel: the costumes evoke the 1950s rather than 1900, the period in which the book is set. That would imply a jump of about fifty years and, with it, a change to the saga's chronology for the future installments Netflix is preparing.
Gerwig's rise
Between "Little Women," which earned six Oscar nominations and won for best costume design, and "Snow White," on which she worked only as a screenwriter, Gerwig earned her place in the film industry through a personal style shaped by directors such as Woody Allen, Howard Hawks and Agnes Varda.
The success of "Barbie," released in the summer of 2023 and based on Mattel's best-known doll, starring Margot Robbie, cemented her standing. Boosted by the so-called "Barbenheimer" phenomenon alongside Christopher Nolan's latest release at the time, "Barbie" grossed $1,446,938,421, making it the highest-grossing film of that year and the highest-grossing film ever directed by a woman.
On the strength of that record, Gerwig has become one of the film industry's biggest names and now plans what she hopes will be a shake-up in streaming with her next major project, the Netflix adaptation of the Chronicles of Narnia.
Who is in the cast
The cast includes Emma Mackey as the White Witch and Meryl Streep as the voice of Aslan, alongside Daniel Craig and Carey Mulligan.
