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!
LOVING THIS THREAD!! Lucy serves the special cordial with a "spoonful of sugar" to help the medicine go down.
Agreed. 🙂
agreed, HHB would make a totally awesome, exciting movie, and they could bring back the Pevensies more too, since they don't seem to mind doin that- I'd love to see them all grown up!
I forgot to mention since it's seven years later, Eustace and Jill are 17 or 18, I forget which one, there pretty much grown up, so the Will Poulter and whoever plays Jill couldn't be to old for LB unless they were 30.
cool production values on your video, Glum. 🙂 they also could go with SC, but make ben barnes the star, since he's really gotten big now. that would be the marquee value, he's getting more famous than tilda now, with the general public. it would be nice to have ONE movie without the white witch. center it on ben and lilliandril, their life story, then bring in eustace and jill. that way its not all on eustace's shoulders. get somebody real cool for glumpuddle, that everyone loves. SC could be cool that way. MN is fine too. then bring back ALL pevensies for HHB.
What Hiking Peter meant I think is that some of the Britsh youth have sunk low because even 11 year olds are committing crimes.
If Christian religions, and I mean christian religions, not cultures, can be portrayed as evil, then why would it be wrong to portray a people, not a religion, as enemies to Narnia? The culture is similiar to the middle east before islam came about.
Also, in LOTR, the people who fight on Sauron's side similiar to middle eastern culture.
Have'nt you forgotten about Jill Pole? She's the other main character in SC! She would also carry the movie, especially since she's by herself for a while.
First of all, I agree that SC has limited marketability as just a sequel.
MN, on the other hand, has the opposite problem in that it has little marketability for its own sake (I agree with narnia21's comments above). It's also problematic as a continuation of the franchise as a whole, because there is no continuity or connection with the previous installment. Though, I admit this isn't a huge concern given the limited popularity of VDT. Basically, they can only market it based on its connection to LWW. Even that is tricky for a number of reasons:
1. By the time MN comes out, LWW will be 8 years old at least. That's a long time for general audiences to stay excited about a movie.
2. Between PC alienating a lot of families, and VDT alienating a lot of the more mature audiences, many Americans have become wary of the Narnia brand name. Another marketing campaign that shoves the Lion and the Witch in their faces and tells people to "come see this movie because you liked LWW so much" is unlikely to go over well. There is no indication that people "want to see more" without some reassurance that they'll actually enjoy what they'll see.
3. It doesn't feature any of the protagonists from LWW. Polly is a completely new character, and Digory is a minor character from LWW played by a completely different actor. Casual fans tend to interpret sequels without any of the original heroes as a sign that a series is going down hill.
"Narnia" won't sell itself. Any future Narnia movie has to be marketed with the following approach: "Come see this movie because it's a REALLY GOOD MOVIE." If they don't do that, I can't hold out much hope for the success of Narnia 4.
Oh, and they need to start out by making a really good movie.
I hope they will make sequel.I think Andrew's script of PC was not very good,but I loved LWW!
And VDT was really nice,in my opinion 🙂
I hope Micheal will return as a director,and Andrew as a producer.
The casts of the 3 films were great.I loved their acting very much!I know everything is not on willP's shoulder(like shelly belly says),but still I want them to come back 😉
I might go along with a reboot IF they corrected the defects of the existing films, no green mist and no sun setting in the east. I would also favor that the screenwriters mess with the C. S. Lewis stories less. They might have to bring in some big-name actors to help sell the movies. The big thing would be to have better marketing, LWW had very good marketing, but the others did not. The director has to be a true fan of the books.
Homework? Recovering missing property? Collecting for the War Effort? Returning borrowed items? Hand-me-downs? Care of War Orphans? Jill's parents knew Alberta and Harold Scrubb from somewhere else? Plenty of reasons.
What would be the point of a reboot? The existing films are fine. I hope they will do Silver Chair next and this time promote it.
True. I hadn't thought of any of those.
"Casual fans tend to interpret sequels without any of the original heroes as a sign that a series is going down hill."
Good point, this is often true. But certainly not always.
