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How do YOU think Netflix will order the Narnia stories?

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Re: How do YOU think Netflix will order the Narnia stories?

Postby mm1991 » Apr 09, 2019 8:20 pm

I would LIKE them to stick to traditional order but I think they WILL go with chronological order. Which is fine too. :D
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Re: How do YOU think Netflix will order the Narnia stories?

Postby narnia fan 7 » Apr 13, 2019 2:35 pm

Being something of a publication order purist, I'd like it if the went that route. But, I'd honestly be surprised if they did. If your going to reboot and start from scratch doing chronological order probably makes the most sense.

My only real problem with doing it in chronologically is I don't like having anything inbetween LWW and PC, on a thematic and story level having them back to back make the most sense. So if it was up to me I'd order it thusly:

MN
LWW
PC
VDT
SC
HHB
LB

The placement of HHB is a little awkward, but where else are you going to put it.
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Re: How do YOU think Netflix will order the Narnia stories?

Postby mm1991 » Apr 13, 2019 4:59 pm

Now that I'm thinking more about it, it's also possible for them to do timeskips, where they keep bouncing back and forth between stories, years/ages, etc. Like technically they COULD start with Last Battle if they really wanted to, constantly cutting back and forth between LB and they other stories, like they are remembering the past. Not sure if I would like that, but it occurred to me that they could do things out of order.
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Re: How do YOU think Netflix will order the Narnia stories?

Postby decarus » Jun 22, 2019 4:43 pm

I don't know how they do chronological order and not ruin LWW. I am, also, a publication order purist and that is the reason why. If they do MN first then we, the audience, know immediately when Edmund meets the white witch, who she is and that she is not to be trusted and so Edmund trusting her and going to her is going to be much harder to pull off.

Also, MN being first ruins the magicalness of the four entering Narnia. We know all of it. We know about the wardrobe. We know about the lamppost. We know about the talking animals. We know that Aslan is a lion and who he is as the creator and the power there. We just know way too much. LWW was meant to be read first. Everything leans on that story and what Aslan did for Edmund. That is the entire game and everything about how that story would be done would have to be changed if they did MN first.

LWW has to be first, in my opinion, and MN is completely and utterly the prequel to LB, so those two have to be the final two. When they have HaHB doesn't matter to me, but those three have an order. LWW is first and MN followed by LB have to be last. That has to be kept as is, in my opinion, or you lose the integrity of the story.

Meaning if they do MN first, then they will have to change LWW in such a way as to make it not the same story.
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Re: How do YOU think Netflix will order the Narnia stories?

Postby Cleander » Jun 22, 2019 7:28 pm

decarus wrote:I don't know how they do chronological order and not ruin LWW. I am, also, a publication order purist and that is the reason why. If they do MN first then we, the audience, know immediately when Edmund meets the white witch, who she is and that she is not to be trusted and so Edmund trusting her and going to her is going to be much harder to pull off.

Also, MN being first ruins the magicalness of the four entering Narnia. We know all of it. We know about the wardrobe. We know about the lamppost. We know about the talking animals. We know that Aslan is a lion and who he is as the creator and the power there. We just know way too much. LWW was meant to be read first. Everything leans on that story and what Aslan did for Edmund. That is the entire game and everything about how that story would be done would have to be changed if they did MN first.


Hm. You're essentially suggesting that they follow Lewis' own train of thought while writing the books and mentally exploring the world he'd created. That's actually really interesting.
Those in favor of the MN first would probably argue that MN would provide a new experience for Narnia viewers, whereas LWW is just the classic story that everyone knows. However, the fact that the Walden movies introduced a lot of people to the books seems to suggest that this isn't necessarily true...
There, I'm done arguing with myself. 8-| My desire to see new Narnia content (not to mention the epic Charn battle) is pitted against what I want the series to do for people who haven't seen/read Narnia before. I'm still trying to decide here, but you gave some good arguments!
That said, I highly suspect that they'll do chronological, just based on Gresham's comments early this year.
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Re: How do YOU think Netflix will order the Narnia stories?

Postby decarus » Jun 22, 2019 9:22 pm

Yeah, i am arguing that we follow Lewis' line of thought. They will have to change everything about how LWW feels if they do MN first. I think they probably will do it first too, but the cost of that is completely changing everything about how the four main children of the story interact with the world because the audience will already know way too much. They will probably have to have the white witch as a point of view character and once you go there, how does Aslan's death scene work, does the white witch become the big bad of the series, do the kids become secondary to that. It just changes really big and important things about the series, especially about the hopeful, wonder of visiting Narnia.

