William Moseley on Saying Goodbye to Narnia
While promoting his new film, The Little Mermaid, William Moseley reflected on the role that launched his career: High King Peter in The Chronicles of Narnia movies.
“Narnia has taken a new life now. And when I said goodbye after the second film, I sort of knew that was a change in time. It was a hard transition. I’d love to have it back, but I don’t think it’s on the cards right now.”
High King Peter, as our readers know, appears in The Last Battle and is mentioned in The Horse and His Boy. But, The Silver Chair Director Joe Johnston has said he wants the new Narnia films to be a fresh start for the series with an new cast. “I don’t even want to reference the other films, he said.
Will believes the role of Peter Pevensie caused him to be typecast as similar characters throughout his career, but has a positive attitude about it. He has also stayed in touch with his follow Pevensie actors: Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, and Georgie Henley.
Thanks to ‘Bartek’ for the alert.
Here’s an another interview with Will about The Little Mermaid:
Say what you want about their overall quality, but the first 2 Narnia films seemed like hell of a lot of fun to be a part of in the 2000's. I saw documentaries on the Narnia DVDs as a kid detailing the four Pevensie actors, and they seemed like really down-to-earth, cool children. They talked about the hijinks on set (caused by Skander), how much they all loved each other (well, except Skander, he was a demon :b). It seemed so beautiful that they had such a good experience on that first film. It's nice to know Narnia's had such an effect on all of them now and changed them into different people (well, maybe not Skander…).
Disney should buy Narnia rights again. If they'd had through all these past years, we would already be talking about the Last Battle with Silver Chair already available on Netflix.
Meanwhile, Skandar went and became an economist, following in the footsteps of his great- uncle John Maynard Keynes (who's regarded as one of the founding fathers of modern economics.)
I agree that Disney should never have let Narnia go. I'd love for him and the others to return to Narnia on the big screen.
https://www.change.org/p/c-s-lewis-company-please-make-the-chronicles-of-narnia-the-silver-chair-a-soft-but-not-complete-reboot?recruiter=867763922&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=share_twitter_responsive
I so agree! If only they had held on to Narnia… I feel that the franchise would be much better. 🙁
The first two films were so great!
I don't care what Joe Johnston says: I want him to recast the original Pevensie actors whenever he turns The Last Battle or The Horse and His Boy into major motion pictures!
I was very sad that Disney Quit the Franchise. And I agree with a friend of mine, The Chronicles of Narnia r so fun, beautiful and magical that they deserve theme parks and interactive themes. If the Silver Chair movie goes well and if they make the rest of the series, I’m hoping that maybe Universal Studios will pick it up.
I believe the reason why Joe doesn’t want to reference the first three movies is because he wants to avoid copyright since Walden Media owns the first three movies and they don’t have the rights to the series anymore. This ‘Reboot’ idea has been bugging me. All I want is answers that makes sense! Just say “yes” or “no”. Don’t just randomly, “oh, this is a Brand New Trilogy.” You know. I don’t like people just throw random stuff that doesn’t make sense and just all of a sudden, it’s there! I want a solid “yes” or “no” statement to the question, “is the Silver Chair a Reboot?” All I want is for them to just pretend that the seven swords and the stupid green mist never happened!
There r a couple hints that Silver Chair is still a sequel to VDT. Joe johnston said in an interview that it’s the fourth film in the series! And Tristar president, Hannah Minghella, said in an interview that the world is not ready for a remake of LWW, The Silver Chair is the perfect film to ‘rejoin the franchise’. Now ‘rejoin’ means ‘Reconnect’ pick up where you left off! And David Magee tweeted on Twitter that the plan is simply to continue the story (it is really him).
Joe johnston will Never do the rest of the series because he’s gonna retire from filmmaking after Silver Chair.
WHY is Joe Johnson so militant about not referencing the other films? I'm sorry Joe, were they really THAT BAD to you??? I think it's a shame he is doing this. It's not like we need the same cast members but it's seems to be a mockery of everything the other 3 films accomplished.
It may be because he wants to avoid copyright since Walden Media owns the first three movies and the don’t have the rights to the series anymore.
I’m actually scared that the actors they’ll replace for Eustace, Trumpkin and Caspian might not look very much them, I don’t think the audience would appreciate it and they’ll be so confused.
You have a noble idea; it would be really cool (and emotional) for the new filmmakers to bring back the Pevensie actors.
But personally, I don’t think they should. Even if The Silver Chair director wants to reference the other films, I think they need to cast different actors from here on out. For a few reasons:
3. Will Poulter is too old to play Eustace, so it would be awkward to see Georgie Henley etc. interact with a different actor (or a different Mr. Tumnus Actor).
