Dawn Treader Plot Details!


ChristianityToday has posted an article about the “Narnia Summit” that was held last week, where Walden Media showed footage and walked through the entire script with Christian leaders, Lewis experts, and fan sites like NarniaWeb and NarniaFans. (Read Tirian’s report here)

It is definitly worth reading the entire article, but here are some highlights that will get everyone talking:

The Ending:

Kathy Keller: “I’m glad the final interaction between Aslan and Lucy was there in its unadulterated entirety, because I consider that the pinnacle of the entire seven books.”

I have spoken with Tirian, and he confirmed that the line “there I have another name” is in the film! This is something NarniaWebbers have been concerned about for some time. Rejoice!

The Undragoning:

Keller says she learned that writers originally wanted Eustace, still in dragon form, to fight a sea monster and “earn” his return to human form. But she says Flaherty, a committed Christian, “put them straight that you don’t earn grace, you receive it once you are humbled and aware of your need.”

Tirian also confirmed that, in the film, we will see Aslan ripping the dragon skin off of Eustace! If you have not read the book, you are probably incredibly confused right now. If you have… rejoice again!

And now for the big spoiler:

“I was less than enthusiastic about the imposition of an invented quest to recover the seven swords of the seven lords to undo some evil magic of a new witch,” [Keller] said. “It is a fairly innocuous addition, but as a purist I would have been happier without it.”

Tirian confirmed the bit about the seven swords, but added: “I haven’t seen any evidence of a new witch being added to this story.”

There is sure to be both positive and negative reactions to these spoilers, but it seems that just about everyone in attendance, even those that disliked the first two films, was generally very happy with what they saw and heard.

Thanks to Icarus for the tip!

UPDATE: There was a good deal of confusion due to the line about a witch being in the film. And while both Tirian and Specter from NarniaFans denied it, it was thought that perhaps they weren’t present when the information was given.

However, ChristianityToday released this statement today which puts any confusion to rest. “CT has since learned from Walden that the ‘new witch’ is not in the final version of the film, but was scrapped during script discussions.” So there you go, no witch!

Thanks PrincessMia241 and Narnialover101 for the heads-up!

338 Responses

  1. Ariel_of_Narnia says:

    Word-for-word translation: Thank you for finishing his movie of Narnia and I want to view.

  2. Ariel_of_Narnia says:

    That's the other part I want. I'd love to see Aslan-as-the-lamb. one of my favourite parts

  3. Follower of Aslan says:

    YAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! πŸ˜€

  4. Aslan's my homeboy says:

    Hear all of this good news makes me sooo excited! It sounds like they aren't totally diverging from the plot entirely after all. That makes me happy πŸ™‚

  5. Ugly Pig says:

    The article says "CT has since learned from Walden that the β€œnew witch” is not in the final version of the film, but was scrapped during script discussions." So I guess that bullet was dodged.

  6. Ariel_of_Narnia says:

    I hated the way they ruined Peter! Second to Aslan, he's my favourite character in the whole series! I hate it when moviemakers take my favourites and totally butcher them (even if the way they did him is understandable).

  7. Ariel_of_Narnia says:

    I love spoilers. For PC, I was able to put together almost the entire movie from updates, trailers, TV spots, and the book. All my friends were driven nuts by my e-mails…. lol

  8. Ariel_of_Narnia says:

    TO-TAL-LY!

  9. Lucy the Valiant says:

    WOW!!!! What could be better?????????? Amazing – I am SOOOOOOO looking forward to the movie now!!!!!!!!!

  10. Ariel_of_Narnia says:

    Oh, hey, another Christian? Join the club brother/sister!

  11. Edmund P says:

    OH…MY…GOSH!!!!!!!! This is so amazing! I'm so stoked right now! This is SICK! AWESOME! CRAZY! AMAZING!

    Yet, that last one caught my breath a bit…hmmm. This DEFINITELY deserves a podcast, RILIAN!

    Overall reaction: YEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!

  12. lucy says:

    Oh, am I SOOOOOOOOOOOOO GLAD there isn't going to be a new witch; that would have majorly sucked. Thank god someone had the sense to scrap that idea!

  13. Keyaan says:

    NO WITCH! HOORAY!!!

  14. theprincessspy says:

    For the first time since hearing about "the kiss" in PC, I have legit hope for Dawn Treader!! *fist pump* Yes!!!

  15. Hermitess of Narnia says:

    We still need to pray, we must continue to ask God's blessings for the film.
    This is great news. I guess the sword thing is supposed to attract people to the movie. (I wonder if the swords have anything to do with the White Witch's stone knife at the Ramandu's Island.) I can't thank the producers enough with presenting the film to the Christian Community. "Keep it up, Michael Apted, keep it up!"

