I guess the short answer is that I'm definitely going to watch it when it comes out!

The one thing that gives me hope is that Douglas Gresham will still be involved, and he'll step in if he feels like they are changing too much for the wrong reasons.  It really depends though on what intentions Aldrich & co. have with the adaptation, whether being genuine fans of the books or just looking for an opportunity to compete with other streaming services and their fantasy adaptations (His Dark Materials - HBO and Lord of the Rings - Amazon Prime). If they are big fans of the source material, and view it as an opportunity to bring their own childhood memories to life, they'll want to deliver an adaptation that is mainly catered to people who grew up with, are in the process of growing up with + love the books for what they are (and that is already an incredibly diverse group).  

While they may want to bring in some audiences from outside of this demographic (fans of the source material, that is), it would be stupid to alienate said demographic - not to say they won't, but I seriously hope they don't.  Overall, I'm preparing for the worst but hoping for the best. 

I voted for "less optimistic", not so much because of any concerns about how the show would be handled, but rather because i am increasingly skeptical about whether they will even go through with it.

It's been several years now since Narnia was announced, and the television and entertainment landscape has changed significantly since then, as likely will Netflix's priorities at the executive level. Even with the developments in CGI that have made other fantasy series such as Game of Thrones, The Witcher and His Dark Materials much more practical for the small screen, Narnia still seems like an expensive investment by comparison, and i'm kind of doubting whether there is still the appetite to go through with it.

As for Netflix as a company, I personally have never interpreted them as being anything more than a platform for content. I have never seen anything to suggest they have an active hand in developing movies in the same way that a traditional studio would, nor that they have any particular ideology or worldview. If anything, their biggest successes and failures both seem to stem from the fact that they just repeatedly chuck a bunch of content at creators and then just let them get on with whatever they want to produce. Sometimes that works out great, sometimes that works out badly, but i've yet to see them really shape any project to meet any sort of corporate identity.

Take Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman" for example - if that were produced at any normal studio, the execs would have been demanding he trim 30 mins-to-an-hour from the runtime in order to make it palatable for cinema-going audiences. As it was, Netflix had absolutely no reason to care about that one way or the other, and so didn't tell him "no". The result for me was a disappointingly compromised movie. Sometimes giving people full artistic freedom isn't the best solution after all - "necessity is the mother of invention" as they say.

My opinion hasn't changed. A lot of Netflix original content is adaptations, and Narnia seems like it would fit in. My only concern is tone. They've put a lot into fantasy YA content, and I wouldn't be surprised if they have Narnia skew a little older than the 8-12 range. However, they are also putting a lot into more kid/family stuff. And although there is some crossover between projects (Millie Bobby Brown from Stranger Things produced and starred in Enola Holmes), most of the series they put out seem to be under different creative teams.

The trick will be getting Narnia past the first two seasons, as that second season mark seems to be point where most series are likely to be cancelled.

I guess I'm feeling a bit more optimistic because we've heard actual updates after going a long time with none. I'm optimistic about it becoming a reality (which there were some fears about earlier) but I don't know how much my hopes for its quality or book-faithfulness have changed.

I will say that the show does seem to have a decent chance at not being a "Game of thrones wannabe" given that Netflix seems to already have shows for that purpose. I'm just worried that Netflix's previously stated intentions of making more family-friendly content could take it to the other extreme- insipid, dumb-downed fairytales. 

Just hoping Gresham can keep good ideas in and bad ones out! 

I'm about the same as before — that is, cautiously optimistic, but not more so (or less so) than I was previously. It's one of those things where we'll just have to wait and see. If it never comes about, we're no worse off than we were before. If it does come out and they do a brilliant job, fantastic! If it's so-so or (worse) a total travesty that's not even popular with people who aren't familiar with Narnia, let alone those who are already huge fans, well, there it is. None of it's going to change the seven books by C.S. Lewis that are the only actual legitimate Narnia canon, after all. I would LOVE to see a screen adaptation that truly does justice to them at last, but I can still live quite happily if we never do get that! At least we know Netflix hasn't dropped the whole project — and the very fact that they were willing to take it up (and to buy the rights to all seven books) shows that they believe this is a worthwhile venture and it will get an audience. That says a lot about the enduring popularity of Narnia, even 70 years after the books were first published. So I'm content for now to just keep waiting and see what happens...

I'm still waiting to see what happens. I've been reasonably pleased with the Netflix projects that have caught my interest so far, but on the other hand its been awhile since its felt like Netflix Narnia is moving forward through the production process so that could cancel out the positive feelings. 

My opinion hasn't really changed much... I might be slightly more cautious though... but I am definitely planning on watching it and still confident they won't totally butcher it.  Whether or not it lives up to the high standards of my favorite shows list is another matter 😛  I've decided to reserve judgement until I see it.  I do enjoy a lot of the kid's shows on Netflix and I think ultimately how much I'm going to like it is going to depend on what age of audience they aim it for.  Too old and I'm afraid they won't adapt it faithfully (given the whole GoT/LotR/HP phase going on right now... I don't want them to treat it as a copy of one of those.)  Too young and I'm afraid they'll water it down too much that we miss some of the important messages and moments in the book.  I'm hoping they make it suitable for families, but with deep enough material that even the adults will enjoy it.

