The Chronicles of Narnia Coming To Netflix

[Miles To Go]

Netflix has closed a multi-year deal with The C.S. Lewis Company to develop new series and film projects based on Lewis’ popular The Chronicles of Narnia books.

Under the pact, Netflix will develop stories from across the Narnia universe into series and films with Mark Gordon of Entertainment One alongside Douglas Gresham and Vincent Sieber serving as executive producers for series and as producers for features.

The deal marks the first time that rights to the entire seven books of the Narnia universe have been held by the same company.

“C.S. Lewis’ beloved Chronicles of Narnia stories have resonated with generations of readers around the world,” said Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer, Netflix. “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.”



In total the Narnia books have sold more than 100 million copies and been translated in more than 47 languages worldwide. Their highest-profile previous adaptation was the series of three Sony movies, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Prince Caspian (2008) and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010), which combined have grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide.

“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.”

With the deal, Netflix is looking to build a Narnia cinematic universe that encompasses film and TV in the vein of Star Trek and Marvel, whose franchises cross over between mediums. The idea originated with eOne and its president and chief content officer, for film and TV, Gordon. Via his Mark Gordon Co, he had made a deal with the C. S. Lewis Company in 2013 for a fourth Narnia feature. Following the MGC’s acquisition by eOne, it was announced in 2016 that Sony and eOne would finance and distribute the feature. Instead, Gordon and chief eOne strategy officer Peter Micelli felt there was a bigger opportunity in building a film-TV Narnia universe, got The C.S. Lewis Company on board and took the package to Netflix. (Sony is not involved in the project.)

“Narnia is one of those rare properties that spans multiple generations and geographies,” said Gordon. “eOne and I are excited to be collaborating with The C.S. Lewis Company and Netflix who have the capacity to translate the Narnia universe into both stellar feature-length and episodic programming. We cannot wait to get started on the multiple productions we hope to undertake.”

With The Chronicles of Narnia Netflix is getting a major fantasy franchise as rival Amazon has been bulking up in the genre, including ordering a high-profile Lord of the Rings TV series in a mega deal with the J.R.R. Tolkien estate.

https://deadline.com/2018/10/netflix...ne-1202475272/

[AndrewCrossett]

"Narnia cinematic universe."

Please end, world.

[Minerboh]

Awesome news! Ireally want to see the entire series adapted into movies.

[Jackalope89]

Awesome news! Ireally want to see the entire series adapted into movies.

3 of them were. And in all honesty, weren't that bad, storywise or special effects wise.

[Sighphi]

3 of them were. And in all honesty, weren't that bad, storywise or special effects wise.

I liked the minotaurs.

[choptop]

So no more movies?

[Username taken]

I loved the first Chronicles.

Didn't care for the other ones.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

I like Narnia but the big problem is the Lion Witch and the Wardrobe is head and shoulders more iconic than anything else in the series and it sets up a higher standard that the series tends to struggle following up with.

I just hope I finally get a Magician’s Nephew adaptation.

[Jim Kelly]

Am I the only one who remembers the TV series from the late 1980s?

I think that the Narnia books have influenced a lot of other things--especially in British pop culture, everything from DOCTOR WHO to HARRY POTTER--which might be why it has a hard time looking fresh and different (the same problem that John Carter of Mars has had in American pop culture).

[Minerboh]

3 of them were. And in all honesty, weren't that bad, storywise or special effects wise.

The two first movies were expeptional! The third one was... good, i guess. It was a shame that they discontinued the franchise though.

[adkal]

Am I the only one who remembers the TV series from the late 1980s?

You're not alone

[AndrewCrossett]

I remember the BBC series. I think they only got as far as "The Silver Chair?" Which is one book further than the recent film series got. I even remember the animated version of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" done by the same people that did the Peanuts specials. All the characters had American accents IIRC.

If this was just going to be an adaptation of the existing books, then I would be hopeful... but "cinematic universe" sounds like they're going to try and convince us that somebody can write new Narnia stories as well as Lewis could. Because hey, these stories just write themselves, right? Maybe we can update it to the present day, add in some hip hop, maybe make it a procedural? The Pevensie kids gotta have smartphones.

Sorry, but these books just don't lend themselves to "freestyling." It's C.S. Lewis or nothing.

Some of the stuff would be pretty controversial, too. Would be hard to do "The Horse and His Boy" without coming across as anti-Muslim. And some of the books, especially "The Last Battle," are just outright Christian allegory. Disguising that for a mainstream audience would be both creatively impossible and disrespectful to the author.

[titanfan]

I like Narnia but the big problem is the Lion Witch and the Wardrobe is head and shoulders more iconic than anything else in the series and it sets up a higher standard that the series tends to struggle following up with.

I just hope I finally get a Magician’s Nephew adaptation.

I agree. I love the books as a kid but I don't think a lot of the middle books would make good series or movies. (Even the last book left a sour taste in my mouth with the way they handled Susan)

There's so much better stuff out there.

[AndrewCrossett]

I still don't know why Roger Zelazny's Amber books haven't been turned into a series.

[Panic]

I still don't know why Roger Zelazny's Amber books haven't been turned into a series.

Preaching to the choir. I was obsessed with the first Amber quintet as a teen, didn't like the sequel series so much.

It has been talked about:
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/li...onicles-912132

But I haven't seen anything since.