There are some fantasy worlds that never quite leave you. No matter how many years pass, all it takes is the opening of a wardrobe door—or perhaps the slipping on of a mysterious ring—to make you wonder what might be waiting on the other side.
Soon, we are heading back to Narnia.
Netflix has revealed the official logo for Greta Gerwig’s upcoming “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew,” giving us another small glimpse at the long-awaited return of C.S. Lewis’ fantasy world. While there is still plenty waiting to be revealed about the film itself, we do know audiences will have the opportunity to experience this particular trip to Narnia on the big screen before it makes its way home.
“The Magician’s Nephew” will begin IMAX previews on February 10 before opening theatrically February 12. Rather unusually for a Netflix production, the movie will then remain exclusive to theaters for nearly three months before arriving on Netflix on April 2.
For a world as expansive and imaginative as Narnia, getting to step inside a theater for its return feels particularly fitting.
Yet the most interesting part of Netflix’s new beginning may be exactly where it has chosen to start. Previous adaptations have typically introduced audiences to Narnia through “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” following Lucy Pevensie through that famous wardrobe and into a snowy world where she eventually meets Mr. Tumnus.
Gerwig is going considerably further back.
Although it was published after several other books in “The Chronicles of Narnia,” “The Magician’s Nephew” takes place earliest chronologically. Even more notably, the story has never received a screen adaptation, meaning Netflix isn’t simply asking audiences to watch another interpretation of a familiar Narnia adventure. For the first time, this particular corner of Lewis’ world will be brought to life for the screen.
That gives longtime readers something genuinely new to anticipate while also offering younger viewers a very different doorway into Narnia. Rather than beginning with a story generations have already watched in previous adaptations, Netflix has an opportunity to introduce its version of the world from much closer to its beginning.
There is already quite a cast waiting to help do it. Carey Mulligan, Daniel Craig, Emma Mackey, Ciarán Hinds and Meryl Streep are among those appearing in the film, while newcomers David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell will take on the young lead roles.
For families who grew up with the books—or perhaps discovered Narnia through one of its earlier adaptations—there is something exciting about having another chance to share that world. Fantasy stories have a peculiar ability to move between generations, with parents eventually handing the same books they once disappeared into over to children ready to find the magic for themselves.
Narnia has always been particularly good at that.
Now, rather than simply reopening the wardrobe and retracing the same footsteps, Netflix is taking us somewhere the screen has never gone before.
“Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” begins IMAX previews February 10, opens in theaters February 12 and arrives on Netflix April 2.
After all these years, another door to Narnia is finally opening.
We just have to step through it.