The Next Narnia Film: Where We Are Now
For quite some time now, Narnia fans have been waiting patiently for news on whether or not there will be another Narnia movie. But in the past few days, many rumors and bits of news have started circulating over the internet and our forums–both that more films are actively being scripted and that work on the Narnia films has ceased entirely. We were hoping for an official statement before posting any more news on the situation, but now we feel that things need to be cleared up immediately.
During the negotiations between Fox, Walden, and the C.S. Lewis Estate, the film option that Walden Media owned was allowed to expire and Walden Media no longer has exclusive purchasing rights to any further Narnia films. (What’s the difference between a film option and the film rights? Check out Wikipedia’s article here.) This has been confirmed to us by representatives of the C.S. Lewis Estate.
And while Walden and Fox have confirmed they are both interested in making more Narnia films, our understanding is that, by law, the C.S. Lewis Estate must wait a certain period of time (called a moratorium) before they can sell the film option for the Narnia books again. And when they do, it will be available to any film company out there interested in bidding on it, not just Walden and Fox.
So what does this mean? It means that the ball is entirely in the C.S. Lewis Estate’s court at this point, and they have to wait this mandatory period of time until they can sell the film option again. We here at NarniaWeb don’t know exactly how long this moratorium is, though it is likely several years. What we do know, however, is that Doug Gresham has mentioned many times that it’s his dream to make all seven Narnia books into movies so he probably won’t rest until he’s done that. This is not the end of the Narnia movies! We’re only going to have to wait a while before we see another one.
Hmmmm… let me think. One is an estate, the other one is a company, and the other a foundation. So there you go!
Wow, they areactually making the screwtape letters. Thats actually looks kind of interesting…..
PHEW finally, a new update! Anyways, this is so sad and good at the same time. Sad that it will be several years, which is more than 2 years because people usually say "a couple years" and couple is 2 so yeah, I really hope this moratorium doesn't last too long. It's a happy update too knowing that there will be more than what we have already. What is the reason for this whole "all of sudden" moratorium and not giving rights to Walden Media anyways? OH and what exactly is the C.S. Lewis Estate? Hmm well anyways due to this delay, I would highly recommend The Silver Chair to be next now if the aging of Will Poulter is a issue to most people. However, Tilda Swinton who plays the White Witch for The Magicians Nephew would be aged as well. My opinion however with her is not worried about because she is 50 years old and I swear I thought she was about 40-45. Either way, we need to make Doug Gresham's dream come true!
The Redwall series has like 20 something books in the series. That was before the author died in Feb of this year. Too bad that they wont have any other books. But yah, the books are listed as childrens books, but they each have like 60 chapters each so they are pretty big.
when I listen to High King and Queen of Narnia, then I listen to VDTs main theme, there is such a drastic difference in the style of the movies and soundtrack, that it almost seems like its not part of the series.
Please MN next!
*sigh of relife* Okay! I have been so scared about the reboot! I'm soo glad thats cleared up! It may be awhile, but at least we can know it's coming! 😀
High Queen: you have some bad information!
1. The executors of the Lewis Estate are Christians. They always have been.
2. Doug Gresham and his brother inherited the estate when Lewis died. Doug is now an employee/ executor of the estate, with Walter Hooper as chief executor. The link below and many more confirm this. Just look up "douglas gresham" and "lewis estate" in a Yahoo or Google search engine. http://www.narniaweb.com/2011/01/douglas-gresham-in-january-issue-of-guideposts/
3. Not everyone at Walden Media is a Christian. In a recent interview, President Micheal Flaherty said this was not a requirement for employment.
har har
Another thing that makes her unique is the fact that she doesn't convince people to abandon or ignore reason, as most "seductive" villains do. She actually twists their reason, so that their minds are fundamentally different.
As for the Green Lady's origins, Jadis was killed in LWW. Any other conclusion would cheapen Aslan's victory. Also, Jadis killed everyone else in her world in MN. The only way for the Green Lady to be a blood relative is if she is a descendent. I don't feel that the mystery surrounding the Green Lady's origins makes her less interesting.
Some people have said that they don't want to see Tilda in SC. I personally would not miss her if she was absent. But a flashback showing her connection to the Green Lady might be more effective on film than having Narnians relating the theory that they are of the same crew, without further development. I prefer her to be a protegée rather than a descendent, though.
Im sorry, I couldnt help it.
Okay…. who are you thanking?
But what does that mean??? What are they????????
I really dont know.
I am ticked. Who is messing everything up? Walden or the Lewis estate?
