Deadline has confirmed that Greta Gerwig’s groundbreaking reimagining of The Chronicles of Narnia which is now filming and will premiere only in IMAX theaters on Thanksgiving 2026 (D’Alessandro, 2025). The exclusive two week release on IMAX screens from Thursday November 26, 2026 through Thursday December 10, 2026 will be the first time any Narnia movie has been ever been shown in IMAX. While the chance to see The Chronicles of Narnia on the biggest screen imaginable is new for Narnia Fans, the arrangement of a limited IMAX release isn’t new for NETFLIX although extremely rare. Back in 2016 NETFLIX partnered with IMAX for the simultaneous global release of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2 both in cinemas and streaming (IMAX Corporation, 2014; IMDB, n.d.). Unlike that simultaneous release fans who wish to see The Magician’s Nephew at home will need to wait until it launches on NETFLIX Christmas Day 2026 (D’Alessandro, 2025). It remains unclear what will happen during the two weeks between when the IMAX exclusive release ends on December 11, 2026 and December 25, 2026. Perhaps if the initial two week IMAX run is successful it might get extended or maybe any release on non-IMAX screens would happen in that gap.
Competition for Narnia
It is important to look ahead and consider what other films are cumming out around Narnia’s release window. The biggest major film coming out prior to The Magician’s Nephew is an untitled film by Walt Disney Animation Studios releasing November 25, 2026 (D’Alessandro, 2025). At the D23 Expo Disney Animation Studios chief Jennifer Lee confirmed this will be an original movie and not a sequel like Frozen 3 which releases in 2027 (Libbey, 2025). The previous Disney Animation Studios film Moana 2 had an IMAX release last year and the upcoming Disney Animation Studios film Zootopia 2 has an IMAX release later this year, so it is reasonable to assume that the 2026 Disney Animation Studios film will also have an IMAX release (IMAX Corporation, n.d.). This will prove stiff competition with two major family films expected to release in IMAX just one day apart from each other, but despite the scarcity of theaters Narnia is guaranteed to run on 1000 screens across 90 countries (D’Alessandro, 2025). Based on that math it might be a very limited engagement with only a dozen locations playing the movie for each country.
There is only one major film release scheduled for release during Narnia’s November 26, 2026 to December 10, 2026 IMAX release window which is Violent Night 2 (IMDB, n.d.; Wiese, 2025). Since the first Violent Night movie had an IMAX release in 2022 it can be expected that the sequel will also be released in IMAX to compete with Narnia during the second week of its box office run (IMAX Corporation, n.d.).
The announced two week IMAX exclusive engagement ends December 11, 2026 on the date of the next Jumanji sequel (Wiese, 2025). The last two installments of the Jumanji series were family oriented fantasy adventure films released in IMAX, so the Jumanji sequel would compete very strongly with The Magician’s Nephew if Narnia was somehow extended beyond December 10, 2026 (IMAX Corporation, n.d).
The Magician’s Nephew Concept Teaser Trailer
Since we now know the release date, expected cast, rumored cast, film setting, have footage from the film set, and a clip of stunt performers let’s have some fun with this! In the video below I have edited together a conceptual teaser trailer of what the new NETFLIX Narnia movie might look like based on everything we know so far and have seen from the London set. This speculative video is a combination of actual leaked footage (UnBoxPHD, 2025; Pritchard, 2025) and generative AI video constructed using tools like Bing Chat, OpenAI ChatGPT, OpenAI Sora, OpenArt, and XAI.
Download The Magician’s Nephew Concept Teaser Trailer
NOTE: This is a FAN-MADE concept teaser trailer. This video is a creative work of fiction and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Netflix, The C.S. Lewis Company, or any official production entities.
Let the Countdown Begin!
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew
References:
Asatryan, T. (2025). David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell Cast As Young Leads in Netflix’s ‘Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew’. Retrieved August 13, 2025 from https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/david-mckenna-and-beatrice-campbell-cast-as-young-leads-in-netflixs-narnia-movie/
D’Alessandro, A. (2025). Greta Gerwig’s Netflix Pic ‘Narnia’ Getting Thanksgiving 2026 Imax Global Theatrical Run. Retrieved August 22, 2025 from https://deadline.com/2025/01/narnia-greta-gerwig-imax-1236259639/
IMAX Corporation (2014). Netflix Announces First Original Movie, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend To Premiere Simultaneously On Netflix And In Select Global IMAX® Theaters. Retrieved August 22, 2025 from https://www.imax.com/pr/netflix-announces-first-original-movie-crouching-tiger-hidden
IMAX Corporation (n.d.). Moana 2. Retrieved August 22, 2025 from https://www.imax.com/movie/moana-2
IMAX Corporation (n.d.). Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Retrieved August 22, 2025 from https://www.imax.com/movie/jumanji-welcome-jungle
IMAX Corporation (n.d.). Jumanji: The Next Level. Retrieved August 22, 2025 from https://www.imax.com/movie/jumanji-next-level
IMAX Corporation (n.d.). Violent Night. Retrieved August 22, 2025 from https://www.imax.com/movie/violent-night
IMAX Corporation (n.d.). Zootopia 2. Retrieved August 22, 2025 from https://www.imax.com/movie/zootopia-2
IMDB (n.d.) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny. Retrieved August 22, 2025 from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2652118/
IMDB (n.d.) Violent Night 2. Retrieved August 22, 2025 from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32432428/
Libbey, D. (2025). Upcoming Disney Movies: Full List Of Titles And Release Dates. Retrieved August 22, 2025 from https://www.cinemablend.com/news/1608940/Upcoming-Disney-Movies-Every-Film-The-Studio-Plans-To-Release
Moore, K. (2025). Greta Gerwig’s Netflix Narnia Movie Starts Filming in London – First Look Photos. Retrieved August 13, 2025 from https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/greta-gerwigs-netflix-narnia-movie-starts-filming-in-london-first-look-photos/
Pritchard, F. (2025). Filming in my neighbourhood today #Narnia #TheMagiciansNephew #Netflix. Retrieved August 18, 2025 from https://www.instagram.com/p/DNLvL43My-Q/?hl=en
Pritchard, F. (2025). Throwing in more “the filming of Narnia”. Retrieved August 18, 2025 from https://www.instagram.com/p/DNOcSZTAWrg/?hl=en
UnBoxPHD (2025). Greta Gerwig’s Narnia – THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW Filming in London. Retrieved August 20, 2025 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cuTP5MRtw0
UnBoxPHD (2025). Netflix’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew FILMING in LONDON. Retrieved August 20, 2025 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXEnbHUYWhY
Wiese, J. (2025). Upcoming Movies In 2026: New Movie Release Dates. Retrieved August 22, 2025 from https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/upcoming-movies-in-2026-new-movie-release-dates
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