Follow-Up: Variety Reports Why Netflix Fired Dan Lin: 'Narnia' Clash With Greta Gerwig Was Not the Direct Cause
GSM reported on October 19 that Dan Lin, Netflix's head of film, was leaving the company. According to Variety's latest reporting, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos personally called Lin last Friday to tell him he had been dismissed; several sources said that once chief content officer Bela Bajaria was out, Lin's departure was seen inside the company as only a matter of time.
The upheaval began on October 14, when Netflix laid off about 1,000 employees, roughly 6 percent of its workforce; Lin's deputy, film vice president Doug Belgrad, was among those cut. Bajaria then departed, and former Disney and Fox executive Peter Rice will take over as chief content officer on October 26. Lin's successor will be chosen by Rice.
As for why Lin was fired, Variety's sources say the core issue was that he could not find the balance between streaming titles and theatrical release experiments; he was halfway through a five-year deal. Variety also addressed the widely rumored "Narnia" clash: on a video call earlier this year, Lin came across as dismissive toward director Greta Gerwig, whose "Narnia: The Magician's Nephew" carries a reported budget of about $250 million. Gerwig's agent, Bryan Lourd, reached out directly to Sarandos, and producer Amy Pascal tried to mend the relationship. But Variety reports the clash was not directly what led to Lin's firing; after it, Belgrad stepped in as the primary Netflix executive overseeing the film, until he was laid off last week.
Variety reported that Lin kept working through the weekend after his dismissal, attending Saturday's Academy Gala and a Sunday tastemaker screening in support of the filmmakers of "La Bola Negra." One senior Netflix insider summed up the week's upheaval as: "Everyone is collateral damage." Netflix has not issued a detailed explanation for Lin's dismissal.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Netflix 位于 Los Gatos 的总部大楼 101 Albright Way（资料图）。Coolcaesar 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0 授权图片，经 Wikimedia Commons 发布／Netflix headquarters at 101 Albright Way in Los Gatos (file photo). Photo: Coolcaesar, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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- 2026-10-20Follow-Up: Variety Reports Why Netflix Fired Dan Lin: 'Narnia' Clash With Greta Gerwig Was Not the Direct CauseThis story
