Greta Gerwig's new $280 million Narnia movie is reportedly causing a stir within Netflix after some less-than-stellar test screenings over the summer.
'It’s 100 percent true, and everyone at Netflix thinks the movie is awful. It’s a genuine problem,' one source told entertainment journalist Jeff Sneider this week.
The film, titled Narnia: The Magician's Nephew, is the fourth solo outing from Academy Award-nominated director Greta Gerwig. She previously headed Barbie.
'The air went out of the room. It was bleak,' a second source said, describing the atmosphere in the theater once their viewing ended. Some previously unscheduled reshoots followed, according to Sneider.
The film features Meryl Streep as the voice of Aslan the lion, whom fans caught a glimpse of for the first time toward the end of the streamer's Led Zeppelin-laden trailer on Tuesday.
Aslan is a male in the original seven-book series and is widely considered a literary representation of Jesus Christ.
The casting doesn't necessarily mean that Aslan will be depicted as female but nonetheless has angered conservative critics.
The preview also featured a soundtrack from a band notorious for not granting the rights to use their music, Led Zeppelin.
Greta Gerwig's new $280million Narnia film is causing a stir within Netflix after recent poor test screenings, insiders told The InSneider this week
The film is the fourth solo outing from Academy Award-nominated director Greta Gerwig, who pegged Oscar-winning Meryl Streep to play the mystical lion Aslan
Sneider's newsletter, The InSneider, reported last week that Gerwig, 43, recently complained to her agent about 'meddling' from Netflix executive Dan Lin, after receiving 'a lot of notes about early cuts' of the film.
Lin has been in charge of Netflix's film slate since 2024.
Another source told Sneider this week that the situation surrounding the upcoming film echoed a predicament that plagued Barbie during that film's post-production, where 'at least one individual - an experienced editor or director, or possibly both... was brought into the editing room to "save"' the film.
The director's cut initially had Warner executives 'very worried,' according to Sneider, despite eventually being nominated for Best Picture.
To substantiate the theory, Sneider cited how Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew has three credited editors instead of Gerwig’s usual one, with Wyatt Smith and Andrew Weisblum joining returning filmographer Nick Houy.
Sneider theorized that the increasing scale of Gerwig's projects could be her undoing.
'I don’t expect Gerwig to return for the Narnia sequel - if there is one,' he added, noting that while he enjoyed Tuesday's trailer, he 'trust[ed]' the review he received from the second source.
'I’d be curious to see how Narnia looks without one of the greatest songs of all time playing over the footage,' the report continued, referring to rock-opera ballad Stairway to Heaven, which band members Jimmy Page and Robert Plant famously refused all requests to license until this year.
The film also stars Daniel Craig and cost a reported $280 million to create. The poor screenings led to re-shoots, sources said
Sneider's piece also addressed the 1,000 layoffs that hit Netflix Wednesday, as the streamer continues to lose ground to sites like YouTube. The company's share price has fallen more than 40 percent since December.
Sources told the journalist that there were 'rumblings' that either Lin or fellow Netflix executive Bela Bajaria 'will have to face the music soon.' Bajaria, previously the company's chief content officer, was fired the day after the report was published, on Thursday.
The day before, Gerwig spoke onstage with Stephen Colbert at Netflix's Narnia IMAX exclusive sneak peek event in Manhattan. She talked up the original books by CS Lewis.
During an interview with Empire for a cover story about the upcoming film, Gerwig detailed her decision to cast Streep to voice Aslan.
The director, who previously worked with Streep on 2019’s Little Women, said her vision of the latter was partially inspired by late and oft-androgynous singer David Bowie.
'I wanted someone who was profound but not pretentious, who had gravitas but not morose self-seriousness. Someone who could communicate depth and pathos as well as joy and delight,' she told the magazine.
'I wanted someone who was older than 70, so there was a wisdom of experience, but who also had the capacity of fresh wonder, like a child. And also to be one of the greatest actors to ever do it. That list is not a long one.'
'David Bowie saved my life. Paul McCartney saved my life. David Gilmour saved my life. Pete Townshend saved my life. Jimmy Page, Robert Plant,' she added.
The film - based on the first of the seven book series by British author CS Lewis - releases in February
Gerwig spoke onstage with Stephen Colbert at Netflix's Narnia IMAX exclusive sneak peek event in Manhattan on Wednesday
'When I heard their music, I had this deep sense of [thinking], "You’re gonna be OK."'
The Daily Mail approached Netflix for comment.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos appeared to acknowledge the company's recent struggles during Bloomberg’s 2026 Screentime conference last month, after losing roughly $100 billion in market capitalization since December.
'Overall, we’re not growing as fast as I want us to, and we’re working on making that move faster,' he said on September 30. 'The business is great and growing fine.'
The film releases in February, before landing on Netflix in April.