Opinion: Sequel? Prequel? Reboot? What now?
NEWS DROUGHT ALERT!
In the middle of a news drought, fans have a tendency to let their imaginations run wild on what the future could hold. In this video, I embrace that tendency and examine possible routes Walden Media could take for a fourth Narnia film.
Outline:
1. Sequel: The Silver Chair
- Fourth book to be published (1953)
- Logical next chapter
- Will Poulter’s age
- Set up in Dawn Treader film
2. Prequel: The Magician’s Nephew
- More popular book
- Clear connection to the first film
- The opportunity to give Tilda Swinton a prominent role again.
3. Reboot: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
- Start from scratch: New cast, new crew
- Would need to be fundamentally different from Adamson’s version. (Animation? PG13?)
4. Reboot: The Magician’s Nephew
- Re-cast Aslan and The White Witch
5. Prequel (to VDT): The Horse and His Boy
- The Pevensies would likley be given bigger roles
6. Re-read the books! I have read each book a dozen times, and I’m still discovering new things.
How would you feel if Walden announced a LWW reboot? Scroll to the bottom of the homepage and vote now!
Oh, it's been considered. First of all, a considerable amount of time is supposed to pass between SC and LB, second of all, LB refers to the rings and the Calormenes, which are explained in MN and HHB respectively. Thirdly, LB is the end, you can't expect people to show up for a sequel after all of the characters have died.
Maybe they felt a "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" video game was redundant.
It's ironic, really. A case could be made that the entire movie was really only designed to market a video game that never materialized. (Kind of like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory; they inadvertently produced a classic trying to market a candy they never made. A pity that they didn't inadvertently produce a classic this time.)
You're saying they've sunk low for arresting an 11-year-old? These kids are looting stores, burning down peoples' homes and attacking people with disabilities. Are you saying that the police should do nothing just because they're young? I don't think you'd feel that way if YOUR house was on fire.
I would LOVE to see a movie version of The Horse and His Boy. Of all the options, it's the one I'd most like to see done. Sadly, I don't think the Council on American-Islamic Relations would go for it, and they have veto power over Hollywood. In this post-9/11 world, we can't have villains that look suspiciously like members of the religion of peace. It would simply be too big of a stretch. Even if they were based on an idealized ancient Persia.
(Actually, I see Last Battle problems too, where their god turns out to be the devil. Maybe they can worship the Green Mist. I don't think actual mist worshippers have a big lobby in Hollywood.)
Maybe the Calormenes could be descended from neo-Nazis instead, like in "The Sum of All Fears." Of course, they'd have to change some of the proverbs: "Natural affection is stronger than barbed wire and more precious than heavy water."
But seriously, if they do The Horse and His Boy, I can see where they might want to change the name for mass audiences, and perhaps go with one of Lewis' rejected originals. Narnia and the North has more punch and could avoid "colon symdrome" by getting Narnia in the title.
I'm actually kind of surprised at Lewis for suggesting "Cor of Archenland." Why not just suggest, "The Kid Turns Out To Be A Prince At the End"?
I'd rather they change the name than the content. After all, HHB wasn't Lewis' first choice.
No, the menacing tone of the movies hasn't sold the Harry Potter film franchise. They are popular because the books are current and popular. In fact, the HP franchise saw a dramatic drop in box office when the series had a severe darkening in tone between Chamber and Azkaban. They still did alright because Azkaban cost less and the book is a best-seller.
SC is about the battle between hope and despair, and I think the film makers should put as much emphasis on the moments of brightness and hopefulness, as they do on the moments of darkness and suspense.
I was wondering the same thing. Everyone is saying SC next because of Poulter's age. If that is the case you then have to immediately make LB because you will have Will and Jill both growing quickly.
Remember how much Skandar changed between LWW and VDT. It's a freak thing of nature called growth. It happens to everyone, and it's amazing how much someone can change because of it. I think if you have Will continue (yes, he was fantastic as eustace. I realize that.) but if you have him continue you have to realize that he is a growing boy. (I'm not 100% sure about this fact but I think I heard that he grew about a foot just during the VDT filming.) If you continue with him you can't have another huge stall between movies or he will be six foot for LB. (COMPLETE exageration to make a point.)
