US-headquartered streaming platform Netflix has announced it will develop a new series and film projects based on CS Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia series of books.
Under a multi-year deal agreed between Netflix and The CS Lewis Company, which holds the rights to the books, Netflix will develop stories from the “Narnia universe” into series and films. The deal marks the first time that rights to the entire seven books of the Narnia universe have been held by the same company.
Douglas Gresham, the stepson of CS Lewis, welcomed the deal.
“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,” he said. “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.”
Ted Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix, said Lewis’ 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.”
The seven Narnia books, published between 1950 and 1956, have sold more than 100 million copies and been translated into 47 languages worldwide.
The BBC adapted The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe into a TV series in 1988. And in the new millennium, three Narnia films were released – The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (2005), Prince Caspian (2008), and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010).
