Netflix just announced it has reached a multi-year deal with The C.S. Lewis company, to develop several films and an original series. The streaming platform will base its films and series on the popular Chronicles of Narnia books.

Deadline reports that under the deal, Netflix will be working with Entertainment One, developing stories from the Narnia universe into films and original series. eOne's Mark Gordon, Douglas Gresham, and Vicent Sieber are signed on to be executive producers. This is the first time that the rights to the entire seven-book series of the Narnia universe have been owned by the same company.

Netflix's Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said that Lewis' beloved "Chronicles of Narnia," stories have touched generations of readers all over the world. Netflix is thrilled to be the home for Narnia for years to come.

Chronicles of Narnia is an extremely popular series around the world

The Narnia books have become so popular, they have sold more than 100 million copies and been translated into over 40 different languages worldwide. They were recently adapted for film by Sony with "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," "Prince Caspian," and "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader." All three films combined grossed more than $1.5 billion globally.

Lewis' stepson Douglas Gresham said he is looking forward to seeing more of Narnia, and that advances in technology have made it possible to bring Narnia stories to life all over the world.

Gresham said that Netflix is the very best medium to achieve that goal and is ready to start working with the streaming platform.

Netflix attempting to compete with other major fantasy series revivals

Eone and Netflix are aimed at creating an in-depth Narnia cinematic universe that includes film and television, similar to Star Trek and Marvel.

The idea came from Gordon, who originally wanted to make a fourth Narnia film in 2013, but ended up decided in creating this Narnia universe through Netflix.

Netflix is giving Narnia a major franchise rival as Amazon previously ordered a major Lord of the Rings TV series through a massive deal with the J.R.R. Tolkien estate.

C.S. Lewis once told a child in 1957, that his stories do not belong on television. Lewis said that "there are stories, which are for the ear alone." Details of the string of films and original series are scarce, but Netflix is expected to say more about this major deal in the coming future.
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