Netflix is splashing out — Greta Gerwig’s Narnia ranks among its most expensive movies ever

Not every day you see Netflix lobbing nearly $300 million at a fantasy film, but here we are: Greta Gerwig is officially making Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, and it's shaping up to be not only her largest undertaking to date, but also one of the priciest productions Netflix has ever bankrolled. You can thank the copious VFX and a star-studded cast for helping drive up that tab.

Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew reportedly costs Netflix $280 million, making it one of their most expensive films.

Massive Budget, Major Names

The budget — which is said to be around $280 million — was casually dropped by Seamus McGarvey, a two-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer, when he popped up on the We Need to Talk About Oscars podcast. McGarvey had just finished a run of documentaries with his wife, so this is a colossal shift in scale and style. In his own words, and with no small amount of humility, he described the production:

‘I just find it tremendously exciting to go from a documentary... to Narnia, which is a 280 million dollar Netflix project, and with lots of visual effects. And to me, it's a kind of cinematographic Pilates.’

It's not just the, frankly, absurd budget that's turning heads. Gerwig has roped in what can only be described as a blockbuster line-up of producers: herself, Mark Gordon, Douglas Gresham, Amy Pascal, and Vincent Sieber are steering the ship, with Melvin Adams and Patricia Whitcher exec-producing. Christine Carias is also on board as co-producer, which, if nothing else, shows Netflix isn’t shorting this on talent behind the camera.

Starry Cast and Classic Source

This isn't just some random fantasy off the shelf. The film adapts C.S. Lewis’s “The Magician’s Nephew”, with Beatrice Campbell cast as Polly Plummer. Before you ask, yes, that’s the ‘how Narnia began’ one, not the first Chronicles book that most grew up with. They've thrown together an absolute murderers' row of acting talent: Meryl Streep, Carey Mulligan, Daniel Craig, Ciarán Hinds, Emma Mackey, Denise Gough, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Susan Wokoma, and David McKenna all have roles, though who’s playing whom hasn’t been mapped out in public yet. Gerwig flexed her directorial muscle with “Barbie” and “Little Women”, so expectations here are sky-high, perhaps unfairly so.

Release Plans (and a Slightly Odd Theatrical Strategy)

The schedule's a little unusual, even by current big-studio standards. Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew will be in cinemas for an exclusive 49 days starting 12 February 2027. That does put it head-to-head with Super Bowl weekend, so Americans might be otherwise occupied for part of its run. On 2 April 2027 — presuming the world hasn't moved on — the film will finally hit Netflix worldwide.

The official synopsis (as listed by IMDb, so pinch of salt) calls this: ‘From Oscar-nominated director Greta Gerwig (Barbie, Little Women), adapted from C.S. Lewis’s cherished tale.’ Doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel, but at those prices maybe they’re banking on word of mouth rather than slogans.