Silver Chair or Magician’s Nephew – No Decisions are Yet Final

May 24, 2011 Paul Martin The Magician's Nephew Movie News, The Silver Chair Movie News 227

There has been a lot of discussion over the decision to make the next film out of either The Silver Chair or The Magician’s Nephew. While Silver Chair is the next logical film in the series, Magician’s Nephew ties in pretty well to the first film in the series thus far: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Some have said that it was a pure business decision, and as it turns out, this isn’t true.  Last week saw the release of a podcast called Inside Out.  They interviewed Walden Media’s Micheal Flaherty about Narnia and more, and the discussion turned toward the dark nature of Prince Caspian as both a novel and a film.

Micheal Flaherty: “Yeah, and this is the paradox when you want to do faithful adaptations. That book is a dark war kind of novel. And we actually pulled back a little. In one scene, Peter beheads a couple of people. At the end they run into some Greek gods who give everybody wine and they get drunk. So it’s amazing because I think a lot of us, in our minds, have this perfect image of these Narnia books because we grew up with them. But there are some elements in there that are a little tough, and Caspian is the darkest, and Silver Chair is pretty dark too, physically and tonally. A lot of it takes place underground. That’s why, for the next one, we’re really hoping to go in the direction of The Magician’s Nephew.”

Flaherty goes on to talk about something he’s mentioned before.  The film ticket sales very closely mirror the book sales for the Chronicles of Narnia.  It’s another factor that I am sure goes into the decision to do Magician’s Nephew next.

Micheal Flaherty: “Yes – and pretty close – sort of nipping at the heels of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It’s amazing and it’s a great origin story. And I like the way that [Narnia author C.S.] Lewis did it and that’s what we’re trying to do with our film, which is: you actually start in the middle of the story.  So then when you tell the origin it’s much more interesting. You can say to yourself “that’s where the lamp-post came from!”

But that’s not all.  It seems that we’re bound to get another Narnia film, but the biggest question is still which way to go next.  We know that Walden Media wants to move forward with The Magician’s Nephew, and now we know why.  We also know that negotiations are also ongoing with both 20th Century Fox and the C.S. Lewis Estate.  He is asked if they have a script yet for The Magician’s Nephew, and responds:

Micheal Flaherty: “No, we don’t. We’re still in our conversations right now with 20th Century Fox, and the C.S. Lewis Estate who own the rights to all the books. So, we’re all trying to come to an agreement about which film to do next and how to film it. So, we’re waiting to see where that goes.”

So, we continue to wait, patiently or impatiently, until more information is available.  Now we know that nothing has been greenlit yet, and that discussions are still ongoing.  We know the direction that Walden Media wants to take and why, and we’re not sure of who wants The Silver Chair to be next: Fox or the Estate (and let’s not guess).  We did run a poll a while back that put Silver Chair far ahead of Magician’s Nephew, according to what fans would like to see.

The Silver Chair – 75%, 2,796 Votes
The Magician’s Nephew – 25%, 923 Votes

These results show that it wasn’t a landslide in favor of The Silver Chair, but it was extremely on that side. I’ve just created a new poll, though, that I think is a bit more fair.  Now that we know the reasons that Walden Media has to do Magician’s Nephew, and we know why we’d love to see Silver Chair.  There are three options instead of just the two.

The Silver Chair or The Magician's Nephew, which next?

View Results

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–Listen to the Inside Out Podcast

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80 Comments

  1. If they do MN they NEED a narrative. I thought they could use Digory to do it. He would say something like:
    “This is the story of how Narnia came to be, before the Pevensie’s ever went to Narnia. Actually, this is the story of how Narnia was created”.
    You know, something like that would really help people understand the movie better. I even have an idea for the end of the film.
    They could show him planting the apple seeds, then show the tree full grown years later(The camera never changes, you only see the tree suddenly appear with an older Digory beside it). Then shwo a storm blowing it around, then show Digory cutting it up because it fell over. Then the scene would switch to the door on the wardrobe, with the trees picture on it, zooming out to show the entire wardrobe(Maybe they could even make the tree look EXACTLY like the tree on the wardrobe?).

