Had Perry Moore secured funding for an adaptation of The Magician’s Nephew?

February 19, 2011 Paul Martin The Magician's Nephew Movie News 91

With all of the reports about the tragic loss of Narnia producer Perry Moore, one bit of news that has appeared is about what he was working on.  I’m going to continue researching this to see what I can dig up, but it does come from a legit source.  If true, the question becomes, what happens now?  And did the production decide to do The Magician’s Nephew next?

“The night before he died, he had an hour-long conversation with his mom,” father Bill Moore said as he waited at the airport for a flight to New York. “He had gotten all the good news he could possibly get.”

Perry Moore told his family he’d secured financing for another Narnia movie, “The Magician’s Nephew.” He was also working with Starz, a cable-movie company, to adapt his novel, “Hero,” and he was preparing to meet with actress Julianne Moore on another project.

“He had everything in the world going for him,” his father said. “He was very upbeat.” (via wtkr)

So, what does this mean?  Is there another Narnia movie in the works?  How has the loss of Perry Moore effected the future of the franchise? Will they move forward and dedicate it to him?  We’ll find out what we can, but we’re not going to pry.   At the moment, WTKR is the only source of that bit of information, but they have no motivation to spin yarns like this for no reason.  We’re going to give everyone time to work things out professionally.

Personally, I think that the right thing to do would be to move forward with whatever film they’d like to in the series, and put a dedication on the credits.  And if it turns out to be true, then this only adds to the legacy that he has helped to provide for us.

Thanks to utterReep for the report!

Now Magazine attended the BAFTA Awards, and spoke to Tilda Swinton there. They reported:

Moments later I see another British sensation Tilda Swinton with her husband. She was very pleasant and so unusual looking in the flesh telling me ‘I really do hope they do another Narnia, it should be The Magician’s Nephew as that’s my favourite’. (via Now)

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The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Comes to Life

November 30, 2005 Paul Martin Narnia Film News, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Movie News Comments Off on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Comes to Life

Filming C.S. Lewis’ masterwork, the seven books that compose the Chronicles of Narnia, has been something of an impossible dream for decades. Ever since the first of the books, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” was published in 1950, children and adults have adored them alike – they have been perennial bestsellers for more than 50 years. The history of Narnia has everything: magic, adventure, tragedy, humor, and triumph — it’s not surprising that Hollywood has longed to bring it to the big screen. […]

91 Comments

  1. what, the magicians nephew?!?!? i was really hoping they would do it last, i don’t believe that technology is ready to do the creation scene just yet. mind you i don’t know much about that sort of stuff so it could be that it’s a lot farther along than i thought, still I don’t think that waiting a few more years will do any harm.
    Btw MN is my favirot book, that could be why I’m so annoyed about this

    • I don’t think the technology would hurt TMN, but if they want to keep Will Poulter as Eustace they better make TSC in a hurry before he grows up much more.

      • I really think that AWESOME that he has a fund for it! that means the company making it wont have to spend as much and hopefully make it AWESOME!!! I do hope they make SC first though

      • I really think they should do Last Battle last. It’s just… the end of the saga. And it’s definitely going to be harder, technology-wise, than TMN. Also, if they do the Magician’s Nephew, all three left aren’t as popular, so it might go downhill. But anyway, I think they should go ahead soon with whatever movie.

        • I’ll be so afraid of what they would do to the Last Battle, with what they did to VDT and all. But yeah, The Last Battle should be last. It’ll be really cool to see MN on the big screen, but with the comment that the technology isn’t ready for the creation scene, what makes you think they’ll be doing a creation scene? If they keep changing the books as much as they did with VDT… I wouldn’t be shocked.

  2. So, is it MN next?? or are they doing both at once??i do pray they will do the next movies and find a suitable producer in the place of Perry Moore..

    • Oh! I never thought of that! They should work on both!! That’s a great idea, because I was thinking about Will Poulter, he already is older than the orginal Pevensie’s were, and he’s in Silver Chair and Last Battle!! Yet, if they were to work on both that would solve the problem… because as long as they don’t us Tilda Swinton for the Lady of the Green Kirtle, then Aslan or Liam Neeson is the only character that carries over!
      I will pray that they make both! 🙂

  3. I understand why they would want to but come on, if they do that they are leaving us hanging off a cliff here!!! The spoek about jill pole in VDT. WHy ??? WHY?? This is convusing…(sorry bad spelling.)

