NarniaWeb Community Forums

A little birdie has informed me that Will Poulter playing Eustace in The Silver Chair may not be a done deal anymore.

Apparently he's gone through a rather major growth spurt. GlimGlum mentioned that he (GG) is 6'1" and when he saw Will in LA, Will was nearly as tall as he was. And if you take a look at this magazine picture provided by PeaceandLove, you can see that Will is a good deal taller than Skandar!

I believe that this has lead to some concern with Will returning as Eustace in SC. And if they do end up recasting Eustace, I guess there's no real reason to do SC next.

But in my humble opinion, if this rumor is true, I sure hope that they change their minds and keep Will as Eustace.

First of all, the Harry Potter series has not suffered much from Daniel Radcliff looking like a 25-year-old.
Second, from what I hear, Eustace and Reep carry this movie and I think it'd be a huge blow to the series if the primary character that carries over is recast.
Third, Jill is described as small, and what better way to contrast that than having a really tall Eustace.
Fourth, I don't really care if Eustace is too tall in SC and I want Will back.

However, I do have to admit that I have some concerns with Will playing Eustace in the Last Battle. Not height per say, but age. I guess that the book is dark enough that maybe little kids won't be brought to the movie and the audience will need to "grow up" with the characters kind of like the Harry Potter series.... But on the other hand, Lewis did write these books for children, and it might be hard to market it to younger kids if the characters are in their late teens/early 20s.

Thoughts?

I think they ought to just cast a taller Jill. I mean, go with someone who's like 5'7" or 5'8". Then they'd have a perfect height difference.

I hope he comes back. From what I've seen, he does a really great job.

Let me put this as nicely as I can... If they recast Eustace, the series is doomed...

Changing a voice role is one thing, but a live action character is another, and Eustace is one of the lead characters, it would be much safer for them to keep Will Poulter for this reason. For one thing the movie has yet to even be released, and he has already acuired quite a following. Secondly need I remind you that VDT was almost never made... the series will still be on shakey ground, even if it does do well... recasting the lead role would discourage most people from seeing SC, and ultimately would be the fatal blow to the series.

In this senario, I would be okay with them deviating from the book, simply because it's unavoidable... all they have to do is say that an extra year or two went by before they came back, or better yet not mention it at all. Look at how much older Ben and Georigie look... and none of us are complaining, certanly not many others are complaining. We all know there are some things you can't help, and I'm sure the majority of us agrees, they had better keep Will Poulter!

If they can make regular guys into hobbit and it looks real I think they could solve a few inches without recasting the main character which would really bother just about every Narnia fan. Besides they could just have Jill as a 16 year old.

I can't see them recasting such a major role for something as trivial and largely unimportant as his height, especially as its something that can very easily be accounted for in filming - just watch any Tom Cruise movie ever made.

It seems even more unlikely given that by all accounts Will Poulter completely steals the show with his performance in VDT. We've also heard Douglas Gresham cite Will Poulter's performance as being one of the main reasons for wanting to do Silver Chair next, so i don't think there is anything to worry about there either. If anything, they may struggle to keep hold of him, because, with all due respect to the other child actors in the Narnia series so far, Will Poulter is a genuinely exceptional talent who will undoubtedly go on to become a big name actor in the coming years, and is going to be in big demand.

He is not quite 6'0" yet but it looks like he is getting there fast. He really does want to play Eustace again in The Silver Chair and I hope he gets to.

I think if they can make adjustments for shorter actors in movies, they should be able to do the same with taller ones. It would be great if Will could do the role till the end of the series.

Aw. I can see the reasoning, but that would just stink. Please don't re-cast!

If I remember correctly, didn't Skandar have a similar growth-spurt in between PC and VDT? Yet they utilized Edmund's height to make him seem more grown up and give his character a unique arc. I can see them doing something like that with Eustace.

um, since when has height or being older ever stopped these movies being made?
just look at the Pevensies:






and not to mention that Caspian was cast as way older than he was in the book!



I hope this is not true! they have to keep Will!

fantasia_kitty wrote:A little birdie has informed me that Will Poulter playing Eustace in The Silver Chair may not be a done deal anymore.

Apparently he's gone through a rather major growth spurt. GlimGlum mentioned that he (GG) is 6'1" and when he saw Will in LA, Will was nearly as tall as he was. And if you take a look at this magazine picture provided by PeaceandLove, you can see that Will is a good deal taller than Skandar!

I believe that this has lead to some concern with Will returning as Eustace in SC. And if they do end up recasting Eustace, I guess there's no real reason to do SC next.

But in my humble opinion, if this rumor is true, I sure hope that they change their minds and keep Will as Eustace.

