Netflix announced today that they will be developing TV series and films based on C.S. Lewis‘ classic Chronicles Of Narnia novels. The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe has seen multiple incarnations in the past, but the plan for Netflix is to develop multiple projects and likely adapt each of the seven books in the collection at some point.
Netflix’s Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said of the news: “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”.
This feels like a direct response to the big moves Disney has been making for their upcoming streaming platform which is set to launch in late 2019. Disney was of course the studio that most recently adapted The Chronicles Of Narnia to film, with multiple movies in the early 2000s, but the franchise never quite took off.
It’s also possible that with Amazon going the route of fantasy epic with their new, mega-budget Lord Of The Rings series, that Netflix feels the need to field direct competition with their own fantasy epics. With Disney soon entering the fold and Amazon ramping up their content, expect to see plenty of these kinds of content battles in the near future.
With better CGI than the previous Disney adaptations, and perhaps arguably a superior distribution model, Netflix will be hoping they can reignite the franchise and create the kind of adaptations fans of the novels have been hoping for.
There’s no word yet on who will be involved in helming these adaptations, nor the exact details in terms of film vs series. We do know that this marks the first time the rights to the entire seven books of the Narnia universe have been held by the same company.
The books have sold over 100 million copies worldwide, so whether the adaptations are good or not, this is another win for Netflix as the release of these projects will surely add even more subscribers to their bid for world domination.
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