Greta Gerwig is reissuing CS Lewis’ classic fantasy novel series The Chronicles of Narnia for Netflix and is set to direct at least two of the films herself. However, releasing these only in streaming, as is usual for Netflix, is not enough for the Oscar-winning Barbie director: According to new reports, she is insisting on a large-scale theatrical release of the films – namely in IMAX on the largest possible screen.
That would be a real novelty for Netflix, because so far the streamer has only brought selected, Oscar-worthy films from its own company to the cinema before the start of streaming for a short run of no longer than a week in order to be taken into account for the award season. The Narnia films offer the perfect opportunity for Netflix to break this rule and return to the origins of the medium.
Narnia in the cinema: The fantasy hits have to be watched on the big screen without distraction
Whether Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter or the Narnia film adaptations of the 2000s themselves – fantasy films have always worked best in the cinema. In Detailed and visually stunning worlds In order to immerse yourself in films that come with elaborate sets and costumes, exuberant action and expensive effects, you need two things above all. A canvas on which all of this comes into its own, and a space in which all of this actually comes into play can come into effect.
Hand on heart: Who doesn’t sometimes catch themselves looking out the window while streaming on their TV at home or – Aslan forbid – on their laptop, or suddenly finding their smartphone in their hand? And that’s often not because the films and series lack excitement or are even poorly made. That’s often because of the sheer oversaturation of titles and shortened attention spans the social media generation that wants to thwart our plans whenever the opportunity arises.
The best way to combat this is to prevent this bitter opportunity from arising in the first place. In the cinema we sit in a dark room, the full center of which is the expansive screen and the film itself. Looking at your cell phone or chatting with the person sitting next to you? Absolutely frowned upon. Go to the toilet? Just okay. Just get up and leave? Definitely not as easy as just pressing stop and choosing something else.
In the cinema we still really get involved in filmswhich we might have turned off streaming at home long ago. The fact that I stopped watching Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon halfway through and never continued watching would certainly not have happened if I had seen the film in the cinema. I would have watched it to the end, willy-nilly, and perhaps even gotten something out of the sci-fi action. On my television at home, the film has become lost to me and has become one uninteresting title among many. Thank you, next.
The world of Narnia can unfold much better in the cinema than in streaming
It would be an absolute shame that this would also happen to Gerwig’s Narnia remake for many casual Netflix streamers. Because the fantastic world of Narnia provides such a rich source of playful landscapes and striking characters that it would be downright tragic not to be able to fully appreciate every second of it. I want to be sucked into the world of Narnia like Lucy Pevensiewhen she stumbles through the closet into the snow-covered forest for the first time and meets Mr. Tumnus at the lantern.
I want to be able to smell the deceptive Turkish honey that Edmund wants from the White Witch because the movie screen is almost rubbing it in my face. I want to be shaken by the sound of a cinema speaker as Aslan sacrifices himself on the stone altar to the thunderous screams of the animals. I want to be excited with a full theater as the final battle unfolds on the battlefield against the beautiful backdrop of New Zealand, where the film is currently being shot.
And I want to be emotionally moved when it’s time for the Pevensie siblings to leave Narnia again, because I was there with body and soul from beginning to end, undistracted, and leaving the cinema feels like that, as if I were turning my back on Narnia itself.
Streaming vs. cinema: Other streamers are already showing Netflix the perfect compromise
No, I don’t want to miss streaming either and I’m glad that I can (re)watch many films and series at home at any time. Ultimately, I will also be happy about the Narnia films in the Netflix repertoire. But absolutely nothing can replace a visit to the cinema, which somehow always feels like a big event to me. Submerging films like Narnia solely in streaming, on the other hand, deprives the cinema of its event character, its relevance and its impact – as well as the films themselves.
Here Netflix could take a cue from competitors like Apple TV+, which brought cinematic films like Ridley Scott’s Napoleon and Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon to the big screen for an extended run before they ended up on streaming.
The fact that after Narnia even more Netflix productions want a piece of the cinema pie could even be more of a blessing than a curse for Netflix. Because maybe it will equalize the soulless streaming boom in which a title will disappear into obscurity again next week – and takes Netflix away from the interchangeable image that the streamer recently acquired with critical flops like Rebel Moon, Damsel or Red Notice, which prioritized quantity over quality.
In the end, everyone would benefit from it – not just the Narnia fans.