2. It’s not a bad thing to recast the original actors, IF you find fantastic new actors who bring their own faithful interpretation to Lewis’s characters.
1. The original kids have grown up & moved on. Skander Keynes (Edmund) has quit acting to work in politics – and he’s an Atheist. I can’t see him rushing to return to Narnia like Mosley and Henley. If they can’t get him, they should find all new actors/actresses to play the Pevensies: age-appropriate kids (17-22 or 22-27 depending on which story they return in.)
I wish the new filmmakers the best of luck in bringing C S Lewis’ books to life.
I'm not sorry. Narnia deserves more respect. Disney was the absolute wrong studio to take on Narnia. Unlike C.S. Lewis, Disney doesn't specialize in things subtle or nuanced. It's a big, flashy worldwide brand that buys any and every lucrative property it wants (Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm Fox) and turns it into big Uncle Sam bucks for itself with merchandising and themeparks. That's why we got big, flashy Narnia films before Disney got cold feet. And Disney (not Pixar) was horrible in the 2000's. Just think if Disney had taken on the Harry Potter series or The Lord of the Rings. Narnia deserves more than happy meal action figures.
If the new Silver Chair be a break from all other related material, I guess I won't see Tom Baker advising the young Puddleglum that life is more than eel stew.
I must respectfully disagree; I think Disney could've made a great continued series after they smoothed out a few rough patches. If you think of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (arguably the most successful connected movie franchise) it started out with a solid movie or so before reaching a few rough patches and flops (Iron Man 2&3, Thor the Dark World) but rebounded with my all time favorite movie, Captain America: the Winter Soldier as well as the extremely and unexpectedly popular Guardians of the Galaxy.
Although Narnia already had its entire 7 movies laid out vs. Kevin Feige creating the storylines as they go, a few problems wouldn't be totally unheard of. Considering Feige's empire is going to make everyone cry after Avengers 4, flashy movies have soul too, as long as you know the characters long enough,
Also I'm not sure the other studios could/can do better, although I didn't care for the Harry Potter and Hobbit series. Just my opinion though:)
Disney had the financial resources to make good and even great Narnian films. But too often they and other film makers care more about selling tickets than accuracy to the books. I will say that they chose some good actors to play the Pevensie children and the other characters. I think they are very good in their roles. The problem with the movies (including those not made by Disney) is that the story adaptations could have been so much closer to what C. S. Lewis wrote. For example, don't put the White Witch in Voyage of the Dawn Treader or leave out Lucy's seeing Aslan (showing her faith in Aslan) when the others don't in Prince Caspian. The movie creators put their own things in and take important things out of the books, which are the essential source material.
LOL. Loved Tom Baker's Puddleglum, too.
Hmm… Well, I suppose you are both right. But Mr. Johnson better make The Silver Chair worth watching, at the very least!
It's good to hear from William Moseley in this interview! I'd originally hoped that he'd be in The Last Battle movie whenever they got to making that one but it seems that that could be a long way off.
Any ideas when casting/more information will be released about this? Didn't Joe say they were gonna start filming late this year? Is that still the case?
Yes, Hopefully, The Silver Chair is the best adaptation yet of the books – bringing the book to life, that is. I can’t quite fathom it being as critically & financially well-received as the first film. It might make even less money than the last two films. But if the movie works: If it’s a good movie and a worthy adaptation of the book, audiences, both readers and non-readers may be interested in the next three adaptations after that…if those happen!
Please, Joe Johnston, don’t let it just not suck. Make it the film fans have hoped for decades it would be!
If Henry Mosley were to appear in The Last Battle 10 Years from now – after the next 3 films were made – he’d be like 40 years old! They could cast Mosley, Henley, Keynes & Popplewell as an Easter egg for the fans, in smaller, different roles: Maybe as Narnian lords or maybe creatures like fawns or centurs. The new filmmakers will probably cast the Pevensies closer in age to the actors who play Eustace & Jill. (Ages 17-22 for HHB and ages 22-27 for LB, kind of switched from their ages in Lewis’s timeline. IDK.) Well See.
I honestly don’t know what to think. Disney went in over their heads by assuming Prince Caspian would do just as good as the 1st Narnia. As much as I want the Narnia films done right, they seem to be straying more from the original material with every film. My wife liked Dawn Treader but I did not. I’m concerned the series will be dead if they don’t get this one accurate to the book but still allow for changes to the screen that will benefit newcomers to the series.
Also, the original Pevensie children will always be the real characters in my mind.
I abhor cast changes. Iron man did that with Colonel Rhodes and it was horrible. The new character is forgettable.
