Netflix heads to Narnia with new production

The streaming service is to create a new adaption of the story.

Netflix has announced that Matthew Aldrich has come on board to oversee the development and creative live-action adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ beloved The Chronicles of Narnia series.

Aldrich will work across both series and film and serve as a creative architect on all projects under the deal.

The creative most recently co-wrote COCO for Disney and Pixar Animation Studios. COCO won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and grossed over $800 million worldwide.

Last October it was announced that Netflix and The C.S. Lewis Company entered a multi-year deal where Netflix will develop stories from across the Narnia universe into series and films for its members worldwide.

All series and films produced through the deal will be Netflix productions, with Mark Gordon of Entertainment One (eOne) alongside Douglas Gresham and Vincent Sieber serving as executive producers for series and as producers for features. The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels by C. S. Lewis. Written by Lewis, illustrated by Pauline Baynes, and originally published in London between 1950 and 1956.

The Chronicles of Narnia has been adapted for radio, television, the stage, and film a number of times over the years. The story is set in the fictional realm of Narnia, a fantasy world of magic, mythical beasts, and talking animals. The books span the entire history of Narnia, from its creation in The Magician’s Nephew to its eventual destruction in The Last Battle.

In total the Narnia books have sold more than 100 million copies and been translated in more than 47 languages worldwide.