Netflix to chronicle Narnia for a new generation with film and TV deal

AFTER triumphing with the affairs of the Royal family, Netflix is now turning to the kings and queens of Narnia.

The streaming service, which has won plaudits for The Crown, has signed a multi-year deal to adapt CS Lewis’s classic children’s novels.

It marks the first time that rights to all seven Chronicles of Narnia books have been held by the same company.

Multiple television and film projects are planned, with stories developed from across the Narnian universe.

It is not the first time the books have been adapted, but the Netflix production is likely to benefit from technological advances and a higher budget than the BBC version from the late Eighties, which relied on an animatronic Aslan. Disney has previously released movie adaptations of three of the Narnia books, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, between 2005 and 2010.

The first film was a box office success, grossing $745 million (£574 million), while Prince Caspian made $419 million and Dawn Treader fared similarly.

Douglas Gresham, the author’s stepson, said: “It is wonderful to know that folks are looking forward to seeing more of Narnia, and that the advances in production technology have made it possible for us to make Narnian adventures come to life all over the world.

“Netflix seems to be the very best medium with which to achieve this aim.”

The Narnia books have sold more than 100 million copies and been translated into more than 47 languages.

Ted Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix, said: “Families have fallen in love with characters like Aslan, and we’re thrilled to be their home for years to come.”