    • Doing this would, based on the fact that Magician’s Nephew is a more popular book in the series, make a lot more money and allow for them to continue with other books in the series.

      • But then they’d have to get new actors – the only ones familiar to the audience would be Liam as Aslan and maybe Tilda as Jadis. Wouldn’t it be smarter to work with the actors they have now, first? I mean, people seemed to be hooked on Eustace and want to see SC made because they want more of his character.

        But I guess if it’s because of money, there’s probably not much that we the fans can say to change the makers’ minds.

        • Also, SC is going to be difficult to make, with the right mix of comedy to keep it from being to dark, but not so much comedy that people don’t take it seriously.

          • Well, the book had an absolutely perfect mix of comedy and seriousness, so unless they really mess it up, it shouldn’t be too hard.

      • I like this idea (if true). It’s “outside the box” thinking and, if Tilda reprises her role, returns star power to the franchise.

        The plot is good and has a real emotional tug-the dynamic of young Digory, a dying mother, and a father far away is sure to prompt a few tears.

        In fact, as I remember the book…it does prompt a few tears from one key character 🙂

      • Good piont, but it really cuts me off. They said Jill pole in the end of the movie VDT. It would be wierd for them to backwards now, still, either way it would be cool.

  4. I’d like to see Silver Chair next, but Magician’s Nephew is okay. It also would be nice to see, for Perry Moore, in the credits.

  5. I would like Silver Chair but hey, I love Magician’s Nephew and think it would make for a fabulous film. AND this time, the producers don’t have to make up a reason for Tilda Swinton to appear as the White Witch – like they did in PC and VODT – because the MAN himself, C.S. Lewis wrote this book with her character in it.

  6. This makes logical sense. For one, MN can more easily be tied for LWW by having Tilda Swinton reprise her role as Jadis. Another reason would be to have Tilda play her role before she ages any more. And while some of you may think that Will Poulter is aging too, keep in mind that if Silver Chair is filmed now, then that would leave a 6 year gap until his next potential appearance in Last Battle. Thats a lot of aging between SC and LB. It would be too drastic an age gap. So I guess it makes sense to spread out the movies he appears. VDT – 2010 and then SC – 2014; only a 4 year gap.. then HHB – 2016.. LB – 2018.. another 4 year gap. Give or take a year of course.

    • I understand, but it doesn’t matter too much if Swinton ages, does it? With a little makeup, she’ll look about the same six years from now. And spreading out Eustace does make some sense, but an eight-year gap is a huge amount no matter where the middle film is. I mean, in 2018 he’ll be twenty-five. So I think the best course would be to make SC, film LB, make the other two, and then release LB.

  7. I hope they don’t make MN next… Not exactly my favorite book… And Eustace will be too old…
    They know best I suppose. At least the Narnia franchise shall continue… And this is a sort of speculation, so there is still hope for SC :P.

  8. I don’t agree with doing MN next AT ALL. You have to realize that each movie could be the last. MN leaves so many loose ends. The Silver Chair is the logical next movie, if they’re going to make one. It ties up the Caspian trilogy, and theoretically, you could end the series with it and it would still make sense. I’d be really disappointed, but if they did MN next, then didn’t do any more, I’d hit the roof. It’s safer, it makes sense, and I really hope the people in charge realise that. Not to mention SC features one of the public’s favorite Narnians of all time, Puddleglum. Of course I hope against hope that they make all seven. But I’d be okay with them ending on SC if they have to.

      • Conceptually, MN’s a perfect frame/mix of introducing Narnia chronicles subtext that connects/spans ‘all’ the stories/adaptations past & future, as well as being full of new excitement and adventure itself.
        It’s nice to just be having this discussion as a real possibility i think.

      • If they don’t make the full series, the creation isn’t really that important. It will leave so many loose ends that its function as an origin story won’t make much sense.

  9. No, please, make SC next! Now, people need a rest of Tilda Swinton, we saw her in the three films, and I’m sure that almost everyone is tired about the white witch. So please, just wait, and make SC and HHB first!

    BTW I didn’t know that Will Poulter was 18 o_o In the film he was like a 11-12 years old kid xD So you know, make SC first! D=

  10. Why not do them all in the order they were written. I loved reading them that way when they first came out. Lewis meant for the thread of events to be a mysery. It was thrilling to suddenly realize the the chronological order of events.