I am not sure if there been a confirmation, but their a lot of rumors and pages about it all over the web.
I really hope that if Doug Gresham does take over the Narnia franchise, that he keeps the same actors and actresses, though it may not be likely. But I really would like to see him just pick up where VoDT left off and start with the Silver Chair. I hope that's what happens if at all. I would love to see the three remaining movies with the same actors and actresses. Nobody else can take the place of Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lucy, Caspian, and Eustace. Not one person.
I don't think that Doug Gresham could produce a movie by himself, without a big company such as Walden to assist. I understand from the article even he has to wait for a while before anything is finally decided, because of the legalities. This is what is called a moratorium, and can last for 12 to 18 months. After which there is still the question of who wants to produce the movies, and even then there is the extra time spent while scripts are written. That would certainly take more than 2 years, even for the first movie to be done.
Uh – thanks. Sorry you've been burned by people on other sites.
We do know that Walden came up with a very NON-book script which was rejected by the estate. Not sure about a book-script.
This is an update on that information. Walden no longer has the rights, and the Estate is waiting to be able to offer them elsewhere.
The C.S.Lewis Estate basically became the C.S.Lewis Co, but is still often referred to as the Estate (largely led by Mr Gresham).
The Foundation seems to be a non profit organisation that seeks to encourage people to read, study and enjoy Lewis's writing.
No, it's not a mistake. We were given the information by the Estate. Please read the article.
I don't see how people are viewing this as good news. Gresham is no spring chicken. Who messed all of this up? Gresham or Walden?
walden was never out to make cheap profit, they love the series. if you want cheap profit, you'd puke out some sludge about vampires, not clean cut 1940's kids.
they changed the main theme that finding heaven is the main purpose in life, and turned it into a monster movie.
don't get me wrong, im glad you could watch it and enjoy it . i was just expecting my heart to be thrilled, i ended up heartbroken. im trying to appreciate the film for what it is, believe me.
i agree, dylan. i noticed that right away.
I was thinking the creation scene would be cool, and then they do such good casting, that Uncle Andrew will be hilarious.
Laugh laugh, good point Dylan!
Whoa, please bring in some context, Nerdnian!
First of all, he's only in his 60s. Second of all, even with out Gresham, fans can take some encouragement from the fact that Walden and Fox seem to be genuinely interested in making Narnia 4, whatever it is.
Sorry, that was meant to be a reply to Citizen Cair Paravel.
I agree with Aslan's Country. MN is very difficult to translate into a movie that non-fans can understand and enjoy. It's only selling point is as a Narnia creation story. With so few people interested in Narnia for it's own sake, they need to rekindle that interest before they can market MN.
@thesithempire: 'splain this to me Lucy. How do you have a generally hated movie that has really strong legs at the box office, and makes a killing in DVD sales?
The fact of the matter is that many people disliked it, and many people loved it. This is true of the majority of movies. I know quite a few people who became book fans AFTER LWW introduced them to the series.
Narnia is Narnia and I will always love it even if they drop the franchise and reboot.
But aside from Narnia have you guys heard of the movie Courageous that just came out yesterday?? It's made by the same people who did Fireproof. Wow, talk about action, thriller, comedy, and Christian all in one. I thought I liked Fireproof a lot until I saw Courageous which beats most secular films in quality of acting, action, emotion, and message. Go see it, let's tell Hollywood We would like to see more movies like Courageous or Narnia on the big screen.
I want to see Courageous so bad! But the closest they're playing it is over an hour away, so we have to wait until it comes out on DVD 🙁
I mean really, cant they just stick to one name.
@thesithempire:
"I think most Narnia fans are way off-base in believing that the diminishing success of the franchise has to do with the quality of the PC and VOTDT."
That's such a vague, ill-defined thesis. Are you saying that "most Narnia fans believe…"?, or that the ones who do are incorrect in citing "quality"? Do you believe the problem is quality AND lack of "marketing", or just lack of "marketing"? I can't tell from that sentence. "Most Narnia fans" at THIS site are good-hearted, positive people, delighted just to HAVE the films, and don't spend that much time over-analyzing their "diminishing success". And, the ones who DO critique the franchise, like myself, don't necessarily cite "lack of quality", in every case, as the reason for its current woeful state.
