Barbie writer-director Greta Gerwig reportedly had a bitter falling out with Netflix’s then-head of film over her upcoming movie, Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew.
In their rundown of why Netflix fired Dan Lin earlier this week, Variety claimed Lin had clashed with both Gerwig and Ben Affleck (who most recently directed Animals for the streamer) during his tenure as the streamer’s movies boss.
“Four sources with knowledge of the matter said that, indeed, Lin and Gerwig had a falling out during a Zoom call about the project earlier this year. On a virtual meeting populated by numerous Netflix executives, Lin is said to have been ‘dismissive’ to the director in conversation about the progress of the film,” according to Variety.
“Lin is known in town to be incredibly fair, but at times obtuse in his frankness. Word travelled fast around Netflix that the meeting had gone south, at which point sources said [then-chief content officer Bela] Bajaria called Gerwig’s producer Amy Pascal to smooth things over. Two sources also said that Gerwig’s new, all-powerful CAA agent Bryan Lourd went to Sarandos directly over the faux pas. Lin was subsequently disappeared from the film, all sources concurred, and [Lin’s top lieutenant Doug] Belgrad stepped in as the primary Netflix exec overseeing the project (until, of course, he was laid off last week).”
“None of the sources suggested the incident led to Lin’s firing,” Variety added.
Not long before his firing, Lin declared in an interview that Netflix “just won’t work with” directors who want their films to also be released in cinemas. “There is a group of filmmakers who still want theatrical," Lin said. "Those are filmmakers that we’ve accepted we just won’t work with."
Netflix recently kicked off its marketing campaign for The Magician’s Nephew with the release of the first trailer and new poster for Gerwig’s film adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ 1955 fantasy novel.
That trailer was enough to convince IGN’s Jesse Schedeen to stop being skeptical about the project’s very existence.
Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew opens exclusively in theaters on February 12, 2027 (IMAX previews begin February 10) before streaming on Netflix on April 2.
The film’s cast includes David McKenna, Beatrice Campbell, Emma Mackey, Carey Mulligan, Ciarán Hinds, with Daniel Craig and Meryl Streep, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Denise Gough, Susan Wokoma.