Fantasy has had a recent resurgence in popularity on television with the success of HBO’s Game of Thrones series. Amazon will be producing a series based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, and now Netflix will be doing the same with C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.
The streaming giant announced today through a press release that it will be develop new series and movie projects based on the series of books. According to the multi-year deal, “Netflix will develop classic stories from across the Narnia universe.”
Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer of Netflix, said, “C.S. Lewis’ beloved Chronicles of Narnia stories have resonated with generations of readers around the world. Families have fallen in love with characters like Aslan and the entire world of Narnia, and we’re thrilled to be their home for years to come.”
“It is wonderful to know that folks from all over are looking forward to seeing more of Narnia, and that the advances in production and distribution technology have made it possible for us to make Narnian adventures come to life all over the world,” said Douglas Gresham, stepson of C.S. Lewis. “Netflix seems to be the very best medium with which to achieve this aim, and I am looking forward to working with them towards this goal.”
This marks the first time the rights to the full seven books series have been owned by one company. Films of the first three books – The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; and Voyage of the Dawn Treader – were produced in part by Walden Media from 2005 to 2010.
Since the publication of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe in 1950, The Chronicles of Narnia have sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages. The books cover various adventures in the land of Narnia, a fictional world filled with all sorts of talking animals, magic, and mythical beasts. The protagonists of the books are all children from our world who are transported to Narnia.
Do you have a favorite story from The Chronicles of Narnia? Will you be watching the series and films when they come to Netflix? Let us know!