To begin with, I, for one, do not automatically correlate diminishing box office numbers with diminishing "success". It's all in how one approaches it. If one's expectations are that each succeeding adaptation of the series should have the same box office numbers as 'Wardrobe', then, yes, the inevitable conclusion is that the franchise is becoming "less successful". That premise, however (that all of the adaptations should have an equal appeal to 'Wardrobe') is a COMPLETELY flawed, and DANGEROUS notion, and it will (and HAS) led this franchise to disaster. None of the other six books are a part of the cultural fabric of western society, like 'Wardrobe' is. Their adaptations will NEVER have that same level of appeal as the first film. No amount of marketing money, or perceived "quality" will EVER bridge that box office gap COMPLETELY. But, if the producers evaluate each book on its OWN MERIT, and budget ACCORDINGLY for it, then they can still have RELATIVE success by making the best possible film adaptation for THAT book. For example:
'Prince Caspian' was a QUALITY film. It is, by far, the best film, technically, of the three. It was also a (comparatively) fantastic adaptation of the (in my opinion) creative low-point of the Chronicles. It was, to me, a pretty… staid… book that got translated into a very passably entertaining film. Did I have problems with the film? Sure. I had problems with both of Adamson's films. But, they are so small, in relation to the bigger picture, that they are, for the most part, easy to live with. Walden made two very, very good adaptations from two incredibly difficult-to-adapt books. And BOTH of them did FANTASTIC numbers at the box office–RELATIVE TO WHAT THEIR EXPECTATIONS SHOULD HAVE BEEN. 'Caspian' was a failure, NOT for how it "performed", but for what it COST. They made the right film, it DID find its audience, but it just cost an OBSCENE amount of money. So, "quality" wasn't a problem with its failure. Delusional expectations WERE! It SHOULD have been "successful". Its perceived failure wasn't the "film's" fault. There was no deficiency of "quality" in the production. Only of REASON.
'Dawn Treader' is a COMPLETELY different kettle of fish. THIS time, they gave their heads a collective shake, and alotted the film an APPROPRIATE budget… but made a collossal STINKER, mostly out of morbid fear of doing ANYTHING even REMOTELY risk-taking, lest they kill the goose that laid the golden egg. Instead, they simply bypassed the goose, and laid the egg themselves. In this case, they got everything logistically correct… but they forgot to make a good film. Now, you can call it "nits", or whatever you wish, but that film is TERRIBLE! Not just "disappointing", but TERRIBLE! I LOVED 'Wardrobe' and LIKED 'Caspian' a lot. But, I could still cite a LOT of problems I had with both films. But, I don't CARE about those problems, ultimately. I am not a professional nitpicker. I'm not LOOKING to find flaws in something for the sake of typing this stuff over and over again. Those films, were imperfect, but most films are. Still, I mostly loved them, and, as I said, can easily live with the overall result. So, when I say that 'Dawn Treader' was TERRIBLE, it's not as an angst-ridden fanboy crying on the internet. It's as a) someone who knows a little about film, and can judge the product objectively in that regard, and b) as someone who loves the books, but understands that some accommodations must be made for a manageable cinematic adaptation. It's am EMBARRASSING interpretation of a wondrous story, AND a very mediocre product of the cinema. If I'm overly emphatic in stating my dislike for it, it's NOT to "whinge". It's sincere regret for how Walden blew such a tremendous opportunity. When backed into a corner, one can either come out swinging, or cover up and hope for the best. They chose the latter option, the path of least resistance, and made a "safe" kiddie movie. A nice-looking kiddie movie, thanks to the cinematography of Dante Spinotti (which ALSO got butchered, thanks to the further atrocious 3D "conversion" process), but a kiddie movie, regardless. So "quality", in my opinion, IS an issue here. Not so much technically (I think they mostly received value for their money, despite some less than perfect composite shots), but in terms of both writing and direction. The script ignored the wonder and nobility of the story, and Apted's complete indifference to improving it was the final nail in the coffin.
'Dawn Treader' lost less money. That was an improvement. A better film (an even half-decent adaptation) would have won more people over, and could have made it RELATIVELY successful.
"And the reason for that is what most of you refuse to see: Many people DIDN’T like TLTWATW!…most of those who I discussed the film with thought it was tepid, safe, geared at little kids, and plastic-looking. Readers of the book spoke of it as a poor adaptation of a great book, without characters or a world engaging enough to draw them back for a second film."
That, I am afraid, would be a skewed sample, based on your circle of acquaintance. It may be accurate to your experience, but it is, of course, not a representation of the real world. The ticket-buying audience of the cinema. I have a friend like that. She hated the film because "It didn't look like a real English wood. Where were the oak trees?". Subsequently, she refers to Mr. Adamson only as "That Kiwi". I love her dearly, but, in this regard, she cannot be reasoned with, and would only have been happy with the film if SHE had made it to match the precise imagery of her long-held perceptions of the material. Your assertion is simply one way of saying: "You can't please everyone." That is NOT a way of saying: "Many people DIDN’T like TLTWATW!" equates a "statistically significant" number.