MAYBE, maybe, maybe less than 10 days till we get some Silver Chair news! The wait has been maddening, but every time you start feeling impatient, just think about all the people who've been waiting 8 YEARS for this film to come out. And try to put a "bold face on things": this long, uncertain wait will, by the time it ends, have us all skeptical, gloomy, and pessimistic- which will help us better identify with Puddleglum.
Yes, Joe Johnston said he hopes to start filming it at the end of this year.
I think what’s going on is that He and Mark Gordon wanna b at the Premiere of ‘The Nutcracker and the Four Realms’ which will be coming out in theaters this November.
They might talk about The Silver Chair movie while they’re at the red carpet. So we might get some news around that time.
I have been waiting more than 8 years. I started coming to this website in 2006 or 2005 (I can't remember anymore). If they never make The Silver Chair movie, then I think I will draw a graphic novel of it when it becomes public domain. Anyway, we still have our imaginations of what the movie could be like and our imaginations are probably the most important key to enjoying the Narnia books.
I really admire your patience. And yes, no matter what the movies are like, I will always imagine something different when I read the books. Keep your spirits up! After all, we're only a month overdue for news! It could literally come any day!
Although I too prefer Terrace Howard in the roll, I think switching the Bruce Banner actor to Ruffalo turned out well more or less. That said, I'd prefer they at least keep the old Pevensie actors because they don't have large rolls meaning if they appear older than Lewis described in the books it's okay for me.
Copyright issues, among other reasons. The Pevensies could only be integrated into the last scene if it is put in, at a party or something. There is also a question of budget. There always is a budget question.
Yes there would have to be changes for three actors, Eustace, Trumpkin and Caspian. But whilst we are all expecting the change for Eustace, all that Caspian plays, in essence, is an old man speechifying as he gets on a boat, and being carried off the boat when everyone returns to Cair Paravel. The only really tricky part is how Caspian looks once he has been resurrected.
Trumpkin needs to be played by a character actor, and to depict someone sitting in a donkey cart, his face partly obscured by a dwarfish beard, who is also deaf and needs an ear trumpet shouldn't be too difficult in the one scene we see him. Many years do change people. If anyone is a numismatist, they might compare coins from when Queen Elizabeth II was young in the 1950's and 1960's to what she looks like now in her 90's to understand how different people look over the years. There are about 15 countries who have currencies you can pick from.
Skandar's not an economist. His sister Soumaya is. Skandar went into politics instead. He's currently a parliamentary adviser to Crispin Blunt, MP.
Easter egg roles: I've had the same idea for a few years now.
I'd like to see William Moseley, as High King Peter in some sort role in "Silver Chair, but wouldn't that be just as bad as Tilda Swinton turning up in Narnia 4 as the White Witch? Worse still, when the BBC Narnia series Silver Chair messed up on exactly the same point?
If they just bring back Ben Barnes as the resurrected Caspian, I'll be happy.
I don’t think that would work.
I was hoping that when Jill and Eustace arrive at Cair Paravel, we would get to see like paintings or tapestries of the Peter and his siblings, but I don’t think that’s gonna happen. 🙁
It's interesting that some people are sad about him not being in future Narnia movies. I thought people were really unhappy about how Peter was portrayed in Prince Caspian. (Of course, it's up for debate how much of that the actor could have helped.)
I'm with Wagga on the problem of Caspian and Trumpkin. Between the aging and the smallness of their roles in SC (but especially because of the aging), recasting those roles is a non-issue.
As for Eustace, VDT was neither well attended nor terribly memorable to those who weren't Narniacs going in. For the vast majority of what (they hope) will be the audience, Eustace will be almost, or entirely, as new to them as Jill.
It would be easy to recast THE SILVER CHAIR's supporting actors:
ASLAN is a voice actor.
CASPIAN is an old man (for his scenes in Narnia).
TRUMPKIN is just old.
Its EUSTACE and the return of previous characters (like the PEVENSIES, TUMNUS and JADIS) in later movies which will be the big hurdle for audiences.
First off I hope they DO NOT cast Johnny Depp as Puddleglum (I'm pulling for David Tennant or Richard Armitage)…second Ben Barnes has to come back for the *SPOILER* part where Aslan resurrects Caspian as his younger self and he goes back to the real world with Eustace and Jill to beat up the bullies at their school. And third I hope Liam Neeson voices Aslan…It would be so weird for them to change that. Peter Dinklage making a cameo for Trumpkin's small part would be great too…but not necessary.
agreed
Well the Chronicles of Narnia are already public domain in Canada, and any other country with life+50 year copyright length. So if you're in those places, have at it!