Narnia comes to Netflix

By John Freeman on October 3, 2018

Streaming service Netflix is to be the new home for C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, working with Entertainment One (EOne) and the C.S. Lewis Company to create movies and series based on all seven of Lewis’ fantasy tales.

Considered a classic of children’s literature and is author C. S. Lewis’s best-known work, the series of seven books, originally published in between 1950 and 1956 illustrated by Pauline Baynes, have sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages.They’ve been adapted several times, complete or in part, for radio, television, the stage, and film.

Douglas Gresham, stepson of C.S. Lewis, Vincent Sieber, and eOne’s Mark Gordon will serve as executive producers for series and as producers for features.

“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.”

“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.

“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.”

“Narnia is one of those rare properties that spans multiple generations and geographies,” said Mark Gordon, eOne’s President and Chief Content Officer, Film & Television. “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.”

There’s no information as yet on when production on these series and films will begin, but with Amazon proceeding apace with JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, and Good Omens from Neil Gaiman and the late Terry Pratchett, you have to wonder which SF or fantasy series is going to get picked up next.

Let’s also hope that Netflix, who have already started publishing comics, consider some adaptations of these stories in the medium. Strangely, it’s a series that hasn’t seen many comics, although Micronauts artist Ray Dillon did draw a beautiful five page comics for a Christmas special back in 2010.

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• In publication order, the Narnia books are: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950); Prince Caspian (1951); The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952); The Silver Chair (1953); The Horse and His Boy (1954); The Magician’s Nephew (1955); and The Last Battle (1956).

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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.