A few months ago, I posted an article about the reading order of the Narnia books. C.S. Lewis scholar Dr. Devin Brown has written an article that speaks to that same discussion, and also applies it to the film series. This is especially poignant since Walden Media has made a decision to film The Magician’s Nephew next. Some have merely slammed the idea, but what would C.S. Lewis have thought? Read the full article at Christianity Today.
I especially liked this part of the article: Correspondingly, The Magician’s Nephew needs to be read later, only after we have encountered the magical wardrobe, the mysterious lamp-post, the evil Witch, and the oddly sympathetic Professor. After The Magician’s Nephew gives us the story of their origins, we can say with satisfaction and delight, “So that’s where they came from!”
So what? For The Magician’s Nephew to resonate the way Lewis intended, its audience must have the elements from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe still firmly in mind.
Walden’s film adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe released in December 2005; The Magician’s Nephew is tentatively slated for December 2013. That’s an 8-year gap. How long can cinematic memory be expected to last? Had Walden kept The Magician Nephew as sixth in the series and released it sometime around 2018, there would have been a 13-year gap—and a whole new generation of theatergoers would see it without having seen The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in the theater.
That is why it can be argued that Lewis would agree with Walden’s decision to make The Magician’s Nephew next. The audience needs to still strongly remember Wardrobe for Nephew to work best.
I completely agree! Wow, looking at those numbers really puts it into perspective…it’s going to be a long time before all the books are made into movies (unless our April Fools’ joke of all four movies being greenlit at once becomes true, haha)!
LOL!!!
one a year if it was stll disney’s original plan, and the kids would have stayed younger,
2018!!! *Gasp* That’s a long time away! 🙁
Nooooo! 2018???? Are they serious, i thought it would maybe be out around this christmas!!! ( I am going to cry…waaaa!)
I personally think it’s a little silly to think people are going to “forget” about the lamp-post, Aslan, Narnia itself, and the Witch. And the people who would forget are not the people I want them catering to anyway. Those would be the people who aren’t really invested in the stories.
Regardless, Micheal Flahery has already admitted that the decision to make MN next is 100% commercially motivated. SC is clearly the logical next chapter in the story, but I don’t think Walden is as concerned with telling the story right as they are about other things.
it’s commercial ESSENTIAL, glumbummer.
and a commercial necessity, to save the series. it’s not like they are going gangbusters financially like the first one. they are trying to survive. you seem so suspicious of their motives, like they trying to pull fast one. they just have to get real about the future of the series surviving, hence going with the more popular book.
I agree completely with you, glumPuddle!
~ReepicheepFan
weelll I definetaly not agree with you ‘glumPuddle’ no.
except, narnia fans, others dont care about it so much like we do. new movies -diffent kinda stuff– the gap is too long
Before VDT came out, the plan was to make SC next. No fans were saying “Oh no! This is wrong, they have to make MN next or people will forget.” On the contrary, fans were overwhelmingly supportive of making SC next.
Why should Walden cater to the audiences who clearly aren’t invested in the stories in the first place? Seriously, apathetic about the series do you have to be to forget about Aslan, the witch, and Narnia itself?
Before VDT came out, they were planning to do SC next, that is true. They are in a tight spot, however, and with the economy being what it is, as well as the numbers, they feel the best bet is to do MN. I don’t fault them for acting with their best interests in mind. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Business decisions don’t always make the most sense from the outside, but they are protecting their investment.
I am not saying it is a bad business decision. My issue is that Dr. Brown is trying to say Lewis would have wanted it for story-telling reasons. Because apparently people who saw “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” would forget that it has a lion, a witch, and a wardrobe in it.
My question: When the filmmakers were saying they wanted to make SC next, why didn’t Dr. Brown say “This is not a good decision; Lewis would want MN made next”? This whole issue of people forgetting was not raised until AFTER Walden made the decision.
I have a certain amount of respect for Micheal Flaherty for not trying to make it sound like they are motivated by story-telling. Flaherty was honest enough to admit that it’s all about money.
Honestly, I don’t think the perspective with which you’re looking at the article is a bit different from the perspective with which he wrote it.
He never wrote the article prior, because we all thought that Silver Chair would be next. I believe the article was written as a coping mechanism, to help people to understand what Lewis might have said about the decision that was made to film Magician’s Nephew next, now that it had been made. Not necessarily that he would have definitively wanted it that way, and would have requested that order, mind you. Rather that this might have been some justification for it, especially considering that he is correct about the Magician’s Nephew becoming a next generation thing if it did release in 2018. The kids who would have been about 6, seeing LWW in theaters would then be 19. I’m pretty sure that I don’t remember much of the movies I saw at 6 years old and haven’t seen again since (The Great Mouse Detective, I believe, I somehow remember a scene from that movie).
Honestly, I really think this was a creative exercise that was also written as one possible positive thought about it. That perhaps this is a good thing, for those audiences that ARE quick to forget. Sure, those aren’t your ideal audiences, I know that you’d prefer they direct the films at the audience that remembers. But again, while this time there will be one entire audience of six and seven year olds that never saw LWW in theaters, there’d be a second generation on top of that as well, if we waited another six or seven years.
glum.. you are getting bitter and twisted 🙂 they are just trying to keep the series afloat!
Now that is a great reason, I never considered that!
The best thing to do would be to film both MN and SC at the same time, so eustace doesn’t get too old. Then release SC one year after MN, that would work great. Although I highly doubt that will happen 🙁
I’m REALLY excited about the Magician’s Nephew, I just wish it came out sooner!!!!! It’s such a bummer that it’s taking such a long time for them to produce all these movies! 🙁 I also don’t know how they’re gunna get around the fact that Will Poulter is gunna be considerably older by the time they make he silver chair…
If they had gone ahead and made SC next, does anyone really think Brown would be saying “This is wrong! Lewis would have wanted MN next!” Of course not. He’s only saying that because the decision to make MN has already been made, and for some reason he wants to justify Walden’s 100% commercially driven decision.
