NarniaWeb Community Forums

Douglas Gresham's most recent comments (see the video here ) sparked a poll on the main Narniaweb page about what book should be filmed next. I thought it would be nice to have a thread where we could discuss the options for the order of the rest of the films, if they are ever made.
For me, LB has to be last. The garden, King Frank, Queen Helen, Polly, Digory, the dying sun, and Calormins, make no sense if the other books are not done first. That leaves two options.

The Magician's Nephew, The Horse and His Boy, The Last Battle
The Horse and His Boy, The Magician's Nephew, The Last Battle

Which one should be next and why?
These are just my ideas, and if you feel like discussing other options, such as re-making the whole series, please feel free to do so.

I personally feel that HHB should be next, because I think it has great potential for success. People need to care about Narnia in order to be really interested in MN. So before they make that, the filmmakers need to give viewers one more reason to care. Also MN goes so well with LB; many characters and themes are present in both. I am afraid for them to make HHB because it is my favorite book. I want the filmmakers to be successful and confident before they try it so they don't mess it up. Here's hoping that SC will set the stage for great Narnia movies!

I would definitely like them to continue making the film's in the order that the books were first published and I think that it would be ideal.

As for what they will do I think that largely depends on the success of Silver Chair, I could see A scenario where if SC is not as financially successful as they would like it too be they might want too do The Magician's Nephew next.

I think HHB should be done next, because it involves the original Pevensies. They could all four be included. It will help bring audiences in.
After that... I actually think Last Battle, to use the Pevensies, Eustace and Jill for the last time.
Then, the Magician's Nephew can be a prequel, or re-start of the series, giving a chance to redo the three stories filmed so far, with new children.

EDIT: I have thought about it again, and have written a longer post on page 2.

Great thread! I'll answer from a realistic commercial point of view...

I don't think LB has to be last.

If SC does fantastic box office and is well received...
5. LB
6. MN
7. HHB

Might seem weird. But think about it... LB continues Scrubb and Jill, and is the logical sequel to SC. It doesn't make much sense to follow-up a successful film with something totally detached from it, in terms of story and characters. LB could be a good follow-up, especially if they include Father Time in SC to foreshadow LB. Yes, you would have to explain who Digory and Polly are. But they only have a few lines. Not a big deal, really. AND, you could hint at their past adventures, which would essentially setup the next film, MN, where we learn more about them.

If SC does respectable-but-not-great box office...
5. MN
6/7. HHB
6/7. LB

If SC's box office is just okay, it might be time to switch directions and gets people's attention with a prequel, promising to explain the origin of Narnia and the wardrobe.

If SC bombs...
I dunno, just give the rights to Marvel I guess.

For me, let's do it in the order they were published as they have planned to do.

It honestly doesn't matter to me which order the films come in, but I think I would like The Last Battle to be last. I always thought it would, but glumPuddle's reasoning does make sense.

Unless they emphasize the continuity with the first three films in SC, which is unlikely given Mark Gordon's recent comments, either MN or HHB would seem really random as a sequel.

glumPuddle wrote:Might seem weird. But think about it... LB continues Scrubb and Jill, and is the logical sequel to SC. It doesn't make much sense to follow-up a successful film with something totally detached from it, in terms of story and characters. LB could be a good follow-up, especially if they include Father Time in SC to foreshadow LB. Yes, you would have to explain who Digory and Polly are. But they only have a few lines. Not a big deal, really. AND, you could hint at their past adventures, which would essentially setup the next film, MN, where we learn more about them.

I see how that could work. It would be kind of nice for LB not to be the very last movie. "Oh, how sad that's the end… No wait, there's more!"
What do you think they could do about all the cameos? I always thought that would be so wonderfully bitter-sweet, to see all the characters again right at the end. I suppose it might be possible to include a scene like that at the end of MN, if it was the last movie. MN could show both the beginning and the true end with all the people in Aslan's country.

One downside to doing LB before HHB is that you likely wouldn't have Shasta, Aravis, Hwin, and Bree in the great reunion at the end of LB. Unless LB and HHB were in production simultaneously and those four characters were already cast, but SC would have to be ridiculously successful to justify a double production.

I really think The Horse and His Boy should be the next movie. But seriously, I also think that too much time has passed for that. Fox should have tried to do it after VDT...I get it that there wouldn't be a continuity, but then they were planning to make Magician's Nephew, so why not HHB? People who saw LWW, which went on to become a great hit, feel a sort of connection with the Pevensie children...and they would also have been the right age to play themselves. I think it was an opportunity lost when they could've capitalised on their fame and the pull that they had. I don't think they'd still have the same appeal today, unfortunately.

