Fantasy franchises have been all the rage for Netflix in previous years. They’ve found success in the genre before with shows like The Witcher, Shadow and Bone, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Masters of the Universe: Revelation, all of which represent fresh takes on existing IP.
Netflix has done plenty of fantasy on the movie front, too, but they have yet to tackle a major franchise. The streamer hasn’t turned a beloved IP into a multi-film story, much less taken on the pressure of rebooting one that audiences hold dearly. Instead, they’ve watched Warner Bros. find success keeping Harry Potter alive, Universal remake How to Train Your Dragon, and more fantasy franchises thrive.
After focusing most of its attention within the fantasy genre on TV, Netflix is finally about to take a big swing. They are officially rebooting a beloved fantasy book series that contains seven novels and has already supported a $1.5 billion live-action franchise. Netflix has been working on it since 2018, and the journey to the screen finally ends next year.
A Compendium of Enchanted Cinema How Well Do You Know Fantasy Movies? “Magic always comes with a price.”
SpellsWingardium Leviosa
BeastsHere be dragons
KingdomsLong live the king
QuestsThe hero’s journey
MagicWhat lies ahead
01
Across the Harry Potter films, the boy wizard is rarely without his loyal companion — a snowy owl gifted to him by Hagrid on his eleventh birthday. What is the owl’s name?
✓ Correct! Hedwig — the snowy owl Harry receives in The Philosopher’s Stone — becomes one of his most beloved companions. Errol is the Weasleys’ ancient, accident-prone owl; Pigwidgeon is Ron’s tiny hyperactive owl; and Crookshanks is Hermione’s ginger cat — not an owl at all.
✗ Not quite! The answer is Hedwig. Errol is the Weasleys’ clumsy family owl, Pigwidgeon is Ron’s tiny owl from later books, and Crookshanks is Hermione’s cat. Hedwig is the snowy owl Hagrid buys Harry for his birthday — even getting her own leitmotif from composer John Williams.
02
In Rob Reiner’s 1987 cult classic The Princess Bride, the farm boy Westley answers Buttercup’s every demand with the same three words — which she comes to realize actually mean “I love you.” What does he say?
✓ Correct! “As you wish” is Westley’s signature line — and the film’s emotional core. “Inconceivable!” is Vizzini’s catchphrase (prompting Inigo’s famous “You keep using that word…”). The other two were never in William Goldman’s script — the whole point is that three plain words carry all the meaning.
✗ Not quite! The answer is “As you wish.” “Inconceivable!” belongs to the Sicilian Vizzini. Buttercup slowly realizes that Westley’s endlessly repeated “As you wish” is really his way of saying “I love you” — one of the most quoted lines in fantasy cinema.
03
The 2006 Spanish-language masterpiece Pan’s Labyrinth blends a fascist-era fairy tale with the grim reality of post-Civil War Spain, featuring the nightmarish Pale Man. Which director created this dark fantasy?
✓ Correct! Guillermo del Toro wrote and directed Pan’s Labyrinth, designing the Faun and the eyeless Pale Man himself. He’d later win Best Director and Best Picture for The Shape of Water. Cuarón directed Prisoner of Azkaban; Almodóvar is Spain’s great melodramatist; Rodriguez is del Toro’s close friend but made Sin City and Spy Kids.
✗ Not quite! The answer is Guillermo del Toro. Alfonso Cuarón (a fellow “Three Amigos” of Mexican cinema) directed Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Pedro Almodóvar makes Spanish melodramas, and Robert Rodriguez made Sin City. Del Toro’s creature designs in Pan’s Labyrinth are now iconic.
04
In The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), the four Pevensie children first stumble into the snowy land of Narnia by passing through what object?
✓ Correct! It’s a wardrobe — it’s right there in the title. Lucy hides inside during a game and finds the snow and lamppost of Narnia beyond the fur coats. A magical painting actually appears in the sequel, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; the mirror and well are red herrings from other fantasy tales.
✗ Not quite! The answer is a wardrobe — literally named in the title. Lucy Pevensie pushes past the coats and steps out into snowy Narnia by the lamppost. (A magical painting does pull the children into the sea in the later film The Voyage of the Dawn Treader — but not here.)
05
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) made Oscar history as the first fantasy film to win Best Picture, sweeping every category it was nominated in. How many Academy Awards did it take home?
✓ Correct! Return of the King won all 11 of its nominations — tying Ben-Hur (1959) and Titanic (1997) for the all-time record, and becoming the first (and so far only) fantasy film to win Best Picture. Remarkably, it earned zero acting nominations yet still swept the board clean.
✗ Not quite! The answer is 11 — a perfect clean sweep. Return of the King tied Ben-Hur and Titanic for the most Oscar wins ever and broke fantasy’s long Best Picture drought. Fellowship of the Ring won 4 and The Two Towers won 2; the finale took everything it was nominated for.