    • Oh and another diea. You know how Aslan sings Narnia into existence, that would be very ackward to see Aslan singing:|
      So, I think they should show the sun come up over the horizon with aslan’s profile i front of it. Then he should roar and a wave of light spreads across the landscape. Then things can start coming out of the ground as he’s walking toward them. Like it?

      • Good idea, but some music or vocals like the one in LWW when they get on the train should be there. That would be great 🙂

          • Oh, yeah, totally! I think the NarniaFans commenters should make the next movie!
            Paul, can you add that to the next poll “Who Do You Want To Direct”? 😉
            Just kidding. But still, people have some pretty awesome ideas.

      • i agree that sounds finominal(dont know how to spell that sorry) but however i like the silver chair! But i love the roaring idea.

      • I think that’s a great idea! I also think you should have music and vocals from Evacuating London when Digory and Polly enter narnia for the first time, just like when the Pevensies entered narnia in the LWW and PC. I really wish you’d continue with Harry Gregson-Williams. Don’t get me wrong, David Arnold did great, but he kind of made his own theme song. It’s just not the same without Harry Gregson-Williams. Also I perfer the MN because it will explain how narnia was created and come to be, how Jadis come to narnia, the fact the she’s from Charn, not Narnia, why the lamp post is in the wood, how a magical wardrobe appeared on Earth and why it was there, and if you notice the MN is based off Adam and Eve because Jadis tries to get Digory to eat the apple. The MN explains why narnians call humans Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve since they were the first humans in Narnia. And it explains a lot more.

    • I agree. nice ideas! i wonder if they will do that? Anyway im just a huge fan of all this! But i think it shouldnt be pictures of it on the wardrobe, i think it should be carved on it. Totally cool ideas!

    • I thinks thats a great idea about the trees some 1 should make that int o the film!! 🙂

  2. I loved Silver Chair, the book. I was thinking that it should be a movie, and then they showed up! Please do the Silver Chair!

    • DO SILVER CHAIR!!!!! LOOK AT THE VOTES!!!!!
      I WANNA B JILL POLE!!!!!! 😀

      • If that’s the only reason…. THAN I DONT WANT THEM TO DO IT !!!!!

        You can’t just ask for someone to do it so you can be in a movie. It sounds selfish and is a waste of money, time and resoures! What if they did it and it didn’t get enough money??? Besides the Jill Pole thing is driving me crazy.

        Please, I don’t mean to sound rude, but that didn’t sound right to me. I know you are exited and want to be Jill ,but just wait! (I am upset, don’t really take my oppoin.)

  3. I think that mistakes have been made in other movies(not big ones) and it may be because they didnt keep the storyline the same as the actual storyline of the book… Im sure with all the technoligy and imaginations they could make Aslan singing look cool. I know 4 VTD I was exited to see the Eustace tryng to “take his scales off” to bathe…only ASlan could do it. That didnt turn out as I expected (it was a little confusing as to what was going on)but it was cool. I think they should wait for MN until they know how to make the whole creation part look as realistic and not computerized as possible. I will be exited to keep up with all the movie news either way though. 🙂

  4. roaring is good. i cant imagine liam neeson’s voice comming out of the lion mouth being SOOO beautiful! i like it when aslan roars it send chills down my spine in a nice way.

    • Me too! I also get chills every time I watch Lucy discover the wardrobe.

  6. People you simply don´t think in the future!!!!!!!!1 as everyone i´m dying for more narnia movies , I LOVE the 3 movies with changes or not cuz they blow me away as the books too, i belive that making Magician’s Nephew we will be reach between 500 mill or 600 mill or maybe could bet LWW as total gross and that will garantee 2 more movies instead of making silver chair first that probably reach the same as VDT i would like to see SC first but later we will like this again in a deadly waiting!!!