I, also, think they will probably do it. Though the movies were 15 years ago, so I don't think that is why anyone knows these stories. At least that shouldn't be why they make this decision.
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Re: How do YOU think Netflix will order the Narnia stories?

Postby Phill Lytle » Aug 27, 2019 7:40 am

I always recommend people read the books in the original published order. The best introduction to the world of Narnia is through LWW. Aslan has to be a mystery to the reader. The story works because of that mystery and sense of wonder. If you introduce readers through MN first, that mystery is lost.

Having said that, at this point, most people who would be watching this series from Netflix will know the basic premise on some level - particularly LWW. That story is head and shoulders more popular than any of the others. I would not be opposed to starting the series with MN since it is much less known and would be a fantastic way to establish the world of Narnia for a new audience.

I know...I'm basically arguing both sides. Oh well. :)
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Re: How do YOU think Netflix will order the Narnia stories?

Postby Courtenay » Oct 24, 2019 3:59 am

Interesting question — I must admit I'm yet another one who can argue both sides! When it comes to reading the books, I'm a big fan of publication order, or at least reading LWW first. Even apart from the fact that there are a lot of plot elements that work better in LWW if you haven't read MN, LWW is the most famous of all the Narnia stories (it's the one just about everyone can name, even if they haven't read any of the books or seen any of the films) and that in itself would make it an obvious choice for Netflix to start with.

However, there's the fact that although the Walden film was released nearly 15 years ago (gosh, that long already?? :-o ), it was very popular and gets replayed quite regularly on TV (especially over Christmas/New Year) and is still well known. So Netflix will be up against the we've-seen-all-this-before factor. Whenever they get to it, they're going to have to make LWW feel fresh enough and different enough from the Walden version that fans of that will still be eager to watch it and will be likely to enjoy it.

(I'm not a great fan of the Walden film myself — I thought it was very well done as a film, but somehow missed a lot of the spirit of the original book — so I'm looking forward to a new adaptation. But there are plenty of people who love that film and winning them over with a new version may be a tough job!)

That's why, although normally I'd argue for LWW to come first, I can also see a lot of good sense in starting with MN. This is one of the Chronicles that has never been adapted for the screen in any form, so for those who haven't read the books, it is a totally new story. Plenty of people are now at least somewhat familiar with LWW, but I would guess far fewer know anything about Narnia's own "origin story". So it could be a way of sparking the audience's enthusiasm for this new version of Narnia. As I said, I can see both sides here and if I were the director of this new Netflix project, I'm not quite sure which tack I'd take! :D But I guess it's all speculation until we hear more from the producers themselves...
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Re: How do YOU think Netflix will order the Narnia stories?

Postby JFG II » Nov 09, 2019 1:37 pm

New idea: Netflix releases their first Narnia adaptation with LWW as a 3 hour-30 minute-long miniseries. Then release an 8-hour-long Season 1 with HHB & PC, a 9-hour-long Season 2 with VDT & SC, and then a 7-hour-long Season 3 with MN & LB. Those pairs of books do go great together.

LWW is strong enough to stand on its own. It also needs to be seen first. PC & VDT need to be spaced at least a year apart from each other. SC takes place mere weeks after the latter. MN works as a great beginning to the final Season. HHB and LB bookend the Narnia Season story with Calormen conflicts.

If Netflix had no intention of making Narnia movies shown in theaters worldwide, they could just make double-season after double-season, year after year for the next 5 years. So...

‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ (2021)

NARNIA: Season 1 (2022)
‘The Horse and His Boy’ &
‘Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia’

NARNIA: Season 2 (2023)
‘The Voyage of the Dawn Treader’
& ‘The Silver Chair’

NARNIA: Season 3 (2024)
‘The Magician’s Nephew’ & ‘The Last Battle’
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Re: How do YOU think Netflix will order the Narnia stories?

Postby SilverSea » Nov 25, 2019 6:38 pm

What about Season 1 being The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and The Horse and His Boy, then following publication order? That way we can get the novelty of something that hasn't adapted to screen before as well as seeing how wonderful Pevensies reign was before it goes to ruin in Prince Caspian in Season 2.
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Re: How do YOU think Netflix will order the Narnia stories?

Postby Glenwit » Dec 14, 2019 3:10 pm

For me this is a little bit tricky....

I did a bit of number crunching, and this will be the fifth onscreen adaptation of LWW, third of PC and VDT, second of SC and will mark the first time HHB, MN and LB have ever been adapted for the screen.