My opinion hasn't changed too much, but I think I'm slightly less optimistic than I was at the beginning.  When it was announced two years ago, I was worried more because I didn't know much about Netflix originals, and I assumed they were of poor quality.  Now that I've seen some, I'm no longer concerned about quality.  I'm actually not very worried about what they will do to the story either.  Now, my biggest fear is that Netflix won't make it past pre-production.  I know this kind of thing takes time, and little work can be done during a pandemic.  But since Aldrich was hired in June of last year, we haven't heard much.

There is still a lot I don't know about Netflix.  Some companies like to get fans excited by giving them updates frequently, but maybe Netflix isn't like that?  Maybe they won't give as many updates as Disney did for the movies.  I don't know.

Anyway, whatever happens, I'll still be happy.  If Netflix ends up not making it, I'll still have the books to read and the other adaptations to watch and listen to.  If Netflix does still make the movies and series, I'll watch them, even if they stray from the books.

I agree wholehearted with Fantasia about the way Netflix is making it a point to include content that feels like they're taking a shot at my personal beliefs, and I hate that, but the truth is everybody's doing it.  If I cancelled my Netflix subscription, I would also have to cancel my Disney+ and pretty much stop watching movies at all.  Sadly it's a direction that all movie and TV companies seem to be pushing hard, with no sign of change.  It stinks like a minotaur's backside but I'm not at that point yet (and neither is my family who also uses my Netflix and Disney+ lol).  The thought of them "modernizing" it sickens me, but they may have to in today's ultra-sensitive political climate.  Like okay, I could see people making a big stink about HHB or TLB, where the "bad guys" come from a radically different civilization to Narnia (that bears a striking resemblance to Middle Eastern and/or Indian cultures in our world).  That has always been a concern of mine (even though both stories have people from Calormen that are not evil).  No matter who does Narnia, those two stories are potentially controversial.

But having said that, I am still optimistic about the potential for a Netflix Narnia series as a whole.  I still think they could do it very well.  I think their idea of doing it as a series would work very well for Narnia, and just the thought of a good MN (or VDT lol) adaptation makes me smile.  My gripes about the modern agenda getting shoe-horned into story plots or how easily people are offended these days have nothing to do with Netflix specifically.  And I mean come on, a big company like Netflix is showing an interest in Narnia - to the point where they spent a ridiculous chunk of change on the rights to use it - and Douglas Gresham is still involved - I see no reason to be pessimistic.  Not about Narnia, anyway. 🙂

(Hello, NarniaWeb. I just joined the forum and this is my first comment. I read the rules and know the moderators will be reviewing my first posts, so I wanted to say hello to all before I begin with my comment.)

I didn't vote because I'm not sure how I feel.

My theory on Netflix's interest:
The series is an attempt to appeal to a younger demographic and possibly more conservative parents. This bold move is due in large part to the advancement of Disney+ and the migration of greater Disney productions (and their audience) to that platform. Judging by Netflix's current hits, I'd say they are trying to lure that new customer base with Narnia. This makes the series a huge risk they may not take.

With more families finding themselves at home now, Narnia may see its day in the light after all.

My hope for the show's execution:
C.S. Lewis Company's involvement makes me think there is an attempt to maintain the essence of Narnia. Any departure, of course, could signify a great divergence. My hope is they don't spin it into something it never was.

There is a big gap in their lineup for a sweet and tender, fantastical, yet surprisingly heavy themed Narnia. The smartest thing they could do is stick with the story, allowing for minor changes for the feature films. Where they can expand is in the companion series. In this way, we could have faithful Narnia live actions as well as an elaborate "new" universe.

My plans to watch the show:
I cancelled my Netflix subscription as well as every other streaming service a couple years ago. Will I sign up for a trial Netflix account to binge this single solitary show for a month and then cancel until the next season? Probably. It's what I do with Disney+ and The Mandalorian and old (old?) Narnia movies.

Honestly, I don't really care.

While I don't want to completely condemn it prematurely, for a variety of reasons I have basically zero confidence in any adaptation Netflix produces being anything worthwhile. That is, assuming anything actually comes of that Netflix deal, which who knows at this point. Lol 

I don't really think that it's going to be good. I just don't really see a lot of people getting Aslan. That is always the problem. Sure, it might be a good movie or tv show, but that won't make it Narnia really if Aslan isn't right. I mean the PC movie had some major errors and VoDT just completely missed the point, in my opinion. It will be something like Narnia and pretty much be the idea of what would have been.

I think the idea that they might start with MN really suggests that the story will be greatly changed, so if that is where they start it isn't going to get better.

Posted by: @decarus

I don't really think that it's going to be good. I just don't really see a lot of people getting Aslan. That is always the problem. Sure, it might be a good movie or tv show, but that won't make it Narnia really if Aslan isn't right.

Have to admit, that's one of the main things I'm concerned about too. Even in the 2005 film of LWW, which was pretty good as a film in its own right, the portrayal of Aslan just had me cringing to the guts... to me, he looked fake, sounded fake, and got most of his lines wrong. That, and a few other things about the film, just made it not Narnia, as far as I was concerned. I didn't even bother to see the later two films when I heard how much further they strayed from the plot of the books!!

However, I don't want to judge Netflix before we even see what they come up with (if they do)... I'm willing to keep an open mind and give them a go. The fact that they actually want to do Narnia, and have bought the rights to all seven books, certainly suggests they think it'll be worth doing...

My opinion has not changed. I loathe Netflix  

From my worldview perspective, Netflix has some profoundly disturbing programming. I cancelled a long time ago.