Think of MN as a reboot that doesn't break continuity. Example: "X-Men: First Class." It's supposed to be in continuity with the other X-films, but it's all new actors, a new look, new feel, new everything. It performs the function of a reboot. XMFC released twelve years after the original X-Men. For MN…heck, it might even be better if they waited another 5-7 years to make it.
“MN, on the other hand, has the opposite problem in that it has little marketability for its own sake.”
For a sequel, marketability for its own sake is not NEARLY as important as familiarity. I think you could have a trailer that looks very exciting, but if it’s a sequel to a movie people didn’t like, you still might not go see it. This is why I say that a LWW prequel would be more marketable than VDT sequel.
"It doesn’t feature any of the protagonists from LWW."
It does have the White Witch though, and you can be sure she will be the focus of the marketing campaign. The might as well call the movie “The White Witch Begins.” I think a marketing campaign that showed shots of her before she was white, and promised to show her origin, might be enough to make many casual moviegoers go "hmmmmm."
That is an interesting Idea, though as there is almost no info caspian and liliandils relationship I don't think I would like to see what they would come up with for a entire movie or even half of a movie. You might, however, be able to do something like a pixar-esque credits/intro segment focusing on their relationship and ending with their son being born, then skip to Experiment House, maybe Eustace and Jill are in a biology room where they might have a large green snake as forshadowing… Although describing that, it's essentially what they did in Prince Caspian, except it should be a shorter, more tightly paced montage with little to no dialog. No forshadowing with a lion this time because; well; Experiment house should be decidedly un-pevensie friendly, very cold and stoic…
And it would be nice if they let you have a free play mode and a story mode (like the Lego games). The story mode would be when you play as the charecters of that level in the story (Like Eustace, Puddleglum, Jill, and Prince Ralian in the fight agaist the LotGK). And Free Play would be you can play as any one in any level (Like you could play as Tirian and Tumnus in the same level). I also like the idea of an actual "Lego Narnia" game. That would be fun.
Or you could have Peter fighting a battle while singing "I gotta – get my, get my head in the game!" (Centaurs join in) "You gotta get, get, get, your head in the game!"
I was thinking on this subject the other day. And I think I wouldn't mind a complete reboot, IF they set up certain parameters in advance that would guide the construction of the series as a whole. each movie should be unique, with different stylings like the individual books, and yet they should flow together. The current series feels disjointed, because in part they felt like they had to correct the "huge blunders" in prince caspian, rather than making a third story that still flowed nicely with the other two {sure it would have been better if Caspian didn't have a spanish accent to begin with, but that wasn't a big enough goof to change him completely in VOTD} In the current series with the story changes to VOTD, in order to make SC fit they will most likely have to make even MORE changes to make it fit, making the LOTGK even more GREEN and SMOKY (if you catch my drift) which would in turn mean altering the LB even more.
Pre-planning is probably the most important thing I suggest they do, and DON'T change your mind after the second movie doesn't meet expectations [looking at you, disney]
1. Begin to write ALL the scripts, thinking of tie-ins and over arching themes for the un booklearned, but pick themes that book fans will like. The Land of Narnia, Aslan, and Exploration of a strange land, and changed lives, come to mind.
2.Plan to film each of the Pevensies and Eustaces movies 6 months apart so that child ages would not change too much, film HHB and MN concurrently and then release movies one to two years apart.
3.Again focusing on the major themes, decide on a story order that would not place too much emphasis on individual characters and would prepare movie go-ers to not expect the pevensies or the WW in each movie.
These three principles don't define the movies, but I think if followed they would make the entire series more enjoyable. I'd like the sound of LWW, HHB, PC, VOTD, SC, MN, LB. One major change I would do to the stories I've outlined somewhere else on the posts, is to make MN and LB a two-part story allowing you to see the full story ark of Narnia, begin MN with the meeting of "friends of Narnia" with Digory and Polly explaining the creation of Narnia, and end MN with the vision of King Tirian asking for help, and everyone getting on the train to get the rings. LB would begin with the same scenes told from king Tirians perspective. Release these 6 months apart…
NO REBOOTS
My reasons to make Narnia 4 as the:
The Silver Chair:
Next film cause:
-It's the next story right after VDT.-The last story of Caspian's triad.-Will Poulter's age.
