There have been several Narnia movies over the years, as well as TV series that have been re-edited from multiple parts into feature films. The earlier films are an animated version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and the BBC created TV miniseries adaptations of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and The Silver Chair. Later, they combined the middle two into once film called Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
That said, I’m guessing you’re here for information about the Walt Disney, 20th Century Fox, and Walden Media produced Narnia movies, as well as the upcoming Netflix Narnia movies and TV shows.
How many Narnia movies are there right now?
Not counting the animated film and the BBC adaptations, there are 3 Narnia movies that are theatrically released feature films:
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
- The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Walden Media and Walt Disney Pictures co-produced 2005’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and 2008’s Prince Caspian. After those two films, Disney wasn’t too happy with the box office from Prince Caspian and cancelled the series. So Walden Media shopped it around and 20th Century Fox took over. More specifically, Fox 2000 Pictures, which was a sister studio of 20th Century Fox and released films under that banner. Walden Media and Fox 2000 Pictures co-produced 2010’s The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
Will there be another Narnia movie?
Until a few years ago, The Silver Chair was in development at Sony Pictures Studios. They had a director, Joe Johnston, who has since signed to direct Shrunk for Disney (another sequel to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, which he also directed). It also had a writer attached, who had written the screenplay for Life of Pi. Word on the street is that the film would have turned Jill Pole into more of an action hero than she is in the book, so the C.S. Lewis Company moved on from Sony Pictures.
Enter: Netflix’s Narnia movies and shows
What seems like a long time ago now, Netflix announced that they would be developing Narnia for their streaming service alongside The C.S. Lewis Company. While Netflix does release movies in theaters from time to time, it could be that Narnia’s time on the silver screen could be over.
We don’t know what they’re developing, only that they mentioned both movies and series. Does this mean they’ll simply use the existing 7 Narnia books as their source for the content? Will they go further and have their writers expand on the stories? Will they invent new stories in the world of Narnia? Only time will tell, at this point.
Matthew Aldrich, the writer of Pixar’s Coco, is the creative architect of the Narnia TV movies and series at Netflix.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
The first film of the trilogy, directed by Andrew Adamson, was released in December of 2005. It features four children who flee from bombings in London during a war to a mysterious home in the country. There they discover a magical wardrobe that leads to an entirely different world. A world that has been stuck in an eternal winter for a hundred years.
Where to watch Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Released in May 2008, Andrew Adamson again directs. The Pevensie children are once again pulled into the land of Narnia, this time to come to the aid of a prince who needs their help to reclaim the throne, which has been wrongfully stolen by his uncle.
Where to watch Narnia: Prince Caspian.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
This film was directed by Michael Apted and released in December of 2010. This time just the younger of the Pevensie children head to Narnia, this time with their cousin. They journey with Caspian on board the Dawn Treader in search of the seven lost Lords of Telmar.