The older two pevensies left in VDT, and in SC you are loosing the other two. I know for the people I know who have not read the books(shame on them) They were the highlights. Now in SC you are asked to spend the whole movie with the rat of the last movie. I know for some of my friends that would make them hesitate to see it. I was thinking about this when I realized that FOR ME the last two books do not revolve around Eustace at all. I read SC for Puddleglum, and LB for the real Narnia.
For me I think they should either do SC,LB,then go back and do MN,HHB. OR start with MN then do HHB and (don't kill me for this)recast Eustace when they return to do SC and LB since he is the only caryover character(other than Dying Caspian) and was a minor character in VDT.
This is all just my opinion.
Though I have to agree with your points Anhun.
Totally agree.
🙂
Gpuddle, in your commentary, you said that, if they do Silver Chair, Will Poulter would have to carry the movie. You're ignoring the possibility that they could replace him, which I think they should. I mean, he's mature-looking enough to do "love" scenes in other movies, but he's supposed to play a early or pre-adolescent in Narnia?
You also failed to mention the point that MN would have brand new protagonists, which would make it difficult to sell as a sequel or prequel. SC, on the other hand, has dynamic characters, strong arcs, and an easily comprehensible plot, making it much easier to sell on its own merits.
Busted a gut laughing over this. Maybe turn the Calormens into flying monkeys to kidnap Edmund while your at it.
I agree I don't think you could make LWW better. And although there were a lot of things in PC that frustrated me it was a decent movie. VDT really did leave the safe grounds though in my oppinion.
How can you agree with my points if you're saying that Jill and Eustace can't age between SC and LB. LB is supposed to take place more than 5 years after SC. If they do them back to back there'll be a problem that Jill and Eustace will be too young for LB. At least, if they recast Eustace for SC and make him more age-appropriate.
HEHEHEHE, Edmund:Please ma'am, I want some…more.
White Which: MORE!!!!!!!
YAY for HHB, If they stop the series before it I'm going to make it myself.
I find it irritating that because they introduced Jill in VDT you can't have the correct introduction in SC. She originally is scared of Eustace because of his bullying, why would she want to visit him in VDT? That's my question.
I think the Horse and His Boy is an excellent title. It sells the relationship between Shasta and Bree, which is both central to the story, and a lot of fun.
Also, I don't see why having the Calormenes look Arab is absolutely essential to the story. They can always pull a Star Trek and create a whole new culture from scratch.
Wait 5 years and reboot, starting with Magician's Nephew. The series has been a big disappointment in adaptation and overall quality.
Ancientdogma, I absolutely love your ideas, but I disagree with you on the cost of filming SC.
I've done google image searches on locations, and I'm confident that Silver Chair could be filmed entirely in Scotland.
HHB is actually much more diverse, in terms of terrain. The could film it in Western Australia, but even that would involve some traveling around to different parts of WA.
If they do SC, then they can take as long as they wish to finish the rest of them. Will Poulter is a bit old, but if they do it soon he could easily be used; having him a bit older wouldn't be a terrible thing, just as long as they don't go through some romance garbage with him and Jill, like PC, then it wouldn't be a problem. Having him a bit older might actually sell it better, since its definitely one of the darkest of the stories.
You have to remember, even though it would be nice to see the most faithful adaptation of Lewis's books, just as long as they are faithful to his message and theology, then they do what Lewis would have wanted. A few little changes, like age or even a bit of small story tweaks, are fine as long as they stay faithful to Lewis's messages and theology. I believe it was Lewis himself who said that story is merely a kind of tool to be used to express a more important message. They did this mostly with VDT, with a few exceptions. Even though, a lot of what they used was from his other work (e.g. Till We Have Faces), it still expressed Lewis to most extent, mostly.
I agree. The first 3 films were good enough not to reboot them. I hope thenext 4 films will be fantastic and more similar to Harry Potter series)
No no no, I liked LWWW and PC perfectly fine. VDT, not so great. But it was fine. WE dont need the franchise wasting there money and confusing the audiences by doing a reboot.