First of all, the Harry Potter series has not suffered much from Daniel Radcliff looking like a 25-year-old.
Second, from what I hear, Eustace and Reep carry this movie and I think it'd be a huge blow to the series if the primary character that carries over is recast.
Third, Jill is described as small, and what better way to contrast that than having a really tall Eustace.
Fourth, I don't really care if Eustace is too tall in SC and I want Will back.

However, I do have to admit that I have some concerns with Will playing Eustace in the Last Battle. Not height per say, but age. I guess that the book is dark enough that maybe little kids won't be brought to the movie and the audience will need to "grow up" with the characters kind of like the Harry Potter series.... But on the other hand, Lewis did write these books for children, and it might be hard to market it to younger kids if the characters are in their late teens/early 20s.

Thoughts?

They'd alienate a bunch of people who will see VDT if they did a recast. He appears to act well from the little I've seen from the trailers and interviews well too, has similar quality (as with Skandar and Georgie). I agree, cast a taller / Jill of comparable height/acting ability, she's out there somewhere. Or get her an apple box to stand on.

Having seen the film, all I can say is...Will Poulter IS Eustace. There's really not any way else to put it. I've been a huge fan of his from the moment he was cast, and I still am today, having seen the movie. He "gets" the character and acts so amazingly. He is one of the real gems that Walden Media has found in it's quest to make the Narnian films, and it would be a real shame to let him go just because he happened to grow.

I think it's pretty much a done deal that SC will be given significant plot changes if it makes it to film, so I don't see why they can't change it to accommodate Will's new age and height. It's simple, really. Flash the story forward a few years so that Eustace is about the same age Peter or Edmund is in the PC film. And done! He's not so tall or old looking that they couldn't pull it off.

Seriously though, recasting Will would be like recasting Georgie or Skandar. You just don't mess with casting perfection when you find it.

No matter what the producers might be thinking at the moment, I'm sure that once the film comes out and they realize just how much Will WORKS as Eustace, they will be able to find a way to make it work.

One last thing...who says that Jill has to be cast tall anyway? No one said that cast members have to be of relative height to each other. I think Jill will be cast around 14-15, and most girls of that age are about 5'2 - 5'3. She'll look a petite alongside Will but that's okay; petite is cute and could actually fit Jill's character very well, since she always struck me as the small, feisty one, lol. No need to make her gigantically tall just so she's the same height as Will.

I think it would be a fantastically foolish idea to recast Eustace. I mean, the whole idea you get when you watch VDT, seeing the Pevensies leave Narnia for the last time, and getting to know Eustace as the franchise's new hero... then in SC, suddenly to see some stranger with his name, when you've only just gotten to know the character? The Narnia franchise is already... well, not as popular or respected as other franchises. A risk like that is big enough to have endangered one of the more popular franchises (such as Twilight or Harry Potter) had they attempted it. And the Narnia filmmakers should take less risks than most franchise directors, not more. They are still trying to recover from the bad publicity PC got, after all.
Plus there's no need to recast. Eustace is supposed to be older in SC, so why shouldn't he be taller? Skandar was taller in PC than he was in LWW. I don't quite see the point...

Does anyone know how accurate this rumor is?


Oh, and as for LB, if they want it to appeal to a younger audience as well, they can always add in a Narnian child or two. They did it with VDT. It's probably why they put Gael into the story at all, seeing as the Pevensies are teens instead of children. Maybe they thought it needed a child element. I'm sure that'll work with LB as well.



~Riella

As I said before if they don't keep him then Narnia will be a done deal.
It would be like recasting Lucy, the worst possible idea ansd it would seal the fate of the franchise.
I don't see why him being 6 foot is a problem... my freind was easily 6 foot when he was Eustace's age in VDT and SC... he can just be tall, not everyone is average hieght afterall.

I'm very much agreed with everyone here. It was going to be quite a chore to get audiences out to a movie with no Pevensies in it- unless they fall in love with Eustace. I haven't the shadow of a doubt that the audience will fall in love with Eustace. If they get rid of Will Poulter, it will be the same as commiting franchise-suicide.

Gymfan15 wrote:One last thing...who says that Jill has to be cast tall anyway? No one said that cast members have to be of relative height to each other. I think Jill will be cast around 14-15, and most girls of that age are about 5'2 - 5'3. She'll look a petite alongside Will but that's okay; petite is cute and could actually fit Jill's character very well, since she always struck me as the small, feisty one, lol. No need to make her gigantically tall just so she's the same height as Will.

Good point Gymfan15! As long as she's a good actress that'd be fine by me. I'm petite.

May I inquire FK, just who your little birdy is, or how reliable they are?