    • yeah…you are absolutely right…i also think that “magician’s nephew” can really bring up the gross…..!! i would also like to see SC first but for the gross we really have to change our thoughts……but whatever the reason be… i want more Narnia…and that’s all…!!! 🙂

  7. its strange, i really want sc next, but i can think of more actors for mn than sc

  8. I want Silver Chair to be next because Eustace (Will Poulter)is the right age. But I want them to go back and do the Magician’s Nephew and The Horse and His Boy because it is my favorite and is always forgotten. They all need to be done to make it the full Chronicles of Narnia. I love the books and the films so far, and it would be a shame to not have all of them.

    • you are right….if they didn’t make all of them…..narniafans would feel really bad…….:(……they should have arranged the movies far before when they first made LWW….!!!..But what ever is the order they should cover the series….!!!

        • What if fox did one and disney, becoming less stupid now that they know Narnia is able to make money, did one and they could get them out not at the same time but close.

          • Greay idea I wud hav never thouht of that.. that we be really good!……:D

          • No….disney is just all romance! I really don’t want to see them do anther Narnia. (That was a good Idea though…)

        • Yeah…that’s a lot of money to do one film! Have you notice how long the credit’s are? That’s a lot of people.

  10. “Yeah, and this is the paradox when you want to do faithful adaptations. That book is a dark war kind of novel. And we actually pulled back a little. In one scene, Peter beheads a couple of people. At the end they run into some Greek gods who give everybody wine and they get drunk. So it’s amazing because I think a lot of us, in our minds, have this perfect image of these Narnia books because we grew up with them. But there are some elements in there that are a little tough, and Caspian is the darkest, and Silver Chair is pretty dark too, physically and tonally. A lot of it takes place underground. That’s why, for the next one, we’re really hoping to go in the direction of The Magician’s Nephew.”

    Have they READ CoN?? I mean, really, no one gets drunk in PC. It’s a children’s book, for Pete’s sake!! And a whole lot more child-friendly than Lord of the Rings…I mean, really, (PC-wise), the book was a whole lot more child-friendly than the movie.

    • Here’s the excerpt he was talking about from Prince Caspian, near the end of chapter 11. Grapes become wine, and they were having a romp. Bacchus, also known as Dionysus, was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology:

      “Is it a Romp, Aslan?” cried the youth. And apparently it was. But nearly everyone seemed to have a different idea as to what they were playing. It may have been Tig, but Lucy never discovered who was It. It was rather like Blind Man’s Buff, only everyone behaved as if they were blindfolded. It was not unlike Hunt the Slipper, but the slipper was never found. What made it more complicated was that the man on the donkey, who was old and enormously fat, began calling out at once, “Refreshments! Time for refreshments,” and falling off his donkey and being bundled on to it again by the others, while the donkey was under the impression that the whole thing was a circus and tried to give a display of walking on its hind legs. And all the time there were more and more vine leaves everywhere. And soon not only leaves but vines. They were climbing up everything. They were running up the legs of the tree people and circling round their necks. Lucy put up her hands to push back her hair and found she was pushing back vine branches. The donkey was a mass of them. His tail was completely entangled and something dark was nodding between his ears. Lucy looked again and saw it was a bunch of grapes. After that it was mostly grapes overhead and underfoot and all around.

      “Refreshments! Refreshments,” roared the old man.

      Everyone began eating, and whatever hothouses your people may have, you have never tasted such grapes. Really good grapes, firm and tight on the outside, but bursting into cool sweetness when you put them into your mouth, were one of the things the girls had never had quite enough of before. Here, there were more than anyone could possibly want, and rib table-manners at all. One saw sticky and stained fingers everywhere, and, though mouths were full, the laughter never ceased nor the yodelling cries of Euan, euan, eu-oi-oi-oi-oi, till all of a sudden everyone felt at the same moment that the game (whatever it was), and the feast, ought to be over, and everyone flopped down breathless on the ground and turned their faces to Aslan to hear what he would say next.

    • Ditto to some extent with Paul… There may not have technically been any inebriation involved, and what happened was a lot cleaner either way than some of what that god in question is known for, but with Bacchus on the scene it’s understandable how readers could get confused… and we know Lewis didn’t think it was morally wrong to have a beer now and then. <.< My personal understanding is that Bacchus' romp, protected/redeemed by the presence of Aslan, was just a manifestation of the joy at Narnia coming back into itself after so much time asleep. But it's still a scene which is one of those it can be awkward to try to explain to newcomers to Narnia.