Hmmm……. How about Hans Zimmer. Anyway, I did like the music in LWW, that was really good
Your kidding, right? " Theyve sunk so low"? Honeslty, youve got to be blind. Have you seen the destruction these "kids" and other people are doing? I saw on the news one of the English reporters even asked the kids what they were doing out there, and they replied by saying they want free stuff. And by running in a pack, they can accomplish this. I think the ploice have the right to be doing what there doing. If they dont do anything to stop these people and just stand around out there saying "Well, looks like there are kids beating up poeple and burning down houses, so I think we should let them off the hook and leave London and Manchester and Birmingham in danger". This is outrageuouse that this is even happening. Stop calling them protesters, they are RIOTERS. They are CROOKS. They are CRIMINALS. No more commmpasion, this is a national crisis. Because of these "harmless" kids, England is facing a seriouse problem.
Actually, Lewis said that he started out as just fantasy imagery, which he then turned into a story. The messages and theology just happened to find their way in.
Oops, I mean, he started with imagery, not AS imagery. [blushing]
Yes, thats right, and if you read his earlier work you get that…but, as he developed his understanding of story and story's use, this became his fundamental idea. This is actually the idea which resulted in him coming to Christ. Having studied and become an expert on classic lit and mythology, Lewis learned, from Tolkien, that within the basis of any story (even the most obnoxiously false ones) there lies ideologies of real Truth, this Truth being that of God's. So, Lewis, with this idea in mind, wrote stories that centered on this Truth, simply using story as a tool to communicate the fundamental Truth of God.
Therefore, if they made a Narnia movie that followed Lewis's stories absolutely perfectly (as absolute as it could be), yet wandered from this Truth (which was his purpose), then it would be far worse than a movie which mostly (such as VDT) followed the story (which wasn't his main purpose), yet kept well on track with this Truth. Lewis would not be happy about a movie that had nothing to do with this Truth, yet just told a nice story. Sure, there would be some truth here and there. But if you make a Narnia film, then it HAS to center around this Truth. Other wise you've wasted your time, and all that Lewis fought for.
No offense taken. And you are absolutley right, the books are for children. And besides, a super violent Narnia movie would not go well with many people(including you i suppose).
They could theoretically have William Moseley as Peter, but as you don't see him in the book, I'd rather they not insert him. As he's off fighting giants in the north, it would be a distraction to the plot to add a random giant/Narnian battle.
LOL!!!! You want MORRREE!!!! Nice!!!
You could have Edmund sing "If I were a rich man" when the white witch tells him about her castle.
Also, not all Calormenes are bad. Aravis is one of the main characters of HHB, and her actions are heroic. In The Last Battle, Emeth finds himself in Aslan's Country. After his encounter with Aslan, HHB tells that Rabadash was a good and fair ruler.
Well, centaur dude, I think you can do a reboot, and have different actors, and have it be a really good movie. But the reason I and many others dont like the idea of a reboot you have pointed out. And it is true, Georgie is Georgie, not Lucy. And Poulter isnt Eustace (well, he could be 🙂 ) but the actors are PERFECT for the parts.
Fair enough, Anhun, about the culture change. As long as we're agreed that the Calormenes as portrayed is out of the question. 🙂
Maybe they could be based on intolerant, evangelical Christians. That seems to be a more popular and recognizable Hollywood villain. As long as it could be done in the spirit of Lewis' original beliefs. On the other hand, are Lewis' original beliefs really that important?
Actually, if Douglas Gresham is the man I take him to be, it probably never entered his mind to be authentic on that particular point.
I like HHB as a title. I was only suggesting that for mass audiences, it might come off sounding a little juvenile.
On the other hand, these mass audiences HAVE just sat through "Dawn Treader". 🙂
Dude, a VDT video game would be lame. Your right, they should start rebooting the video games, and make them have really good graphics. Not the crap that Prince Caspian videogame had.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NOOOOOO to the reboots!!!!!!! It will just ruin the WHOOOOOLE thing!!!! JUST DO THE SILVER CHAIR ALREADYYYYYY!!!!!!
