Netflix on Wednesday said it will develop TV series and films based on C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia under a new multi-year deal between Netflix and The C.S. Lewis Company. The deal marks the first time that one entity has held rights to all seven books in the series.

“C.S. Lewis’ beloved Chronicles of Narnia stories have resonated with generations of readers around the world,” said Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, in a statement. “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.”

All of the content produced under the new pact will be owned by Netflix, with Mark Gordon of Entertainment One (eOne), Lewis’ stepson Douglas Gresham and Vincent Sieber serving as executive producers.

“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,” said Gresham, also in a statement. “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.”

The seven-book series has sold more than 100 million copies and been translated into more than 47 languages.

Disney previously owned the rights to C.S. Lewis’ popular book series, and made two movies: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. Fox later released a movie based on the third book, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. While together the three movies grossed well over $1 billion at the box office, each movie made progressively less money, and plans were scrapped to make a fourth movie, The Silver Chair. ​

The deal is just the latest in a string of pacts that streaming services and premium cable networks are making to convert fantasy fare into TV series after the massive success of HBO’s Game of Thrones, based on “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels by George R. R. Martin.

On Tuesday, Amazon Prime announced it had acquired the rights to Robert Jordan’s popular but dense “Wheel of Time” series. Amazon also is investing a quarter-billion dollars into a TV series based on the Lord of the Rings. Showtime has series based on the two-book “Kingkiller Chronicles” and video game “Halo” in the works. And HBO is already working on at least one Game of Thrones prequel.

READ MORE: Business Insider

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