The Lion’s Call has a report about the future of C.S. Lewis’ work on film. In particular, he spoke a bit about the future of Narnia on the big screen, with his hopes for the franchise, as well as other properties such as The Screwtape Letters and The Space Trilogy.
It was at a talk he gave at Oxford. He would love to continue making the Narnia films, but there is a seven year moratorium on the series if Walden Media is not involved. We’re into the second year of that moratorium, and possibly the third. Plus, if Walden Media releases the moratorium (something that I’m sure takes loads of legal paperwork), it could be sooner. The purpose of a moratorium at all is to protect a studio from having the production make only one movie with them, and jump to another studio with the next film and so on.
Let’s put it this way: a series like Harry Potter was made at Warner Brothers for all eight films. After the first film was wildly successful, another studio may offer more money to make the sequel without a moratorium in place. This could be dangerous to any successful series, as the cost to actually make each subsequent film could go up.
He said he may have them made independently, enabling him to have a full say on everything that goes into the script. He spoke specifically about The Silver Chair, indicating quite clearly that he wants to see it made next rather than The Magician’s Nephew. He also said he would like to see Andrew Adamson taking on a directing role again.
I am hopeful that this means I can replace my BBC Silver Chair DVD sooner, rather than later.
Regarding other films based on the works of C.S. Lewis: The Screwtape Letters is again being adapted for film, with work being done on that. We’re not sure how far out that is, though, as it’s been attempted many times in the last ten years or so. Part of the problem could be that it’s not a specific story and each screenwriter would get something different out of it.
The Space Trilogy is something that I asked him about back in 2008. Douglas Gresham gave me a similar answer to the question: “find me a billionaire with really deep pockets and I’ll get them made.”
Paul, I infer that Mr Gresham doesn’t see any prospect of Walden making any more of the series. Is that correct? If so, that’s a shame. There were aspects of PC and VDT that I didn’t like, but those are outweighed by the positives, and I think MN and SC are both much better suited to becoming films than VDT. (That’s not a criticism of the book – just an observation that the plot was less easy to adapt to film than I think MN or SC would be.)
Yeah, there are a few other things that I know about the whole situation that I can’t mention as a professional courtesy to all involved. In fact, both Walden and Gresham have a desire to finish the series. It just comes down to fiscal responsibility and what those in charge of everything could come to agreement on.
I’m guessing they just couldn’t agree on which to do next, so they don’t want to work together anymore.
PS thanks Paul for keeping us posted (even if we’d like the news to be different!)
HECK YES WE WANT ANDREW ADAMSON AS THE DIRECTOR! He was the heart and soul of the films in my humble opinion. When he fell from the director’s seat after Prince Caspian, the series went with him. He put SOOOOO much thought into bringing the book to life, from Lucy’s first step into the wardrobe to the final details in Tumnus’ cave and the Beavers’ Home.
He read the books as a child you see. As did I. He knows how to make the series right.
“I am hopeful that this means I can replace my BBC Silver Chair DVD sooner, rather than later.”
Why wait? Throw it away now.
lol… you’re funny.
Seriously. Unless you like the BBC versions, or want them for analysis purposes. I wasn’t a fan, overall.
i think ill like the new movie if they make one but it will NEVER be the same as the first and second with all the originals.
Yes to Mr. Gresham having “a full say on everything that goes into the script”–I think that is the best way of staying as true to the original story as possible as it goes from book to script. And yes to The Silver Chair next! (With the way they left off in VDT, it’s only logical) And yes to bringing back Andrew Adamson! (I’m not saying that Michael Apted is a bad director, but choosing between the two for directing Narnia, I vote Andrew Adamson.)
I agree! Thank you Mr. Martin for the update.
Thanks, Paul, for bringing up Space Trilogy. There is still hope for the big screen! In my mind, the potential is there for something that far surpasses any other serious sci-fi in recent cinematic history. Perhaps, with recent success of a film that is both exciting and thought-provoking in the form of “Hunger Games”, the idea of Space Trilogy series will gain traction.
Can Gresham start filming independently before the moratorium is over?
No. The Narnia films cannot be done for another 7 years without Walden. If Walden made the movies, they could possibly be done earlier. But without Walden, Gresham would be forced to wait at least 7 years.
Thanks
Why wouldn’t Walden want to continue the series? It’s been the most successful movies of all they have made. I hope they can work out the problems and get a going!