Can't watch video. :/ Adobe Flash Player not working… >_<
The only thing I don't like about that is that MN is way more powerful and entertaining as a prequel than a stand alone movie and having LWW as a sequel. But then again LWW has already been adapted so maybe MN could serve as both a prequel and a reboot
I didn't mean to add some stupid giant war, it would simply be an explanation to why Edmund isn't present in the movie, just like in the book, except he and Peter swap places. And I am fully aware that Peter isn't in the book, but it wouldn't hurt the plot or drive of the movie in any way if Peter takes Edmund's place in HHB. Because I'd rather see William Moseley back as Peter instead of a new guy playing Edmund, it's actually rather unthinkable.
I'm guessing you two have met???
Calormen= Tea Party politicians! Funny Ideas! I love it.
I am sure you could find an appropriate swamp, open grass area and mountains in new zealand (or even Washington state). My biggest concern is how you do the subterrainan world. I fear without a lot of money it could end up being very poor. I wonder how much it cost to do the dwarven kingdom in the first LOTR film. If it were anything less then that scale it would be a shame.
This is all really depressing. I'm gonna go read HHB again and despair about he fact that I will probably never see this fantastic piece of art made into a movie, and I really don't understand why.
I mean, you have it all in HHB: two kids who have troublesome lives and dreams of the faraway magical land of Narnia, their dangers of getting there, a lost prince, the saving of a country, the Pevensies, a battle, and a happy ending. Who could seriously ask for a better story for a movie? It baffles me that the people from Walden manage to overlook this.
HHB will forever be my favourite Narnia book, at least I'll still have that.
Or offending any of the actors or anyone else in charge of making them.
Amen!!! No REBOOTS!
I agree!
Or Caspian and Susan singing "A Whole New World". (not that I dislike the pairing)
If anyone has read "The Cross and the Switchblade", they'll understand even more about how mean kids can be. (they can be real murderers I tell you!)
i choose number 6 😉
Reboots begone. that idea does not exist. REPEAT! that idea does not exist!
Agree agree! and considering the struggles they're having right now with the current franchise anyway, it would be very silly, and plain stupid, to try to reboot. most likely they would get much less success. like, MUCH less success.
Exactly, and I think that the audiences that aren't die-hard narnia fans and don't keep up with narnia news would be really confused if they rebooted. My dream is that they would make SC and MN at the same time. 🙂 I know that's probably out the question though financially. Oh well, I'm just dreaming. 🙂
So,what I meant was, the 11 year old sunk low. (Sorry about the communication problem)
Also, I am not a news watcher, because I happen to be busy when the news comes on, and I am not informed, so please don't judge me. I'm really sorry, ok? And Perhaps these "crooks" are trying to get their old life back????
Or how about this one……….Susan and Caspian…Think of MEEEE, Think of me FONDLY When We Said GOOOODBYE!!!!! (I hope Anna P. doesn't sing)
oh yeah? that's my fvourite one too. Have you read it's Ukrainian variant? It's awesome!
Actually, they have caves in Scotland:
http://www.pdnphotooftheday.com/2010/01/3176
That being said, most of the Underland scenes should be done in a studio. Location shoots aren't particularly desirable for cave/underground scenes.
Ditto!!
i wouldn't mind seeing an intense animated version that is true to the books AFTER they do all the movies for this series.
The character Eustace would essentially have to carry the marketing of SC as a sequel. The reason studios make a sequel in the first place is that they believe audiences liked one film and would like to see more of it. Eustace is the only carry-over from VDT (besides Aslan). The success of failure of the marketing campaign would rest on audiences desire to see Eustace.
If Eustace had been very popular with audiences, I think SC would have been green-lit by now.
As for MN, it would have the White Witch in a prominent role, and a very strong marketable connection to LWW.
Does it specify it as that much later. I might have to do another reread. I was mainly trying to point out that he is the only link character between VDT and SC (other than Aslan)
I'm not agree with a reboot!! I love narnia movies!!and I really want a prequel or a sequel… in my own opinion, the best option is the magician's nephew