Dan Lin is out at Netflix. What happened with Greta Gerwig’s Narnia?

Netflix film chief Dan Lin was dismissed during a wider leadership shake-up reported on Monday, October 19. The move puts Peter Rice in charge of the streamer’s films for now and has brought renewed attention to a reported disagreement between Lin and Narnia director Greta Gerwig.

Netflix confirmed Lin’s departure and said Rice would oversee film until it names a new head, according to Business Insider. Variety reported that co-CEO Ted Sarandos told Lin on Friday, October 16, that he was being dismissed, citing three people familiar with the call.

What happened between Dan Lin and Greta Gerwig?

The report said Lin subsequently ceased overseeing Narnia and Doug Belgrad became the project’s main Netflix executive. None of Variety’s sources suggested the exchange led to Lin’s firing. The account of the call rests on unnamed sources; Netflix’s confirmed leadership change does not establish why Lin was dismissed.

Why Netflix’s film leadership is changing

Lin arrived as film chair in 2024 with a mandate to bring more cost discipline and variety to Netflix’s movies, Business Insider reported. He cut large upfront payments to actors, reduced staff and reorganized the film department. His slate included KPop Demon Hunters, Happy Gilmore 2 and Frankenstein.

His exit follows layoffs of about 1,000 Netflix employees the previous week, roughly 6% of its global workforce. Business Insider called it the company’s largest round of cuts since 2022. Chief content officer Bela Bajaria and Belgrad were also among those affected, according to Variety. Rice, a former Disney and Fox executive, took over Bajaria’s role and will oversee film during the search for Lin’s successor.

Variety described competing accounts of the decision to remove Lin: some people pointed to pressure to show growth, while others focused on the challenge of balancing streaming films with theatrical releases. The latter question matters for Narnia, which Variety described as a $250 million project planned for theaters first. Those accounts offer context, not an established reason for the dismissal.

Lin was roughly halfway through a five-year deal, Variety reported. Netflix has said who will oversee films in the interim, but has not announced a permanent replacement. Its quarterly earnings report was scheduled for Tuesday, October 20, placing the leadership change immediately ahead of a planned update to investors.