Later film cause:
-The darkness of the book.-Lowest book ever sold in the series.
The Magician's Nephew:
Next Film cause:
-It's very magical story for it narrates the story of the creation.-Highest book ever sold second to LWW.
Later film cause:-Pulter's age will be too old if MN is filmed next.-Not the next story after VDT (It's the prequel)
P.S. -This is just my knowledge on why to film SC or MN next.
P.S. Let us Please pray for the people of London especially Henley, Keynes, Popplewell and Poulter for their safeness and protection at all times.
Yeesh…… Anyway, how about all the Narnians singing "One more day" before the battle with the Telmarines
Its, fine, I took it the wrong way. And your right, the kids have sunken pretty low. Lets just hope that there arent any copycat riots out in the US, cause it would not end well.
Met who? Cemeh or Popplewell?
And after Eustace's redemption: "Aslan loves me this I know!"
I like the idea of the intro sequence, but I think it should end with Ben Barnes reading 6-year-old Rilian a picture book about a sulky boy who turns into a dragon . . . then fade to Eustace walking around the grounds in Experiment House. Still no need for dialogue, but it would make for a better transition.
In marketing, however, I still maintain that if they approach it from a Narnia-gimmick perspective, no one will show up, not in America any how.
I actually like your idea, it would transition nicely.
lol
I was criticizing Cemeh's judgement of Anna Popplewell…I was wondering why he or she dislikes her so much. LOL
I can actually see somebody making a Narnia Broadway show.
That would suck so bad. They should never remake LWW, that movie was so good and true to the book. Prince Caspian had its flaws, but it was a good movie. VDT, well to say the least, was not the greatest movie in the world, and they could remake it, but why bother?
I know, i generally dont say that about someone i dont know.
I would like that, a Narnia game were once youve unlocked every thing, you can do freeplay. And i actually stand corrected for my comment on the PC vid game, the graphics were actually pretty good for the PS3, but the Wii graphics and ds graphics wrent the best.
Why a reboot, wasnt LWW and PC good enogh for you? Maybe they slipped up on VDT, but they do have a chance to redeem themselves with either SC/MN, which I think they can accomplish well. My greatest fear is them ruining the plot and using "the green mist" in any other Narnia films.
I'm not sure why you're comparing First Class to MN. While FC affirmed the X-Men franchise's stability in the foreign box office, it continued the downward trend in domestic returns that was set by Origins: Wolverine. FC had the weakest domestic box office in the history of the franchise. If MN performs comparably, Narnia is dead in the water.
Very good video. Like I have alwasy said, the very thing that made/makes the Chronicles of Narnia books so original and in a class by itself (do not compare to the Lord Of The Rings or Potter) is Lewis' use of non-traditional main characters. In all seven books, the main characters are two, the Land of Narnia and Aslan. Everyone else are supporting characters. This is why it is so easy to change characters throughout the series and have it work so well (at least from a literary standpoint). It sucks for film and marketing because the movie viewing public have been trained to want and think they need a certain formula. Lewis wrote the books as another way of teaching the character and ways of our Lord Jesus Christ. In real life, it's all about Jesus and what He has done for us and through us. I think the same way in the books. It's all about Aslan and Narnia and how they have shaped all those who come in contact with the country and its Creator King, Aslan. The executives need to just pick up where they left off and continue the series with The Silver Chair. Get a better writer and director and stick to the sentiments of the author and the message. These books have changed my life and are very dear to me. I so want to see them all made. I still believe in their relevance and message. Heres to hoping they wisen up and get back to work on the series.
It's not a big deal, but my username is actually pronounced
"ANN-hƏn."
For better or for worse, Liam and Tilda are really the only selling points that Walden has for Magician's Nephew. I doubt that audiences would be lining up to see Magician's Nephew without Liam and Tilda. I think a reboot starting with Magician's Nephew is not a likely possibility.
hello! remember me?
I think that if they reboot the seires many people would complain. because the cast is diffent and we are so used to this cast that it would be odd for someone other then gorgie henly to say
"I'm lucy".