I hope so. And I simply cannot understand WHAT problems has Walden with Narnia movies.
Today they’re making 2 or 3 films, so they haven’t fatal problems with finances. But WHY there’s not SC or MN among their projects?
Even a low-budget movie made by them in conjunction with Mr. Cresham, would be better than waiting for 7 years without clear prospects…
So…if the moratorium is the amount of time before another studio can make the next movie…why can’t Walden itself just start making another movie now? If it is because its contract expired, why did it expire in the first place anyway? Sorry, I’m just curious. 😉
What many Narnia critics fail to appreciate is the following.
The Chronicles of Narnia was written as a children’s book. For that reason, it should not intend to be comparable to the Lord of the Rings. The epic battles that dominate the Lord of the Rings should not be the inspiration for the Narnia movies; the Narnia movies should be based on the message Lewis was trying to get across; faith, trust, belief and bravery.
________________________________________________________
Another thing is that the Pevensies are in no way the main characters of the books. They are central characters who make the books brilliant. However, it is Aslan who is the main character. It is essential that Aslan has a bigger role in the next one than he did in the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, where he only appeared occasionally and without any real dialogue.
Aslan should appear in the next one as much as he did in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, despite that facts that, in the books, he features less in any of the books than he does in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Aslan is a key character, not a camo role. This needs to be recognised by the screen writers. Adamson did a fantastic job of appreciating that, using Lucy to highlight his beautiful nature. However, in the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, we see Lucy drift from him, not demonstating the love she has for him in Prince Caspian. Instead, it is Eustace who seems to grow attatched to Aslan. As this has now happened, it is mandatory for Aslan’s relationship with Eustace to develop further.
A real Narnia fan.
I think that you’re quite correct that Aslan should be clearly represented as the pivotal character. However, that doesn’t mean that he should dominate screen time in all the films. I think that a major aspect of SC was that “normal” life (well, normal from the Narnians’ perspective anyway) contains long stretches where Aslan expects his followers to do things without him overtly micromanaging them. I think that if Aslan was appearing constantly during the journey by Eustace, Jill and Puddleglum it would undercut one of the major themes of the book.
Oh, no i wasn’t suggesting he dominate the screen time. However, as the only character in every single one of the books, it is essential that he does appear more than he did in the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, where we only saw him for very short periods. Perhaps a similar thing to Prince Caspian, where Lucy finds him and their relationship is actually moving, would be a better way of handling it.
Of course the Silver Chair does have less focus on Aslan being there for the Narnians as the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe does. However, we need to see that reason come alive on screen. One question I was left with at the end of tVotDT was this. If the further east you go, the closer you get to Aslan, then why is Dark Island such a threat? Why hasn’t it been stopped by Aslan yet. We discover that, in Prince Caspain, Aslan doesn’t help so soon because he can’t baby the Narnian by protecting them all the time. But such a horrible power like Dark Island would be impossible for any amount of Narnians to defeat. The only reason the crew of the Dawn Treader succeeded was that they were told how to do it by a star, and had seven swords which they had collected for a completely different purpose.
Well, I dunno who the billionaire is, but somebody better find him quickly. I love the Space Trilogy even more than Narnia (*covers head* don’t hurt me).
“He said he may have them made independently, enabling him to have a full say on everything that goes into the script. He spoke specifically about The Silver Chair, indicating quite clearly that he wants to see it made next rather than The Magician’s Nephew. He also said he would like to see Andrew Adamson taking on a directing role again.”
*faints*
*revives*
AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!! Please. Please let this happen.
It’s a shame that they can’t get moving on the next Narnia film. So… as I understand this, Walden is losing interest and Douglas Gresham can’t continue without them until the 7 years are up? Oh how disheartening! 🙁
i want andrew adamson back too. and harry-gregson william! they were both awesome! this is soooooooooooo sad.
Yes! Harry Gregson-Williams knew how to make the filmscore effective. David Arnold had no idea. That was one of the worst things about The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – the music was not up to scratch.
I’ve read on IMDB that there’s a possibility of MN coming out as a film in 2014, but as far I know, and with this post, that’s not happening at the moment. It’s really confusing but I’m guessing IMDB put it up there for some reason.
Also, yes I agree with having Andrew Adamson & Harry Gregson-Williams back, they were great. :)I also wish that Walden could make another film. One of the reasons I love Walden media so much is that they invested all the time & money & everything in the films, they can’t stop now! 🙁