Greta Gerwig, the writer-director behind Barbie, reportedly experienced a significant disagreement with Dan Lin, Netflix's former head of film, concerning her upcoming project, Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew. According to Variety, Lin clashed with Gerwig during a virtual meeting earlier this year, where he was described as "dismissive" towards the director regarding the film's progress. This interaction occurred amidst a period where Lin also reportedly had tensions with Ben Affleck.
Sources familiar with the matter indicated that the virtual meeting included numerous Netflix executives. Following the contentious discussion, word spread quickly within Netflix about the meeting's negative outcome. It is reported that Bela Bajaria, then-chief content officer, contacted Gerwig's producer Amy Pascal to mediate the situation. Furthermore, Gerwig's agent, Bryan Lourd, is said to have directly addressed the incident with Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos. Following these events, Lin was removed from his oversight of the Narnia project, with Doug Belgrad stepping in as the primary Netflix executive until his recent layoff.
Variety specified that these reported incidents were not presented as the direct cause of Lin's eventual dismissal from Netflix.
Lin had previously stated in an interview that Netflix would not collaborate with filmmakers who insisted on theatrical releases for their films, remarking, "There is a group of filmmakers who still want theatrical. Those are filmmakers that we’ve accepted we just won’t work with."
Netflix has initiated the marketing campaign for The Magician's Nephew, releasing the film's first trailer and a new poster. The trailer has reportedly shifted perspectives on the project, with IGN's Jesse Schedeen no longer expressing skepticism about its development.
Narnia: The Magician's Nephew is scheduled for an exclusive theatrical release on February 12, 2027, with IMAX previews commencing on February 10. The film will become available for streaming on Netflix on April 2, 2027.
The film's cast includes David McKenna, Beatrice Campbell, Emma Mackey, Carey Mulligan, Ciarán Hinds, Daniel Craig, Meryl Streep, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Denise Gough, and Susan Wokoma.