  11. I Really want MN next i think It will Bust LWW (witch i think was the best of the 3)idk why i do i just think it will get really BIG!! results :)because its charcters that wev’e never seen before and they might be able to regain narnia a bit… and SC it like a really dark book undergroundey thing..

    I LOVEE NARNIA!!!!!!!!!

  13. Hey Paul Martin have they talked about making BOTH at the same time? Well, money…

    • That wud be Cool! but that wud cost so much money like alot of millions and where wud they get the money to make 2 at the same time????….I sincerly wish they could tho it wud be epic!!……:D

  14. They must release Narnia 4 a little closer date to 2010’s VDT release date! Hoping they’ll make the entire chronicles to the big-screen!
    I just made a fansite for us Narnians in facebook. It’s called narnian chronicles. please visit my fanpage for us Narnians!

  15. Too bad I don’t have $200 million, I would give them the money to make two at once LOL

    • YEAH!!!! if i have that move too i would have no doubt to spend them in narnia movies!!!!! cuz i’m dying to see last battle!!!!

      • I always thought they should do a last battle! i think before the magicians nephew. It would be great! If they hold it off too long the actors will get to old and it will spoil it!
        I thiink the last battle and then magicians nephew should be made.

  17. I completely agree with sarah that it would be a shame if all seven Chronicles of Narnia books would not be made into movies. For as far back as I can remember, I have enjoyed watching movies more than reading books. It would also be wonderful if Fox made one book and Disney made another to have both movies come out in the same year!

  18. So I’m back after a long period of absense, and I am pleasantly surprised at the suggestions that have come up. For me, The Sliver Chair was always my favorite book because Jill is such a strong female protagonist even though she has some flaws. I would really like to see them make The Silver Chair next because not only will they still have Will Poulter (who is currently 18 by the way) in his youth and would otherwise probably have to replace him (maybe), but this is a more familiar story. It has been made into a BBC production, which is actually quite good. If they do make this into a feature film, they should take some cues from the BBC version because there were actually some things from the book that they got right. But seeing all your suggestions for a Magician’s Nephew movie gives me an idea that this would be a wonderful adaptation of the book, if they spent their visual effects budget wisely, unlike they did in VDT (seriously, I know they had a smaller budget, but it DEFINITELY shows in the movie, when it shouldn’t). I also like the idea of making both films at the same time, though the one problem is indeed the financial concerns.

  19. Ive thought about and i dont really cae I JUST WANT MORE NARNIA!!!!..i am really looking forward to will poulter as eustace and if they dont make SC next will,would be too old to act the role of a nine year old,I hop they dont replace him because hes a great actor and it wud wreck the whole movie because weve gotton to no him and hes been replaced!and i am soo looking forward to a new nanria MOVIE! Just hurryup and make ur desicion narnia producers!….

  20. I would /love/ to see the Magicians Nephew. I havnt actually read The Silver Chair yet so I dont know if I would like that one first. You now what one I would like to see? The Horse and his boy. Corin and Shasta would be so cute. >3< ♥

  21. I’m looking forward to Magician’s Nephew and Silver Chair as the BETTER ones… I’m a fan, but really, Prince Caspian sucked, reason why they got out of Disney. Better make the MN and SC the Best ones… We want an Award and much fans…

  22. i’m conflicted. i wouldnt mind either movie being made(though a little part of me says silver chair).for magicians nephew, i can just imagine matt smith as uncle andrew, i’m not sure why, but i can, and i want silver chair because will poulter’s getting older, and the more we wait, the older he gets, and then he’s too old for eustace and the’ll have to replace him which none of us want them to do

  23. I think SC will ruin Narnia’s chances…. Narnia MN is a lot more interesting to me. Narnia HBB is an awesome book too..
    I choose MN!! It’s my favorite out of all of the Narnia books..
    And think about it Narnia MN has never been made into a film it might be AWESOME!

