Netflix set to create new 'The Chronicles of Narnia' movies and shows

Netflix is set to adapt "The Chronicles of Narnia" book franchise into brand-new films and series, starting with C.S. Lewis' 1950 novel, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."

Lewis' books revolve around Narnia, a fantastic world of magic, and document the travels of many children throughout the various stories who gain access to the magical world by means of seemingly normal items — such as a wardrobe, for instance.

"The Chronicles of Narnia" features Aslan, a central character portrayed as a lion and who is reminiscent of Jesus Christ, and who calls on the story's various protagonists to fight evil in the kingdom and restore order.

"The Chronicles of Narnia" is made up of seven books: "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," "Prince Caspian," "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," "The Silver Chair," "The Horse and His Boy," "The Magician's Nephew," and "The Last Battle."

What are the details?

The news was first announced on the official Facebook page of the series in a lengthy post.

A portion of the post stated, "Netflix will develop new series and film projects based on C.S. Lewis’ beloved 'The Chronicles of Narnia' series. 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."

You can read the post in its entirety below.

Douglas Gresham, Lewis' stepson, issued a statement about the Netflix adaptation as well.

Gresham said, "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."

"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," he added.

Ted Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix, said, "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 unclear at the time of this writing whether the production company will keep true to the major Christian-centric themes that run through the books.

What are the fans saying?

Many of the books' fans echoed the same comments in the original Facebook post.

One Facebook user wrote, "For the love of..... they better not do to it what they did to Anne of green gables[.] take something so beautiful and faith based - and then twist it into something it never was."

Another added, "I do not trust Netflix to do justice for the series! They will be trying to take God out of it like other companies have Christian movies!"

Yet another user even requested that Netflix back away from the project altogether.

The user wrote, "I wander [sic] how they will turn cs Lewis into some bad entertainment with a liberal agenda. They’ve ruined so many others and now this! Netflix please stay away from Narnia!"

You can read more about the religious symbolism behind the stories here.