  11. I am sorry to hear of the sudden passing of Perry Moore. I read his wonderful Narnia books before I saw the films. My condolences go out to his family, colleagues, and friends.

    With respect to “The Magician’s Nephew,” I hope it does get made very soon. If done right with creativity and passion, I think it could be a spectacular movie. Certainly, Tilda Swinton as Jadis would be perfect again, and I think audiences would look forward to seeing how Narnia was created by Aslan. In fact, I hope that we finally get to see the battle between Jadis and her sister, the destruction of Charn, and Jadis’ rampage briefly into our world in London.

    Whether we see “The Magician’s Nephew” or “The Silver Chair” next, I am just grateful that another Narnia film may be in the works after significant doubts. I am thankful for people like Perry Moore who worked so tirelessly to bring these C.S. Lewis books to the screen.

  12. I would love to see more of Narnia with the original cast. I don’t really care about the white witch at all and think she is easily replaceable but the Kings and Queens of Narnia need to stay the same. My condolences to the staff for their loss of their producer. I do hope this show will go on. I have not read the books but have deeply enjoyed and will own every Narnia film that comes out! Once I get out of school and have time for other reading I am sure I will be looking for the books as well, but until then…..Narnia has been a wonderful break from my studies!

  14. I personally think they should do The Silver Chair next, especially since they mentioned Jill Pole at the end of The Voyage…doesn’t make much sense to not do SC next. I obviously hope that all of them will be made into movies, but since they made LWW first instead of MN, I think it makes more sense to just continue making them in the order in which they were written so they can have some kind of order. I think it would screw things up to make MN now.

    • I’m happy with any Narnia being made…
      since each has been considered possibly “the last”
      i love anything Narnia, but I understand both arguements, but I’m like “A new Narnia film? Yes, please!?”

      • Right, there’s no splitting point, and the only reason they’re doing this with The Hobbit, Harry Potter 7, and Twilight 4, is because of the length of the books. No book in The Chronicles is long enough or dense enough for a two film split.

  16. It actually makes a lot of sense to do Magician’s Nephew next. Tilda Swinton may be too old to reprise her role as Jadis by the time they made MN. Filming in the order the books were published could push MN back 6 years, if releasing a Narnia movie every two years. SIlver Chair is my very favorite of all the movies, but I’d be willing to wait.

    • it is easier to make an older ‘grown up’ (it seems more appropriate than ‘adult’) seem like a younger ‘grown up’ than it is to make a young ‘grown up’ seem like a kid. i definitely think it makes more sense to do SC next if only because of that

  17. This is both great news and bad news. The good news is that there’s going to be another Narnia movie! The bad news is it’s not going to be The Silver Chair.
    SC is my absolute favorite book in the series and I really want it to be made into a film. It should be made after VODT, not after MN. Plus I want to see Puddleglum!!
    But on the flip side, maybe because of the popularity, this film will make more money than the last 2 films. If they want to do MN now, I’d want them to film both SC and MN at the same time. We may not see one of them for awhile but at least it would be filmed so Will doesn’t get to old to play Eustace.
    But, if they’re not filming SC next, then HHB should be next. That book is my second fav and would make an awesome movie. I’m just not sure if MN will be kept close to the the book like Disney did with LWW, or totally changed like VODT. Time will tell I suppose.
    But at least Fox is making another Narnia movie!!! Yay!!!

  19. They may do the magicians nephew because it’s more poular, but it would be a mistake, to an extent.

  20. I feel silver chair and magicians nephew should be shot back to back. Silver chair should be released first and then 11-12 months later, the Magician’s nephew. I think this would be a good way to bring narnia back to it’s former glory of LWW.

    • Agreed, honestly I think it’s the long gaps between the films that are hurting them. I suppose it gives people time to forget about Narnia, or just put it on the back burner. They need to keep them coming so the “obsession” holds for those who (unlike all of us) arn’t already avid fans 🙂

      • it is a crime how long it’s been between movies. definetly crippled the momentum.

      • true, there should be one every year, like twilifgt. they originally said publicly they were going to put out one a year, it’s more difficult, but it can be done . you need the inancial backing to do that, though. -like disney.