    • I totally agree with you, Its not that I dont like SC but MN I have to say was my favourite book and they need something lively to regain nania a bit…
      and theyll bring charecters to us that wev’e never seen before but always imagined in our mind!..and as LucyLove said it might be AWESOME!

  24. JillPfan, I agree with you as putting Johny Deep as Puddleglum. He is very good doing characters like that.

    • I don’t like him that much, I couldn’t see him as puddleglum but that is a thought…

  27. I think the SC should be done now or the actor who plays Eustace will get too old for the part. 🙂

  28. I know everyone has said it before, but I want both SC and MN. I am afraid if they wait too long, we will lose people like Caspian and Eustace as actors, and I dislike when they change an actor…

    I am beginning to see why they’d do MN next, and if it means they’d make enough money to make Silver Chair, why then, I’d agree. I mean, I can always arrange the dvds back into order on my shelf later, right? I really want to see the Last Battle, too, where all our favourite characters return again in Aslan’s country, but who knows if they can ever get there. I loved the Horse and his Boy as a child, but I can see it would be a hard film to make for so many reasons, and it isn’t as necessary to the story line as the others.

    Silver chair was always my favourite as a child. I want to see Caspian grow young again in the crystal river and see into the human world, I love that part in the mountains of Aslan’s Country.

    Anyhow, I know films can never have the power of the books, but it is fun to see an artistic interpretation of stories I love. I would hate for them to never be finished!

  29. At the moment im being led both ways..on 1 hand MN needs to be done only for the reason that SC is such a dark book and MN is such a Bright book and theres charecters that we have never before seen in narnia Except of course for aslan..But If they dont make SC ASAP then Will Poulter will be way to old 4 the role of a nine year old when he’s 18 already and by the time SC is made and finished he will be late 19’s or 20 But i am Looking forward to seeing what Jill Polly and Diggory look like as well!…XD

  30. I saw the third Nardia movie and it was totally awesome film. Now I would love to see the silver chalice because I love dark movies just like Caspian movie. That movie is my favorite of all the narnia movies, and remember that Aslan told Eustace that he will be back to nardia. So it would be unfair to make the Magic Nephew and skip the Silver Chalace just because its darker.

    • Johnny,
      First it’s Silver CHAIR.

      Second…. where do you get the ‘dark’ in all of this? I don’t really understand. Do you mean battle’s or what?

      And third I do agree that they shouldn’t skip SC, but I also think that they should have finished off with the Pevenise (sorry about spelling) kids before moving onto Scrubb abd Jill+ Polly and Digory.

      I would think it would flow better. (They kinda mix up things a bit!) Honostly it is just up to the ‘movie makers’ to decide. ( very confusing…I know)

    • I agree about MN; but not about SC as the worst… I think they should do MN, in honor of the one guy who died…It was his favorite anyway’s!

  33. What?!?! DONT be afraid to make ‘The Silver Chair’ because it is based under ground!!! Go BOLD and step out of the original comfort zone of every other movie writer/film makers. Go where no other directer has gone before!!! btw, If You make ‘The Magicians Nephew’ I should totally play Polly. . . We have the SAME last name! ITS PERFECT HAHA ((: Whatever happens, BRING ON MORE NARNIA!

  34. I think they should do The Silver Chair.
    I just think that Magician’s Nephew is such a wonderful book and they should do it right before they do The Last Battle, so that you get the beginning and then the end.

  35. I don’t see anything dark about silver chair unless they mean by they can’t se then it is dark, plus silver chair was made back then ad it came out good. And the whole Aslan singing Narnia into existence, I always imagined him like sing instrumental and random vocal coming out, but not a deep voice. ( that would be weird)

  36. Both MN & SC have more potential as feature films than did VTD, whose episodic narrative would have made more sense in a miniseries (HBO?) than in a single, two-hour movie. If Walden Media (or whoever else picks up the franchise) wants to stay focused on the family audience then Magician’s Nephew is a safer bet financially. The story is bright and humorous and conforms to the recent prequel fad. I think Silver Chair would be a daring move, however. It reminds me of Frodo & Sam’s journey to Mordor in Lord of the Rings. As a film Silver Chair WILL be darker than any so far in the series, but that’s nothing to shy away from as long as the producers cast their marketing and creative focus wide rather than trying to keep the franchise family friendly. Faithful adaptations of the Narnia books still hold a lot of creative AND commerical potential (as with Lord of the Rings) if they aren’t hindered by marketing concerns.