"From a purely financial perspective, this franchise needs (and will likely get) a reboot in a few years…"
"From a purely financial perspective", any studio executives who would risk a MINIMUM of half a billion dollars to reboot just these THREE films from a relatively obscure film franchise so soon into their release history, should be placed, gently, into a padded room. Let me ask you this: would you risk YOUR money on such a horrifically tenuous endeavour? No, I thought not. Everyone here is in such a rush to spend other people's money, because they know better. Good luck with that.
"Many of the HP films are mediocre and serviceable at best, and far from satisfying as book adaptations, and yet they did well because of the heavy marketing and buzz created by the studios: TV ads, trailers, cast interviews on talk shows, marketing tie-ins, etc. It helped that the casting was near-perfect, and the actors and world were engaging (even if the scripts were poor in some cases)."
Do not even START comparing 'Harry Potter' to 'Narnia'. That's a joke. The Potter books have been saturated throughout the public school systems by Scholastic for thirteen years. They are ingrained into modern youth culture in a way that 'Narnia' MAY have been. Once. Long, long ago. They are also secular in nature, and MUCH more easily "packaged". And, before you say how "Church groups" oppose Harry Potter, "Christianity", sadly, scares MANY more people in the world today than the things in the Potter books that many faith-based groups decry. The rabid appeal of Potter among children, adolescents, and young adults negates any real need to "market" them. You only need to "market" one thing to them: "WHEN DOES IT OPEN???".
"Adamson was too inexperienced a director to kick off a major franchise with, and it shows in several decisions made in that production."
As opposed to Michael Apted's 800 years of experience in filmmaking that led to that colossal pile of "meh" that was 'Dawn Treader'.
Adamson's "inexperience", by the way, led to the second-biggest film of 2005. It finished just AHEAD of a Harry Potter movie, and behind a little independent film from George Lucas called: "Star Wars: Episode III", which I would assume you're familiar with. Yeah. That's a terrible way to kick off a franchise. "Major" is extremely debatable, by the way. "Major" adaptation, certainly. "Franchise"? Not so much. That's my point.
"And to lock in a wider audience, a) the film has to be great"
Finally, something I agree with.
"and b) the film has to saturate the market enough that most people know it’s out there and are interested enough to see it."
And, what more can they have done for these films "marketing" wise? They all have opened on thousands of screens, been plastered all over the television, the cast has been interviewed everywhere, there was a gigantic marquee at Cannes for 'Dawn Treader', and they have reached out to faith-based groups. Maybe the last one (from some reports) has fallen off a bit, but, from what you've said, I assume you'd LIKE that. So many people scream: "more marketing!", but do you really want them to spend even MORE money on something so nebulous, and make the films even MORE financially risky? I sure don't. The best way to market "Narnia" films is to make a good product, drag everyone you can to it, and hope the word of mouth spreads.
I agree with you, Uncle Andrew could really be really funny. But not yet lets get more fans on board first!
Its was a differant story/book, im glad they added differant feeling music to match the setting. It matched for me at least. Im sorry you guys didnt like it that must suck.
i agree about Will, i really love narnia and id hate to see it go downhill, and i fear it will if Will Poulter is replaced, but yeah its good to hear its a possibility that all narnia movies will be out, i really want to see HB MN and LB as a film
this is so sad. I cannot believe that we have to wait several years. I don't think it's right to split up a series like this! Ughh I am so frustrated…
That's cool! some guys from my church want to go see it and i think it will teach them a lot.
I completely agree. they need to use the same actors and I hope the quality of the movies is just as great. Also, I love the Silver Chair! I hope they do that next.
Thanks, always narnian. I know what you mean about the insidiously deceptive depiction of Christianity in the films, particularly, with 'Dawn Treader'. The most ironic aspect of my 'Dawn Treader' experience was that, for the longest time, I was fairly confident that we would get a pretty good film, but that they would NEVER include the "There I have another name." line, because it finally reveals Aslan's "true" identity, emphasizing the hypothetical nature of the Chronicles, rather than the (incorrectly) perceived allegorical nature. Of course, they totally fooled me, and produced an awful film, but included the line! I wouldn't say the line is completely meaningless at that point, but, coming from "Movie" Aslan, it sure isn't the same thing as the weight it's given in the book. It just feels like a "Let's throw the Christians a bone." moment, more than the glorious revelation/comforting gift it was to Lucy and Edmund, to let them know that He would NEVER leave them.