I personally want the silver chair to be next, but the MN
is ok too as long as they still make the movies.
Will Poulter would win. That's what it means if you film them at the same time. They could film MN and SC at the same time, and still use Will Poulter. The only thing is when they finally release SC Will's going to walk down the red carpet quite a bit older than he is in the film.
I never thought about that, but I completely agree with you. The music does need to help narrarate, and the only one who has done it right is Harry Gregson Williams.
I agree, it's way too soon for a reboot. It would just seem like a knock-off at this point, even if it is made by the same company. I just want to see the series be finished as it is now, I think it will be worth it in the long run. I know the movies haven't been doing well in the box offices, but there have been other movies in the past that have done poorly in the box office but later became classics, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Princess Bride, perhaps Narnia will follow in their foot steps.
Maybe in about 20 or 30 years, when the technology has improved enough to make it worth it and there's a new generation of Narnia fans ready for something new
awesome, sam and anhun should write it, it would prob come out better! great ideas!!
ben barnes lives right in london, i think, good thing he's in CT , usa right now-
i'd love a happy wedding with casp n lil, im sick of battles! how bout some happy scenes for once! ya know, character development first, so we actually care if they are in danger…….
yeah, wish they could just remake VDT !!
4. MAKE THE CHILDREN YOUNGER TO START WITH!!! if they do that then they wont have an almost 20 year old playing the part of Eustace (amung other things)
AGREED, one of the (many)things i didn't like about VODT, was that Aslan was realy only in it in the very end. as far as i'm conserned, that was the *worst* thing they could have done
AGREED, one of the (many)things i didn't like about VODT, was that Aslan was realy only in it at the very end. as far as i'm conserned, that was the *worst* thing they could have done
Narnia 4 will be better (can be better than LWW) if, Andrew Adamson will return to direct it (or another great director will direct it), Douglas Gresham will be the executive producer with producers: Philip Steuer and Mark Johnson, Harry Gregson Williams will return to score the movie, Weta workshop will make the weaponry, arts and craft the creatures.
They should make Narnia 4 reliable to the book just like what they did in LWW in 2005. They must have a big audience impact 5-10 months or a year just before the release of the movie. And they must make Narnia 4 between 2012 and 2013 and/or make 2 films at the same year.
Make Narnia 4 as soon as possible.
Like in the Harry Potter series, Emma Watson was 2 years under-age for the part when they did the first movie. It can be done.
a reboot at this point? Personally, I don't think they should at all…but if they DO reboot, they should wait at least 10 years…it would be, like, well, a re-make.
My vote… 1. silver chair 2. magician's nephew 3. horse and his boy (only because the pevensies are my favorite characters)
Hear, Hear!
what about lucy in with the magician's book?
Sorry bout that Hiking Peter.
I think if they were to potray the Calormens, they should probably use the ancient Persia idea.
They need to go ahead with the Silver Chair. It's already set up from VDT when Aslan tells Eustace that he will come back someday and also Jil Pole is already mentioned. Even though VDT didn't do well they could do better on the Silver Chair. It's interesting and it has good characters and it has characters like Caspian and trumpkin who people remember from previous movies. I don't know why the White Witch needs to be a more prominant character for the Narnia movies to be good. That's obviously what the people thought for VDT and she being in it just made it worse.
And Will Poulter is an excellent Eustace and he is geting older so they need to hurry up.
Okay, I finally got to watch this video, and I pretty much agree with every work Glumpuddle had to say. Though, ya, reboots, I hope they NEVER do a reboot! And putting LWW in modern time is just a big NO, NO for me. In the book the Pevensies lived in the 1940s! That would just be even worse even if they did make a reboot.
I agree with you Glumpuddle about re-reading the books to pass the time. 🙂 Listening to the audiobooks is also nice. ^^
Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease Walden Media and Narnia movie makers!!!! MAKE ANOTHER NARNIA FILM (preferably the Silver Chair ^^) BUT ANYTHING BUT REBOOTS!!!!! Thank you. ^_^
I was not making a box office comparison. I was just comparing them as reboots that don't break continuity.
Making SC next would be like making a movie all about the character Storm in X-Men.