IMAX on ‘Narnia’ Deal: No Sequel Plans Discussed, But Hopes for Full Franchise
When it was first announced that Greta Gerwig would be taking over as the Writer/Director of Netflix’s Narnia project back in July of 2023, it was stated that she had signed on to write and direct “at least” two films.
Ever since then, speculation has run rampant as to what those two films may be; which books they would be based on, and indeed whether those two films would cover just one book or two.
Whilst the identity of the two films still remains very much shrouded in mystery, IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond has now helped to shed at least some light on the situation. In a recent interview with Fox Business, Gelfond says that, for now, Netflix and IMAX remain focussed on just one film.
When asked about whether there were any plans in place for a “follow-up” to the film currently scheduled for Thanksgiving 2026, Gelfond replied:
The answer is I don’t know. You know, I’m sure Netflix knows, but it never came up in the negotiations. But one thing that did come up — I don’t even remember how it resolved itself — was if all this works, we’d like to do them, and I think they’re open to that. But I don’t know that it’s any more detailed than that.”
Gelfond also mentioned that he has had insight into Greta Gerwig’s plans for the film, and assured fans that it is going to be an amazing cinematic experience for both theatre viewers and home viewers alike.
You know I’ve gone through the plot with her — which is amazing — and how she’s gonna do it, and I think she’s going to create an IMAX experience and then a fantastic Netflix experience.”
Whilst Gelfond’s quotes still leave us none-the-wiser as to which books Gerwig is planning to adapt, it does seem to have dispelled the notion that her two films would be for one book split into two parts, as it sounds like the primary focus right now is on delivering just one self-contained cinematic experience.
Gelfond did though re-iterate that both Netflix and IMAX are viewing the Narnia project not just as a single movie, but as “a franchise”, and have high hopes for tackling further instalments in time, should the first prove to be a success.
Join the club IMAX – we’re all wanting more Narnia! Hopefully they’re starting with The Magician’s Nephew so then if it’s not a big success at least we’ve gotten to see a different book adapted.
Even by just releasing the first film in IMAX, it will increase the awareness of any following films on Netflix.
So I think from Netflix’s perspective, they might only want that to commit to one IMAX experience and then hope they can ride out the rest on their streaming platform. Though, good luck of convincing Gerwig to do that.
“You know I’ve gone through the plot with her — which is amazing — and how she’s gonna do it”
Fair to assume it involved more than simply going through the book’s synopsis because Gelfond seems to credit Gerwig with the plot… I don’t want to read too much into this (it’s possible he’s very unfamiliar with the Narnia books) but this would suggest that there may be some new/original aspects to Gerwig’s take.
I find it very odd that a second film wouldn’t have at least been brought up. If it’s Lion Witch Wardrobe, then you’d want to line up the cast right away so the children don’t age out of their roles too quickly.
I’d feel very confident in assuming the movie will be The Magician’s Nephew. As the “origin” book, it allows Gerwig to explore different themes and ideas, whereas a book like TLTWTW is so plot-heavy that there wouldn’t be much scope to go into any more of that in a single film. I’d also bet that Gerwig knows Narnia fans want something new.