I'm addressing this to both you and Emily.
First, there is a HUGE difference between criticism and hatred, Emily. You're obviously very young (I hope), so I suspect you'll come to understand that as you grow older. Right now… you do NOT understand it. Try and read what we say about the films, and not what you THINK we say about the films. It's just a suggestion, but you may learn something.
Aslan's Country!, your "true Narnian" act is beyond condescending. You have no copyright on the phrase "Narnian". God wants us to seek and find the truth. You don't do that by accepting everything at face value, and by not seeking to improve things if there's a chance to. Having a DIFFERENT opinion than yours does NOT equate to having a NEGATIVE one. No one here WANTS these films to fail, and, I'm certain that we are ALL hopeful that they will return at some point. We just want them to be BETTER when they do.
As for liking the films better than the books, I am AGHAST at that thought, but I certainly don't begrudge you for doing so. We're all different, and there are plenty of reasons to love "Narnia", in whatever incarnation. On a related note, you will notice that the site is named "Narniaweb". Not "Peoplewhoagreewithmeweb". Try and keep that in mind.
God bless both of you.
Peace. Out.
🙁 Nooo… No more Narnia for 3 or 4 years?? Well, at least we know!! That feeling of not knowing what's going to happen next is not a good one. Maybe by then the filmmakers can get their act together… maybe 3 years is enough time for them to actually READ THE BOOK! 🙂 Anyway, I'm bummed, but hopefully this will be a good thing!
This may just be a nitpick, but, "cheap profit?" In what way shape or form are the Walden Narnia films cheap? Are you a multi-trillionaire or something? 😛
Can't Walden at least renw it's rights or something now? They didn't think about this morotorium thing before they signed the contract? They knew it would take more than 5 years to make the films, didn't they? A ten year old could figure that out! This is just stupid.
Courageous is amazing! Go see it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Really, it's so awesome! Great message that many people need to hear today! It was BETTER than Fireproof! Wow, it was great!
I don't want to be rude, everyone, but I think we need to try and sound as nice and mature as we can over these comments because you can't tell the way someone is saying something, and that can get really out of hand. The communication needs to be done very carefully over comments because we can't understand eachothers tones.
The things about us "being negative about Narnia" is not entirely true. We are simply let down with the movies because our great love for the books. It's hard to see something you cherish greatly turned into something "just like every other movie." The thing about Narnia is it lost the innocence, the charm, the allegory, and the very in-depth characters Narnia had.
Why did they havve to make it the same guy, again. He was the car salesman, the football coach, and just about the main star in all those movies. I mean no offense to the production studio and all that, but can they have a little bit more variety in their movies lol.
Aslan's Country! The thing about the "faith" in voyage of the dawn treader was it was not clearly defined faith. Faith in what? Themselves? THAT, to me, was the message of VODT: believe in yourself, you can do it, don't doubt yourself, have faith! But our faith is USELESS if we don't have our faith resting IN something—-CHRIST—- in Lucy's case, ASLAN.
Exactly, Non-negotiable Comment. It was more like a "let's do this so the Christian fans won't get too overly mad." But it didn't work, I still got mad even though that line was included…haha…Don't get me wrong, I love that line, but yeah—-EXACTLY what you said! *thumbs up!*
Aslan's Country! What us Narnia fans would have had different was for them to stay true to the books and the Christian aspect. They did neither and we were heart broken over what our Narnia had become…this wasn't NARNIA! It was someone making a story they wanted with "Narnia" penned on them!!! Where is C.S. Lewis' Masterpiece buried under all that rubble???
Odd, but cool, name!
Whhhatttt? Aslan IS NOT the sea serpent!!! Where did you get THAT idea????
why? why cant they just make the series in the correct order? since they began with the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, should they consider to do the publication order? If they consider doing the magician's nephew to be the 4th narnia flick, then Narnia will be the only series (among LOTR, HP and Twilight) who is not in order. why cant they consider that creating the narnia flicks in order as a marketing perspective? it is my official opinion to Fox, Walden and the C. S. Lewis Estate to do The Silver Chair as the 4th; the Horse and His Boy as the 5th; the Magician's Nephew as the 6th; and the Last Battle as the last; and The Giant Surprise: A Narnia Story, as a short DVD flick.
for many of today's hardcore moviegoers-mostly male teens, LWW was simply too gentle. whereas VDT was simply childish.