  21. I think they should do the whole set with ‘The Silver Chair’ next then ‘The Horse and His Boy’ followed by ‘The Magician’s Nephew’ and ‘The Last Battle’. Can’t imagine them not making mega bucks for the whole series. I’ve been waiting since the 1950s to see them all on the big screen and I’m sure there are many others of my generation who feel the same way let alone the following generations.

  22. Personally MN was my least favourite of all the books. It was still fantastic, but I think all the others were better.
    SC is the logical thing to do next. It follows Lewis’ writing order and continues the story of Eustace and Caspian.
    However, him aging isn’t a big problem. They did a great job of making him look half his age in VDT and can keep doing it fine

  23. I’m with Katy – just make the movies!!! Oh, and do a good job. That’s all I want. I’ve waited nearly two decades, which isn’t as long as some, but c’mon Fox – give us what we want! You give us more Narnia, we give you money. Deal?

  24. It would definitely have made more sense shooting the Silver Chair first, for continuity’s sake, before doing the Magician’s Nephew. Then again, if they were planning to do the entire series, you’d want to film the Silver Chair and the Last Battle, THEN return to do the Magician’s Nephew and the Horse and His Boy.

  26. i dont know!! about the sequence of the movie!!! but i would suggest the horse and his boy, silver chair, the last battle then the magician’s nephew!!! but i have faith in the producers. and by the way condolence to perry moore’s family and congratulations for the success of the previous movie he produce !!! and to the fans lets support the another movie by watching it and pray for everybody. thank God speed

    • isn’t it a little to early to think of this. please be respectful , let the parents breath a little. do not oblituarate him into non existence. Respect is in order here.

  28. Why wouldn’t they continue to make them in the order that the books were written? It’d be like doing LOTR movie franchise The Two Towers first. Now what kind of sense would that make? And besides, it would be a departure from what Lewis wrote in the first place. If he had wanted to start the series off chronologically, he would have started off with TMN right? I saw let em make em the way they were written.

  29. Why would the ages of the Pevensies and Eustace and Jill matter too much for ‘Last Battle’? The Pevensies were portrayed as young adults there and Eustace and Jill could be considered college age. Will certainly looks younger than his age now.
    I just want to see them ALL!

  30. Quite honestly I don’t care which one is made next I would just love to see the series completed! It would be so beautiful!

      • Sweet !!! I think he did great in the movie, I loved the funny parts with him and reepicheep!!( sorry i hope you understand , can’t seem to spell his name right!!) I like Poulter. I think that he did the best job ever!!! I saw him as Eustace throughout the movie.

  32. It’ll be interesting to see how they plot this one (TMN), since it isn’t a traditional plot, just a creation story. I think they will do some fiddling with the script. Really hoped they would do TSC next, but any is better than none!
    I wonder who they’ll choose for Polly & Digory. Can’t wait to see Fledge!

    As to Poulter, I thought he was brilliant. He definitely carried that remorse in his voice at the end without overdoing it.

  33. I just had a thought, we could just be over-reacting, after all this is a statement by Moore’s dad, not quite a rumour, but not quite fact either… maybe the discussion involved funding for either MN or SC, or maybe both, and moore’s dad just didn’t tell all of the details?

  34. If they do the magician’s Nephew they better make SURE the public knows it’s the “beginning” of Narnia, sorta like star wars. If there expecting the story to continue they might be confused, so marketing it as “the beginning of narnia” is a must.

    • Yeah , it is compared to Star Wars again!! ( I love star wars!) I agree. Why do people start at the last ones and work backwards?? It is confusing!!!

  35. it’s completely sad that he had to lose his life so soon…

    But if the rumors are true that he got the funding approved for the new movie than we know there’ll be one!

    You have to think, he was the executive producer, but only that. It isn’t his company doing the movie, his team and him would be getting it done and if they got the approval, I’m sure they’ll still go ahead with it and hire a new executive producer to run it.

    I think it’s exciting and I see why they decided to use the Magicians nephew. They could easily market the fact that this is the “History” of Narnia, that alone is interested and would make me want to see the movie right away. Like “WOW!” This looks good! They’d also be able to bring the witch back and by doing so market her, and since she has a familiar face because of being shown in the last 3 movies, people will be interested in seeing her.

