Speaking exclsuively to SFX for a feature in an upcoming issue, Apted reveals, “We were able to steal, really, from the book CS Lewis didn’t write, which is the one that would have gone between The Dawn Treader and The Silver Chair. He starts The Silver Chair with the witches building up an army underground to attack the above world, and Caspian, having married The Blue Star of [Ramandu] is an old man with a son, and he married the Blue Star of Ramandu. In other words, a lot of things had happened between the books. So there were elements that we were able to draw out of that non-existent story and inject into this story to give it a bit more sense of purpose. And the CS Lewis estate didn’t seem to mind that, because there is a big hole in the story if you’re going to be literal about it. Whereas Star Wars and Harry Potter are a bit more attentive to that flowing stream of franchise narrative, Mr Lewis wasn’t so keen on it. But it enabled us to find a stronger reason for the journey, since there is no real reason for the journey as it stands.”
Interestingly, Lewis did leave a lot of holes that can be used to fill in the missing pieces of the story. You can read the rest of the interview in an upcoming issue of SFX Magazine!
My personal thoughts: When he talks about the “witches building an army,” I have a feeling that might be a case of differing grammar in the U.K., or just a typo based on a spoken interview. Perhaps he meant “witch is building an army.” Also, there is really not much of a reason for the journey in the book… they just go. It’s a time of peace in the book, and Caspian is going to find the seven lost lords, sure, but other than that, it’s not much motivation, to me. It’s not like we, as an audience, are so endeared to the seven lost lords to be so inclined to wish for their return in the story, as the book gives no backstory to them. But that’s just my opinion. What do you think?