Netflix to develop new Chronicles of Narnia series, movies
The journey to adapt Narnia has underwent many a bump in the road over the years. There was an attempt at a film series, but it’s one that didn’t end up finding a great deal of success beyond The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. This is a hard property to really tackle just because so many of the books in the series are lesser-known and at times extremely based within the realm of fantasy. They don’t really appeal to the mainstream in the way in which many other fantasy novels could.
In a statement, here is what Netflix’s Chief Content Officer / all around big deal Ted Sarandos had to say about the acquisition:
“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.”
Our feeling is that the right way to go with this series would be to cultivate a series that is based on the books, but not necessarily where each season represents one in the series. If the material is more remixed and placed together in a slightly different manner (the books themselves do play around in time and there’s a different chronological order than the way in which they were published), there could be a chance here to tell one singular story about Narnia in series form rather than just gain a bunch of viewers for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and then lose them after the fact.
This is a series that captures the wonder and imagination of many who read them, adults and kids alike. We want to see it taken on the right way and in theory, Netflix are the right people to do it.
Excited to see Narnia adapted in a specific way by Netflix? Let us know what some of your own ideas are in the comments. (Photo: Netflix.)