  37. Im stuck between desicions.
    would I want a Narnia movie with dark, mystic, underground themes like SC…. or would i want one that shows creation and pure beauty of Narnia?
    BOTH!!!!!! =D

  38. The problem is the actors aren’t going to get any younger. If they do Silver Chair next, Eustace will be the right age. Afterwards when they make Last Battle, Skandar, Will, and Georgie will be the about the right age (well at least I think so) Then afterwards they can bring in a new cast for MN and HHB.

    • I soo agree. And that way of making the movies is really close to how C.S. Lewis wrote them.

  40. i love all the narnia film but i dont like so much the silver chair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙁

  41. I think they should make “The Silver Chair” and not the “Magician’s Nephew.” I mean, it wouldn’t make much sense to make “The Magician’s Nephew” when “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is already made, but…..I guess in a sense it would be OK because none of the Pevensies would have to be in it. Just Digory, Polly, The Witch, and people like that. 😉

    And Julia Luo, I agree with you all the way. 🙂

    I.Love.Narnia. 🙂 (Georgie Henley’s my ABSOLUTE favorite!!!!)

  42. Okay ya know those questions that are like WHAT WOULD YOU DO WILL $500 MILLION?! I would make the SILVER CHAIR!!!
    SILVER CHAIR!!!!!

  43. please don’t forget to include “The boy and his Horse”…thats a pretty good story as well…

    ….why don’t you make “The horse and his boy” first which ending is going to be like something LINK to SILVER CHAIR….then SILVER CHAIR to “THE LAST BATTLE”..then going back to “THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW” were its going to be a flasback from the past after the ETERNAL life of all Characters of NARNIA…

    c’mon…..

  44. anyway..the can make queen Susan as the interpreter because she’s the only one who didn’t die in the end….
    because she is not a friend of Narnia anymore….

    (if they want an interpreter)…

    idea..
    ^_^

  45. I think they shoul make Silver chair next… Then it would leave it open to the Magicians Nephew to be made later to tie in all the others….. If they did it this way then we could possibly get two more movies instead of just one…. Love the books and movies….

  46. Here’s my two bits: I think Silver Chair should be made next, not Magician’s Nephew. Here’s the main reason why I think it’s smarter to make Silver Chair first: Magician’s Nephew has no big battle, no “big” scenes towards the end (there are emotional scenes, and some big coming-of-age choices, but that’s really hard to do right, especially in a children’s movie), and Hollywood nowadays is all about action sequences.

    Yes, Magician’s Nephew does have a splash of action–the bell and Charn’s castle falling down, Jadis careening through London–but most of it’s inner-battle stuff and creating the world sequences (which could look amazing if done right). I imagine if they made Magician’s Nephew as of right now, being in the mindset that people want eye candy as much as they want story and substance, that the writers/producers/somebody will say, “Hey, let’s add a scene where Aslan rounds up all the newly-born animals and fights a battle against Jadis, after which she flees to the North and then Diggory can go and get the apple. This just doesn’t fit with the story. I think the audience will be more accepting of the peaceful and glorious creation story version (which is in the book) if this is a prequel that comes more towards the end of the making of the series.

    Silver Chair’s got two whole new cultures to explore–one made of giants and one underground. (Three, if you include Puddleglum and the Marshwiggles, four if you include the Owls) And at the end the heroes have to escape an underground volcano AND a flood! I mean, how cool is that?

    Finally, Silver Chair has Puddleglum, and there’s no beating him character-wise! 🙂 (Okay, so that’s my personal opinion, but I’ve loved Puddleglum since the moment he first entered The Silver Chair)

  47. If they don’t do the Silver Chair next, and soon, they will have to recast Eustace (Will Poulter). I H-A-T-E recasted characters!!! It’s never the same when that happens!! Silver Chair, Silver Chair, Silver Chair…

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