    So I’m excited about this movie. Also, it won’t be as hard to film or cost as much as the others. I think the budget will be easily 80-100M or less. There’s no need to hire so many people for wars, or battles. Most of this next movie will be CG, green screen and all, so it should be easier to make, and the time of the movie, I don’t think will be as long as the others. Maybe something around 1 hour 30min-1 hour 45min+ but I can’t see it being less than that.

    I just want to say I LOVE your blog entries and I look every day to see if there’s a new one. Keep up the good work! I’ll be looking forward for the next one!

  36. If it will be The Magician’s Nephew, it’s great! Though on the other hand, I would like to make the Silver Chair next because Will Poulter’s getting older. He must reprise that role, you know!

    But, anyway, if they make either one of them, I will just say what I always say, don’t make it a 1 hour and 40 minute movie–that’s very, very short for a rich novel. And I think, put Andrew Adamson again to the directing and Harry Gregson-Williams on the music (though both Apted and Arnold did great) because I think they know better how to make a Narnia film. Please!

  37. The average time between movies is 3 years, about. If it only took a year or two for the magician’s nephew then the next year or two did the silver chair, will would only be 4 years older. Then if they made the last battle next it would around six years, same as the book. I’m sure they could could just make Eustace and Jill a “little” older than the book, it wouldn’t be any problem.

  38. Well, Queen ShellyBelly, if they decided to make it quicker in between films, the special effects, directing, acting, and countless other things that make a movie great would suffer. I think we all want movies to come out quicker, but we just have to wait for a great film, instead of just having a good film.

  39. Yes, i know!! it makes me nervous!! When VDT was coming to theatre’s i was so excited!!! And now i am nervous for the next one!!! Which is making me go crazy, can’t they just make up there minds. the fans have good points about the movies.

  40. i heard on another website that the silver chairs hobbit has been greenlit, what does that mean? Also, I have decided to email/write to all previous acting directors of Narnia films to say that they should hold open auditions for jill/polly so that the kids who dont have agents or belong to acting groups have a chance to audition. And the kids who are lucky enough to have all these things can audition as well as us regualars, so they have just the same chance as anyone else. WHO’S WITH ME??

    • It’s hard to know what you mean without knowing what you read. The Hobbit is by J.R.R. Tolkien, and that is filming beginning on March 21. The Silver Chair is by C.S. Lewis, and has not yet been greenlit.

  41. I honestly think they should do The Silver Chair first and leave The Magician’s Nephew to the end (just like Star Wars). I only hope they continue doing all the books! That’s my only wish.

  42. I suppose I will never understand the basics of moving making except for Youtube videos… but I think it would be nice just to know that they would do The Silver Chair next to not only go in order, but they DID mention Jill Pole there at the end of Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Making a movie that was before everything else would be such a throw off for the fans because it is like “hello, don’t mention a characters name at the end of one film if you aren’t going to SHOW her in the next movie that follows!” I mean, I will honestly be happy if they at least make another film, that is what counts. However if it isn’t The Silver Chair, I will be disappointed. But be in mind that wouldn’t stop me from seeing the film, which ever one that may be. Oh, and I LOVE the fact Tilda Swinton mentioned not only making another movie, but since she mentioned The Magicians Nephew, it SO means she would play her role as The White Witch again… she makes an AMAZING White Witch.

    • LOL, I’d love to go up to her and say “you make a great witch” XD
      But all joking aside, she is PERFECT for the part.

  43. The magicians nephew is unique in that it almost stands apart from the other books and could be filmed at any time; if they want to maintain the continuation of the characters then the silver chair should be next. You could get away with lucy etc all being much older in the last battle as the ‘original’ characters might appear as any age they wish when they travel into true narnia.

  44. I am very disapointment about the Silver Chair is the next Narnia move. Honestly, For the Magician’s Nephew is next, but who are playing Digory and Polly if they went to Narnia. For the Horse and His Boy can they put the Older Pevensies in Narnia, and then the Silver Chair Eustace is back for the second trip of Narnia and who is play Jill. and Finally the Last Battle can Susan be appears sad and apology after the train incident.
    And I hope it is my wish for it to happen.

  45. I knew earlier about it. OK,I can’t choose. I was disapointment about SC. But MN… We’ll can see Narnia before Pevensies’ holidays. And you’re right,Cesar Arevalo. Susan wasn’t Narnia’s friend. She was “adult”, how she called it. In Horse and his boy are adult Pevensies,and Susan then is real friend of Narnia.

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