NETFLIX Narnia film and TV plans will rival Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings

Every major streaming network is scrambling to repeat the success of Game of Thrones.

As HBO’s staggering success comes to an end, Amazon is mining Tolkein’s work for their new Lord of the Rings spin-off. They have also announced they will tackle Robert Jordan’s mammoth 14-book Wheel of Time fantasy epic.

Today there wa sa major confirmation from Netflix that they will adapt CS Lewis’ iconic Narnia books into multiple films and series.

This is also the first time the rights to all seven books have been held by one company.

The most famous book – The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe – has been made multiple times on the big and small screen and the last film release was 2010’s The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

A film on The Silver Chair was annunced in 2013 with producer Mark Gordon teaming up with Lewis’ grandson Douglas Gresham to produce.

Both are now part of the new Netflix project which will create new adaptations of all seven books.

The Netflix announcement said: “CS 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.”

Gordon added: “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.”

Fans reacted with joy to the news with one of the most common comments centering on hopes Neeson would reprise his role as the voice of the lion Aslan. Many others hope that the clean-cut nature of the stories will not be modernised for the rather more worldly tastes of audiences today.

The original books were infused with Lewis’ own deeply-held Christian beliefs with Asland representing Jesus. The most recent film adaptations were created by Walden Media, owned by Christian conservative Philip Anschutz, who wanted the films to convey a strong moral message.

Will Netflix do the same?

No casting details or filming schedules have been announced yet. Nor it is clear in which order the books will be tackled.

The first book, chronologically, in the cycle is The Magician’s Nephew, which shows the creation of Narnia and the origins of the White Witch. However it was actually the sixth published

The books have sold over 100 million copies since The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe made its debut in 1950.