This series needs to be able to stand out on its own right out of the gate, and an easy way to do that will be to start with the Magician's Nephew, as something that's never been done before. If MN can be adapted really well, people will stick around, wondering how they'll do LWW.

On the other hand, so much of the magic of the series does come from reading the novels in the order that Lewis wrote them. Such as Aslan's introduction in LWW - we were introduced to Aslan at the same time as the Pevensies, and their first meeting took place through the kids' eyes. Which truly feels more special to me than the quick intro he got in MN where Lewis assumed the reader already knew who Aslan was, even if it was a prequel.

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Re: How do YOU think Netflix will order the Narnia stories?

Postby icarus » Jan 04, 2020 8:35 am

I would be utterly astounded if Netflix didn't start with LWW.

Sure, the Chronicles of Narnia have name recognition, but LWW is an absolute classic of children's literature and possibly one of the most famous children's books of all time.

They will want to come out of the blocks strongly, and therefore you don't leave your star player on the bench.
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Re: How do YOU think Netflix will order the Narnia stories?

Postby Impending Doom » Jan 12, 2020 2:39 pm

icarus wrote:I would be utterly astounded if Netflix didn't start with LWW.

Sure, the Chronicles of Narnia have name recognition, but LWW is an absolute classic of children's literature and possibly one of the most famous children's books of all time.

They will want to come out of the blocks strongly, and therefore you don't leave your star player on the bench.


I would argue that starting with MN would better serve Netflix's universe in the long run though.

That way when LWW comes around (along with peak casual interest) there is already a series or movie in the back catalogue. It gives mainstream audiences with a brand new story with some recognizable characters and elements to hopefully engage them. But it'll show that Narnia isn't just about the Pevensie children (a problem Disney/Walden faced) and therefore provides a smoother transition for future books.

The world of Narnia needs to be enchanting enough to the point where it's as much a character as Aslan, Puddleglum, and Lucy - maybe even more. Aldrich and Netflix will need to be very intentional about this.

I think there'll be a higher chance of that happening with having MN released before you handcuff yourself to following LWW directly with PC - well regarded as the least liked and uncinematic in the series.

Also, in terms of sales, MN is the second best-selling book in the series.
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Re: How do YOU think Netflix will order the Narnia stories?

Postby Rogin » Jan 13, 2020 11:19 am

The Magician's Nephew
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

Prince Caspian
The Voyage of The Dawn Treader

The Silver Chair
The Last Battle

The Horse and His Boy
Untitled Narnia Series

Not sure in what format they'll release them but I do think they'll have HHB last. It's a natural way to introduce more Narnia spinoffs with basically an official Narnia spinoff!

I'm more open to Narnia spinoffs than I assume most would be here on NarniaWeb. But I'd only accept them if all 7 books have been adapted and Netflix has proven themselves trustworthy.
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Re: How do YOU think Netflix will order the Narnia stories?

Postby decarus » Jan 16, 2020 4:16 pm

I agree. LWW is the big story of the series. To leave it behind, hoping that MN will get people watching seems like a big mistake to me. The four kids becoming Kings and Queen's of Narnia, meeting Aslan for the first time, his death and resurrection, really just all of it. It is the game.

And the more i think about it the more the idea that they should really interweave MN and LB together in some way, where we could see the young Digory Kirke and then later realize he is the professor.

I just think about them introducing the professor in the first show then, maybe even having him discuss that the wardrobe was made out of an old apple tree that he planted then by the sixth we are seeing a young Digory. Most people wouldn't even make the connection. Then bam have him be at the door in the LB and have him be old and then turn young again and join the skirmish at the door. I just think they could do something really exciting there where you see the big story and get a lot of connection if you went back and forth between the two worlds.

I actually think HaHB is the most difficult to integrate without changing it a lot because it being kids not from our world. They could move the return through the wardrobe to the end of the second season after HaHB, but i am still not sure how that works.
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Re: How do YOU think Netflix will order the Narnia stories?

Postby Impending Doom » Jan 18, 2020 11:23 am

decarus wrote:I agree. LWW is the big story of the series. To leave it behind, hoping that MN will get people watching seems like a big mistake to me.


They wouldn't be leaving it behind though. Just not making it first. Netflix needs to be confident enough in the series to film MN first. BBC and Walden both failed to get the entire series made starting with LWW. Why repeat the same mistake over again?

MN has iconic moments. The destruction of Charn, visiting the Wood Between the Worlds, witnessing the creation of Narnia, and Fledge carrying the children to the Garden. I get chills thinking about the potential of a live-action version of MN.
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