I agree with you on that, C.S. Lewis maybe didn’t even want these to be films, maybe? If you think about, it makes sense.
C.S. Lewis would really care what went next.
Just because it’s a commercial decision doesn’t mean that they have terrible motivations! They’re trying to keep the series afloat. The money coming in from each movie has gotten smaller with each release, and it’s a logical business decision to chose a movie which might reawaken interest in the franchise.
Yes, that’s because they want more money. But I’m glad that they’ve made this decision, because I want to see more movies. They NEED to make a good profit if they’re going to keep making the movies, so they’ve made a decision which will help them make the goal. Sure, it’s commercial, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad.
No thank you. I would like the magicians nephew to be the next film!!!!!
Who here agrees??!!
I agree!!! The siver Chair is an amazing story, (if not just a t-aaaaaa-d slow at times) but like I said eariler, I want to experinece the BEGINNING of Narnia… And now everything can make sense to my little brothers and sisters. (they might not read the books, but they WILL watch a movie!)
Really guys. When is the perfect time to make MN? There is no perfect place to do MN. The same thing with HHB. Those 2 books can be read any time before the Last Battle. They’re not connected to the Pevensie/Eustace storyline that runs through 5 of the books. Why should we be so mad that the Silver Chair isn’t next. You guys would all react the same way if MN was released after SC and before LB. And with the franchise in jeporady, MN is the most likley to rekindle the excitment for Narnia and get enough money to continue the rest of the films.
For those who think people would forget LWW, Walden could maybe work with Disney to rerelease the film in theatres in 3D like Disney did with Toy Story 1-2 before 3. Also making a new edition of the film for home video will also stir more interest.
agree, agree, AGREE with you 100% puddlecheep!!! thanks for being rational. I think it was probably the smartest thing they could have done to attract new fans, not to mention redeem the ones they’re about to lose. I for one would love to finally witness the beginning of Narnia on the big screen. I know a lot of you guys, (mostly you, ‘fred packsford revived’/glumpuddle!)will probably think I’m crazy, but this will be a first time for me to start Narnia off on the right foot. My history? Well, my first Narnian experience was watching prince Caspian, then,(finally!) watching the Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe, and THEN reading the books. The Magician’s Nephew was always special to me becuase for once, everything I’d never understood in the movies, (even the Lamp post, for crying out loud!!!) at last had a precious meaning to me. Every little detail was music to my ears, and food for my soul.(OK, I’m getting carried away, but hang in there)
And now, the producers are giving others like me that same beautiful experience of truly UNDERSTANDING Narnia… letting them meet Aslan for themselves, face to face, for the very first, (but never the last) time.
–Go get em’ Walden Media!
The only possible issue with The Magician’s Nephew being next is that Will Poulter may age too much before the filming of Silver Chair, which I assume is the logical fifth choice if Magician’s Nephew proves popular. However, Silver Chair is a moot point if Fox doesn’t believe that it is commercially viable, and it sounds like they need/want Magician’s Nephew to rejuvinate the franchise before committing to Silver Chair. So it seems like a reasonable compromise; the alternative, I think, would be Fox dumping the series, and realistically if that happens, a third studio would not be inclined to pick up the sloppy seconds of TWO previous studios.
Remember they tried very hard to connect VDT’s marketing to that of LWW (see the prominent placement of Tilda Swinton on the poster and DVD despite the brief nature of her appearance in the film.) Magician’s Nephew will be able to connect stroywise to LWW (their sole big hit) in ways that VDT or SC would have to stretch — although given that Disney owns the rightss to LWW, they won’t be able to use that directly in marketing, either.
Wow, they REALLY are only making Magician’s Nephew next because they can’t get over the White Witch. They keep putting her in every movie. I hate to say it, but…she died! Ya, she did a great job as the witch, but stop bringing her back! 😮
Did anyone else notice how they didn’t even have Caspian on the cover of VDT? They had the White Witch on there, but not Caspian, I think Caspian played a more major role than she did!
~ReepicheepFan
I forgot to say, it’s only logical to film SC next. They have the stage set and everything! Mentioning Jill Pole, all that green stuff eluding to the Green Lady. I’m trying to see their logic behind it, but like I said, it all has to do with them not being able to get over the White Witch! 😛
~ReepicheepFan
I can see why you think that…
Hmm…I guess it will be right to make Magician’s Nephew next. I just hope it will make enough money in order to keep the series going. So then Silver Chair would be after that. I’m pretty worried about The Horse and His Boy because it wouldn’t be as interesting to the movie audience. I’m sure The Last Battle would be epic except Susan’s story wouldn’t be finished. But it sure would be a really big cliffhanger at the end of the movie. Or unless someone who really understands C.S. Lewis’s writing can make her ending, up which I highly doubt.
First of all, I’m thrilled to hear that they’re continuing to make these movies. When I read the books I read them in the book order, which made Magician’s Nephew first. So, quite honestly, I’ve been waiting to see that one made from the beginning. To hear that it’s planned for the next release sounds great to me – keep up the good work! They’ve all been wonderful entertainment so far.
I just watch VDT and thought they did a nice job, even with the added details of the green mist, and bringing back the White Witch again. I was thinking that the children would be the right ages to start making the films in which they are all adults – The Horse and His Boy, and The Last Battle. I am glad they are doing The Magician’s Nephew too. Perhaps it will all time out correctly, to do TMN, The Silver Chair, and then the other two – the children will all be grown up for their parts, and all the characters will have been established! I just hope they continue to make the whole series!