Greta Gerwig‘s journey to Narnia has just gotten a bit further away. Netflix is moving the Barbie filmmaker’s adaptation of C.S. Lewis‘s sixth fantasy novel, The Magician’s Nephew, back to February 12, but the delay comes with a truly magical update. In a complete break from tradition, it appears the streamer is giving the film a proper theatrical window, starting on the big screen and in IMAX before eventually coming home on the platform on April 2. Originally, plans were for the film to bow in theaters this Thanksgiving and then stream on Christmas. Sneak previews will only be available in IMAX starting February 10.

Serving as writer and director, Gerwig was thankful to both the streamer and IMAX for making the rollout of her Narnia vision a reality. “Working with Netflix to bring this film to life has been extraordinary, and IMAX continues to be an incredible partner,” she said in a statement. “I cannot wait for people to see the film in theaters on February 12 and on Netflix on April 2.” Though it’s later in Lewis‘s legendary series, The Magician’s Nephew is the first chapter in the Narnia story, depicting the creation of the magical realm and the formation of its connection to our own world. Moreover, under Gerwig‘s direction, it makes some bold changes to the setting, shifting the time period to around the end of World War II in London and thus setting the stage for a unique spin on the classic.

This will mark the fourth time Narnia has been adapted for the big screen, following the 2000s trilogy, and it will feature a spectacularly starry cast for the occasion. Sex Education star Emma Mackey will reunite with both Netflix and Gerwig to play the White Witch, while David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell are expected to embody the young Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer. Accompanying them are Carey Mulligan, Ciarán Hinds, Daniel Craig, Meryl Streep, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Denise Gough, and Susan Wokoma. Together, they’ll bring back to life a franchise that has sold a collective 120 million copies across 70 different countries to date.

‘The Magician’s Nephew’ Is a Deeply Personal Story for Greta Gerwig

The shift to a wide release is a bold move that signals how highly Netflix regards its new Narnia saga. The streamer has increasingly dabbled in theatrical runs, from its two Knives Out sequels to a few awards contenders, like Jay Kelly and A House of Dynamite, and special series events, like the Stranger Things Season 5 finale. When Netflix was in the running to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, it also showed a willingness to keep the entertainment giant’s films’ theatrical windows as is, despite reservations from filmmakers. For Gerwig, this first step on that journey is an especially important one, given how she fell in love with the original story as a child. In her statement, she wrote about how formative a story it was for her in opening up a sense of adventure that she’s carried into her filmmaking career.

“I was a child when I first read The Magician’s Nephew, and I fell in love with the gorgeously improbable but completely brilliant concept of a cosmic lion singing the world of Narnia to life. I didn’t know that I would grow up to make films, but a universe built out of music is an idea that always lived in my heart. It is the honor of a lifetime to be asked to imagine it into being. Because of C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, I believed in magic and hidden worlds and adventure. I believed that anywhere could be enchanted and that anyone could be swept up into an epic. That wonder and awe was available to everyone, even ordinary people like me… It transformed me.”

Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew premieres in theaters and on IMAX on February 12 before arriving on Netflix on April 2.

via Collider