I wouldn't call it a rumour exactly. I've some respect for the Guardian, a proper London newspaper which is often quoted by our own newspapers, whether they disagree or agree with its content. That is why I posted where I did, and also in the spy reports.
I was also startled to find that the only thread I ever posted on
IMDB Silver chair should have been answered in such a fashion.
The article is called
Death of the film trilogy, posted by David Parkinson, in a blog associated with Guardian.co.uk. If you Google Silver chair narnia you will find it readily enough. The article starts out by querying why we need a fourth
Pirates of the Caribbean episode and goes on to slam endless sequels that are in the works for the following years. The
Silver Chair and
Horse and his Boy references are in the last paragraph.
Some of the finest directors have produced masterful triptychs. But do we really need a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean? Mr Parkinson said. He thinks that some of these trilogies should quit whilst they are ahead, and mentioned several trilogies, then praised Walden/Fox for cutting back from 7 to 5 movies.
But I do agree with you,
Ithilwen, that this information should be debated, and this is the right place to do it. Here are my reasons for sharing with you a degree of skepticism:
1. It was supplied in a blog rather than as headline news, or even page umpteen news. I'd expect better of the Guardian.co.uk if it were true.
2. As a blog it is an opinion piece, rather than factual information. Where did Mr Parkinson get the idea that it would be SC and HHB that would be the ones deleted? Why is he so certain, by default, that the 5th Narnia film would be LB? Yes, I do think someone somewhere said something about not all of the movies would be done. But why LB, and not SC or HHB?
3. In support of his viewpoint, Mr Parkinson didn't mention other trilogies that did well. For example, there are the LOTR movies. There are also the
Ice Age trilogies, the last one of which, released in 2009, did the best of them all. Somehow or other this information piece does sound like opinion, prejudice and assumption rather than fact.
4. I am rather intrigued that the
Chronicles of Narnia as a series crops up at all. It almost seems as if Chronicles of Narnia is something every film journalist wants to quote if they want their opinion to be taken notice of, whatever that means for the films. David Parkinson could have mentioned
the Hobbit, which will be parts 4 and 5 of LOTR, though
the Hobbit is really a prequel. I am also not sure that there aren't other series that went well beyond a fourth or fifth screening quite successfully.
All the same, I'd like some proof either way, myself. And I do hope the news gatherers on NarniaWeb will find out what is really going on.