Hello and welcome to Narniaweb Silly Girl! Yes, part of me is just dying for HHB to be made, but part of me is scared that they would mess it up. I think it could still have great appeal, but rather because it is so different, and not because of the Pevinsies. I don't think we have to be in a hurry for it to be made, though. It will be a while before the Pevinsie actors are too old for HHB.

Thanks Anfinwen

Yes, you're right in that they'd still be the right age to play their characters for some time yet..especially Anna who looks every bit like how Susan was described. But what I'm talking about is the time that has passed since the last movie; it's been 6 years already. I don't see the actors having the same appeal to pull audiences towards them as they had, let's say, at the time of VDT. That said, the movie will attract faithful book and movie fans, but I don't see it being a big hit like LWW or even PC. It might end up being like VDT though.
And quite apart from everything else, I don't see Skandar returning, which is a shame

I think The Last Battle has to be last. it is the finally. it connects everything together. after it's released I can't see audience appeal increasing. as for which one after Silver Chair. I would prefer they were released in published order. with HAHB after silver chair. but switching MN wouldn't change that much. I feel like Magician's Nephew could fit better with The Last Battle though. I do wonder how much of a reboot this will be, will they use the originally kids? I understand Eustice's situation because the actor is too old to play him in SC. but the only books the Pevensie appear after SC, they are pretty much adults in anyways.

Welcome to Narniaweb PrinceRillian90! I agree with you that I would prefer "The Last Battle" to actually be last. I can see how they might do MN after LB, since it is a prequel, but the events of LB would make more sense if the viewers already knew the story of the beginning.

^Also, supposing they might reboot/remake the first three films after making The Last Battle, I really don't like the idea of The Magician's Nephew preceding The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It would be the HarperCollins chronological order fiasco all over again, and that's already caused me enough pain.

I like the idea of SC, then MN, HHB, and LB, since the last three would show the beginning, midpoint, and end of the world of Narnia. The aging of the children who play Eustace and Jill could make that very difficult, though.

So, after the first Talking Beasts podcasts, I've been thinking about this subject again, and have come to several conclusions. Movie order ties into the subject of recasting the Pevinsies. If the Pevinsies are recast, HHB has to come before LB. If SC really is rebooting the series with all new faces, then audiences really need a reminder of who the Pevinsies are, and why they all of a sudden appear in LB when they weren't in any of the other remaining books (except HHB). HHB would be a great way to remind the audience of the backstory of Narnia without remaking LWW. The book even mentions Lucy telling the tale of the wardrobe to the guests at Anvard (this could be expanded a little). The white witch and the long winter are mentioned, and Mr Tumnus is another returning character. If the Pevinsie siblings aren't recast, then this isn't as much of an issue. Enough people will probably be familiar with the backstory. It is still my opinion that HHB should be before LB since it introduces the Calormins, and since I really need to see Aravis and Cor in Aslan's country. I also think it should be next after SC because of the break in the story issue. MN and LB go together. You really can't have the end of Narnia without first having a beginning, or several things in LB will be absolutely meaningless (the garden, Frank and Helen, Digory and Polly, the dying sun). HHB should not separate NM and LB; so, it needs to be after SC.

It is not only Pevensies that are a problem in continuity. What about the Professor? Jim Broadbent, who played a number of roles in other movies, including Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, played him in LWW, but the Professor only appears in a couple of the other books. Would he still be up to playing a sizeable role as the Professor in LB, if and when it is filmed, given the lengthy break between movies so far? He might also be required to revisit his role as the Professor in MN, especially as whoever plays Digory Kirk is playing a character which ends up as The Professor, but, like Tilda Swinton, herself, isn't getting any younger, and if you leave MN too long the character might have to be recast anyway, like it or not.

And then there is Jadis......Part of the nightmarish problems we had with VDT was the way the White Witch kept hanging around like a bad penny, which made sense if the next movie Walden wanted to make was MN. Jadis would be a definite minus in SC and I forget if she is even mentioned in the book. Of course she is essential in MN as is the Professor as a young boy, and MN closes with a brief mention of the Pevensies original discovery of the Wardrobe which the Professor had made from the Narnian apple tree growing in Aunt Letitia's backyard.

But Jadis is only mentioned by the Tisroc in HHB and appears to have been completely forgotten in LB. How long do we need her to keep dangling around, in the series, before her part in it is completely wound up? Unlike LB and HHB, MN is still mentioned on IMDb.