Netflix’s ‘Narnia’ Debut to Share Release Date with HBO’s ‘Harry Potter’ Series
Fantasy fans may have a crowded watchlist this Christmas.
HBO has just announced, alongside the release of its first teaser trailer, that its upcoming Harry Potter television series will now premiere on December 25, 2026 — earlier than previously expected, as the series had originally been slated for a 2027 debut.
That date is especially notable as Greta Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew is also expected to arrive on Netflix the same day, meaning the film will face direct competition for viewers upon its streaming release.
No word yet on whether HBO will drop Harry Potter Season 1 all at once or episode by episode.
Despite the overlap, Narnia is still positioned to carve out its own moment in the spotlight ahead of time. The film is set for a two-week IMAX run across more than 1,000 screens worldwide beginning November 26, giving it an opportunity to build momentum and audience awareness before debuting on Netflix.
Are you worried about how Narnia will perform against HBO’s Harry Potter? Could both benefit from the shared release date?
Hi everyone. It’s completely absurd and I’m really annoyed. I’m sure the release of the new Harry Potter series will overshadow Narnia. It’s a shame that we still know next to nothing about the new movie. Maybe I’m just being a pessimist, but I don’t have a good feeling about this. Besides, there are already eight Harry Potter movies, while Narnia only has three out of seven. I really don’t see the point of making a new Harry Potter series. Unbelievable!
If Aslan is a male I don’t think Harry Potters release will matter. In the Harry Potter show they purposely miscast both Snape and Hermonie. If Narnia doesn’t miscast Aslan it will do great. Harry Potter has already and will get backlash for the Snape and Hermonie castings.
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Honestly sounds like a perfect Christmas Day to me.
It sounds fun! Presents, church, lunch, Narnia, then Harry Potter!
Hope Narnia is good, and then it can ride the tide with Harry!
Are you related to Eustace Scrubb?
I think there’s plenty of audience and time around Christmas for both projects if they’re good. HBO clearly doesn’t view Narnia as much of a threat, but I do think Narnia could benefit from the move.
People will inevitably compare the two, like Rings of Power and House of the dragon, though the source materials and mediums and audiences are radically different( just like rings of power and house of the dragon). Narnia is a film placed on the DONT LOOK UP, Squid Games Season 2, Stranger Things slot on the biggest streaming platform in the world, it’ll be fine. I do worry that the comparisons can damage Narnia’s Oscar campaign because it may be perceived as an insignificant that is not capital “I” Important
If HBO releases on the same weekend as Netflix’s Narnia comes to theaters, it probably will hurt the theater ticket numbers, which are crucial to making headlines. There is too much overlap between audiences for both to do well in this situation, I think.
Edit, sorry, I didn’t see the actual release date is in November, sorry.
Narnia has spent too long in silence and secrecy. It needs to start promotion now; even if it’s just an image from the set.
I really hope they release something official for the new Narnia movie soon. It’s weird that, as of today, there isn’t even a logo for the film.
Maybe they’re hoping to drum up a strong level of hype for the Narnia movie… but they think that the hype can’t be sustained for more than a couple months.
Johnathan, that’s the strategy Sony is doing right now with Spider-Man. They waited until just now to release the trailer for the July movie, although it had already leaked back in December.
Apparently the strategy proved really successful for the No Way Home movie.
Well, I’ll be watching Narnia, been waiting for an adaptation of The Magicians Nephew for decades! Not bothered about the new Potter, I loved the books and movies but it’s way too soon for a “reboot”
SAME HERE!
I am still wishing, no matter what the producers and such are planning, that we could just hear an itsy-bit more about casting, behind the scenes photos, vlogs, anything…movies like LOTR and The Hobbit films did a great job of keeping the viewers informed without spoiling anything. But I guess it’s just a good lesson in patience!
From what I am seeing on the internet, people are very excited about december with a lot of new movies and series and Narnia is getting a “boost” included in a lot of lists beside Harry Potter, Percy jackson (season 3), Dune 3, Jumanji and Doomsday! Hopping for a teaser to be released as soon as possible!
Once again, Narnia is competing with Harry Potter. History truly is repeating itself.
I’m still not excited about Narnia getting a modernized reboot. It seems like yesterday I watched LWW in theaters, and I remember thinking it was perfect. PC was better than expected. Not as good as LWW, but passable. I still can’t get myself to rewatch VDT because it was so different from the book in almost every way. They really dropped the ball on that one. I desperately wanted to enjoy that movie, since it was my favorite book in the series, but I just wasn’t able to. It felt like cheering for your team when they’re not playing right. I hope Greta has made a good movie that is also a faithful adaptation, but I’m not very confident yet.
Good for the HP fans I guess. But once again Narnia has to combat another fantasy franchise!
I think this is good because it’s possible that we are only getting Narnia movies because the fantasy genre is popular.
With all the film/tv coming out later this year… it’s mad that there’s not even a ‘First Look’ for Narnia yet. I’m not expecting a trailer – but seriously – give us an official image or logo or anything really.
If they wait much longer, people will seriously start to think the Narnia movie is turning into an urban legend.
Hi, we can stop me? Effacer? Thanks I hate you.
Funny I read Goblet of fire right after I read The Magicians Nephew
Fall/ December of 2005
I was 8 at the time
I prefer the Narnia books because I didn’t think broadling schools/ going to school is fun or exciting, I’ll rather have magical adventures in far away land.