06
In the swashbuckling Pirates of the Caribbean films, Johnny Depp earned an Oscar nomination playing a swaggering, kohl-eyed pirate captain reportedly inspired by Keith Richards. What is the character’s name?
✓ Correct! Captain Jack Sparrow — Depp’s loose-limbed, rum-soaked performance earned a surprise Best Actor nomination for The Curse of the Black Pearl. Will Turner is the blacksmith hero (Orlando Bloom), Davy Jones is the tentacle-faced villain (Bill Nighy), and Hector Barbossa is the mutinous rival captain (Geoffrey Rush).
✗ Not quite! The answer is Captain Jack Sparrow. Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) is the earnest blacksmith, Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) is the squid-faced sea villain, and Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) is the cursed rival. It was Depp’s Sparrow — modeled partly on Keith Richards — who earned the Oscar nod.
07
Jim Henson’s 1986 musical fantasy Labyrinth features a teenage Jennifer Connelly navigating a maze to rescue her baby brother from the flamboyant, wild-haired Goblin King Jareth. Which rock legend played Jareth?
✓ Correct! David Bowie played Jareth, writing and performing the film’s songs including “Magic Dance” and “As the World Falls Down.” Tim Curry famously played the demon Darkness in another Ridley Scott fantasy, Legend (also 1985-86). Jagger and Sting are rock icons but never donned Jareth’s glittering cape and wild wig.
✗ Not quite! The answer is David Bowie. Tim Curry played the towering devil Darkness in the rival fantasy Legend around the same time. Bowie not only starred as Jareth the Goblin King but composed and sang the soundtrack — “Magic Dance” remains the film’s signature number.
08
In the 1984 classic The NeverEnding Story, the young warrior Atreyu journeys across the dying realm of Fantasia and befriends a furry, dog-faced luckdragon who carries him through the skies. What is the luckdragon’s name?
✓ Correct! Falkor (Falkor the luckdragon) is the friendly, scale-and-fur covered dragon who aids Atreyu and Bastian. Artax is Atreyu’s horse, lost heartbreakingly in the Swamp of Sadness; Gmork is the wolf-like servant of The Nothing; and Bastian is the real-world boy reading the story who is ultimately drawn into it.
✗ Not quite! The answer is Falkor. Artax is Atreyu’s beloved horse (the Swamp of Sadness scene scarred a generation), Gmork is the menacing wolf-beast serving The Nothing, and Bastian is the bullied boy reading the book. Falkor is the soaring luckdragon — one of fantasy cinema’s most cherished creatures.
The Grimoire Closes · Quest Complete Your Fantasy Rank
/ 8
Archmage of the Silver Screen — or still lost in the labyrinth?
Netflix is rebooting C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia with Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, which comes out in exactly eight months, on February 12, 2027. The movie was previously on the calendar for 2026 before Netflix pushed it to next year. This will now be when Netflix’s reboot plans start.
Netflix’s Narnia Reboot Is Starting With A Different Story
Many are already familiar with the Narnia franchise from reading Lewis’ books or watching the original franchise that came after. In both cases, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe was the entry point to this fantasy story. Netflix and writer/director Greta Gerwig have decided to take things in a different direction, though.
Rather than start with the Pevensie siblings discovering Narnia and adapt the original book, the franchise reboot is tackling Lewis’ sixth book, The Magician’s Nephew, first. It marks the first time that this story will be adapted for the screen. The reason for this is that The Magician’s Nephew is the first story in the chronological order of Narnia, as it is a prequel.
The freshness that comes with adapting this book is exactly why Netflix and Gerwig are starting the Narnia reboot here. The upcoming fantasy movie will show the origin of Narnia, centering its story on Queen Jadis (who becomes the White Witch) and Digory Kirke (the professor the Pevensie children stay with years later). The Magician’s Nephew can now lay the foundation for the entire franchise Netflix is eyeing.
Netflix Has Huge Plans For Narnia’s Reboot
As expected when rebooting a franchise with such rich source material, Netflix has zero interest in only making a single Narnia movie. That is why they set a deal with Gerwig to make two entries, at least. The Magician’s Nephew is the first. It is widely expected that Gerwig will then go on to write and direct the latest adaptation of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
Should these first two movies be as successful as Netflix hopes, the Narnia reboot should last for years to come. With seven books to adapt, we will get at least seven movies if each one is adapted. I say at least because there is always the chance Netflix decides to split one of the books into two films, following Hollywood’s history of splitting books into two-movie franchise finales, as was done with Harry Potter and The Hunger Games.
In addition to the number of movies Netflix is planning to make, the streamer has also broken its biggest rule for the reboot. The Magician’s Nephew is getting an exclusive theatrical release in IMAX with a proper multi-week theatrical window before going to Netflix at a later date. It is getting the biggest screens possible, and the biggest release Netflix has ever done.
This should aid Netflix’s franchise plans for Lewis’ book adaptations. And by telling a fresh story in the fantasy franchise first, Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew could become a tremendous success when it arrives early next year.
