Netflix buys rights to works of celebrated children author, Roald Dahl

Streaming giant Netflix has acquired rights to the entire catalog of Roald Dahl, the late British author of children’s classics such as ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,’ the company said Wednesday.

The deal would encompass opportunities beyond screen adaptations.

Netflix is buying the Dahl Story Company, which oversees the rights to the author’s characters and stories, including ‘The BFG,’ ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ and ‘Willy Wonka’.

It did not disclose the purchase price but Netflix said it would pursue opportunities based on Dahl’s work in games, immersive experiences, live theater, animated and live-action films and consumer products.

The streaming video giant had signed an agreement three years ago with the Dahl Story Company, under which it was creating a series based on ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ with award-winning filmmaker, Taika Waititi and an adaptation of ‘Matilda The Musical’ with Sony, Netflix said in a statement.

It was rare for Netflix to purchase an entire catalog of work, as it usually brought in filmmakers and TV producers to create original content.
The new deal paved the way for Netflix to bring all of the author’s back catalogue to screens.

“These projects opened our eyes to a much more ambitious venture — the creation of a unique universe across animated and live action films and TV,
publishing, games, immersive experiences.

Others were live theatre, consumer products and more,” Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos and Luke Kelly, managing director of the Dahl Story Co. and Dahl’s grandson, said in a joint statement.

Dahl died in 1990 at the age of 74 but his books, which also included “The BFG,” “The Twits” and “Fantastic Mr Fox,” remained popular with young readers, with more than 300 million copies sold worldwide and translations in 63 languages.