Netflix Acquires Rights to Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty TV News Netflix
Netflix has acquired the rights to the classic novel One Hundred Years of Solitude by Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel García Márquez, with the intention of developing it into a Spanish-language original series.
One Hundred Years of Solitude is widely considered one of the most important literary works of the 20th century, having sold over 50 million copies in 46 different languages since it was published in 1967, according to The Balcells Agency. This marks the first time in the novel’s more than 50-year history that García Márquez’s family has consented to a screen adaptation.
Netflix shared the news Wednesday in a tweet from @seewhatsnext, the streamer’s in-house news outlet. The tweet includes a teaser graphic reading, “Welcome to Macondo,” referencing the fictional Colombian town in which the novel is set.
Netflix has acquired the rights to Gabriel García Márquez’s masterpiece “One Hundred Years of Solitude” and will adapt it into a series. This marks the first and only time in more than 50 years that his family has allowed the project to be adapted for the screen. pic.twitter.com/HUX1miRAJs
— See What’s Next (@seewhatsnext) March 6, 2019
Little is known about Netflix’s plans for the production at the moment, but García Márquez’s sons, Rodrigo García and Gonzalo García Barcha, will serve as executive producers, and the series will primarily be filmed in Colombia.
“For decades our father was reluctant to sell the film rights to Cien Años de Soledad because he believed that it could not be made under the time constraints of a feature film, or that producing it in a language other than Spanish would not do it justice,” Garcia said in a statement. “But in the current golden age of series, with the level of talented writing and directing, the cinematic quality of content, and the acceptance by worldwide audiences of programs in foreign languages, the time could not be better to bring an adaptation to the extraordinary global viewership that Netflix provides. We are excited to support Netflix and the filmmakers in this venture, and eager to see the final product.”
“We are incredibly honored to be entrusted with the first filmed adaptation of One Hundred Years of Solitude, a timeless and iconic story from Latin America that we are thrilled to share with the world,” said Francisco Ramos, Netflix’s Vice President for Spanish Language Originals. “We know our members around the world love watching Spanish-language films and series and we feel this will be a perfect match of project and our platform.”