Netflix working on new Chronicles of Narnia series and films

Netflix is set to produce new Chronicles of Narnia films and streaming series, according to a press release on the official Chronicles of Narnia Facebook page.

“Under the terms of a multi-year deal between Netflix and The C.S. Lewis Company, Netflix will develop classic stories from across the Narnia universe into series and films for its members worldwide,” the press release reads.

The Chronicles of Narnia is a seven-part book series from author C.S. Lewis, which tells the tale of several children who explore the strange, fantastical world of Narnia, and the wonderful creatures they encounter within. The first book in the series, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, was published in 1950, while the final installment, The Last Battle, came out in 1956.

Various adaptations of Narnia books have been produced over the years. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe itself has spawned three television adaptations and, most recently, a 2005 feature film from Walt Disney and Walden Media. It was met with critical acclaim, leading Disney to produce a sequel, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, which was released in 2008. The sequel didn’t do as well as the original, but 20th Century Fox did release a third Chronicles of Narnia movie, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, in 2010.

It’s been eight years since fans have received a new Chronicles of Narnia movie, but ironically enough, author C.S. Lewis never wanted his works to be adapted.

“They’d be no good on TV,” Lewis wrote to a child in 1957, according to letters belonging to Patricia Baird. “Humanized beasts can’t be presented to the eye without at once becoming either hideous or ridiculous. I wish the idiots who run the film world [would] realize that there are stories [which] are for the ear alone.”

Details are scarce at the moment, but Polygon has reached out for more information.