  16. Starlily says:

    Okay, this is silly and off-topic, but for some reason your name intrigues me, theprincessspy. Any reason for choosing that name? Or did you just make it up in the spur of the moment?

    Sorry, I'm so weird. πŸ˜›

  17. decarus says:

    Yeah, i have never liked the lion into a lamb part. I have always thought it was too obvious of a connection to Christianity. I hope it is cut.

  18. decarus says:

    This film is not Edmund's film. This film is Eustace's. People want more Edmund, but LWW was his film now he is not the character anymore.

  19. decarus says:

    As far as i am concerned Prince Caspian the film is not Narnia. It was as bad as all that.

  20. Thessur says:

    Thank goodness! If they couldn't even get that right I was going to scream and possibly write some sort of enraged protest.

  21. ibart9 says:

    No witch… Thank God

  22. ~Lava~ says:

    This is such great news I don't know what to say. Specifically the update.

  23. NarnianElf says:

    Well, I like it because it adds some depth.

  24. NarnianElf says:

    Awesome!! By the way, how do you get a picture to come next to your comment?

  25. Milady of Narnia says:

    Awesome News!!! Yes!

  26. Shy Galadriel says:

    I think I must have died… This movie is sounding better and better every MINUTE! No witch! Alright! … I must invent a time machine, because I cannot wait any longer!!!!

  27. KingofKings'Daughter says:

    YYYYYEEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! Thank the Lord that there is no witch and no severe changes to the book…so far…why would they think of putting a witch on a voyage to find missing people? I know it's something like SC but still…

  28. always narnian says:

    "You don’t earn grace, you receive it once you are humbled and aware of your need.” Wow, what an awesome statement! I am so glad to hear that these two allegorical things will be in the movie. It's awesome. Also, I am thrilled to hear they will not leave out the line "there I have another name" what would the story be without that line? The allegory behind Narnia is the most important part. πŸ™‚
    In Christ Alone , Always Narnian

  29. narniafan4ever β™₯ says:

    I had to sign up at "avatar.com" It's free, so that's a plus. πŸ™‚

  30. narniafan4ever β™₯ says:

    haha! πŸ˜›

  31. narniafan4ever β™₯ says:

    I totally agree! It's nice to meet other Christians! wahoo! πŸ˜€ πŸ˜€

  32. narniafan4ever β™₯ says:

    Haha! That was my reaction, too! Only, I added a few twirls and jumps in there as well….lol πŸ˜›

  33. iLiveInNarnia says:

    I'm so glad Aslan's line is in there!! That just makes my day! πŸ˜€ Im so excited. Lots to analyze.. πŸ˜›

  34. tenthofthatname says:

    If there was a witch to begin with that was my hope that is would be LotGK to tie it into The Silver Chair, but the update says there's no witch at all. So now I am curious about what's so important about the swords!

  35. Caspian says:

    HURRAY!!! HURRAH! Let the joyful celebrations begin!

    I'm glad the Aslan line is in there, and the ripping off of dragon skin. I was a little worried about the whole witch thing, so I'm glad that's been disproved. Now let's cross our fingers and hope they've got rid of Ben's accent as well! (just kidding…not even Michael Apted would be that kind of an awesome daredevil)

  36. Jane Eyre says:

    Agreed times 3!:)

  37. Puddleglum says:

    There are a few Christians hanging around. Hence the joy at hearing the good news about Aslan's line from the book.

  38. Yay I'm so happy! This movie might be really good after all! I'm expecting greatness now!!!! Words can't express how psyched I am πŸ˜€ !!!

  39. Narnian says:

    Thank God! Now I think Narnia's being abandoned by Disney and delivered to Fox was the turn of consequence.

  40. Princess Anna says:

    Wow, that's amazing news. Thanks for sharing, guys!
    Now I just need news on the Ed and Eustace talk (after the undragoning) and I'll be one happy camper! *skips off, grinning from ear to ear*

  41. Clive Staples Sibelius says:

    Wow! Today I was griping about the news of the witch. What a pleasant and wonderful surprise to find that that storyline has been scrapped!

    Best news I've heard of the film so far. And I am SUPREMELY grateful for their keeping the entire scene with Lucy and Aslan, and even more for the undragoning of Eustace. This means no Eustace Dragon vs. Sea Serpent! Incredible, all around.

    Now, about the MLG…

  42. Talking Rat says:

    I agree– I think having to find the swords makes the purpose more superficial. Going out simply to find the men showed respect and gratitude for their loyalty to his father, a concern for those who still might be alive, and a spirit of adventure.
    In my opinion, adding this sword thing takes away a lot from those. Of course, part of that might be a problem with our culture, not with the moviemakers themselves– maybe a modern audience wouldn't "get" the motivations that sent them out in the book.

  43. Narnian says:

    I still can't figure out how the Seven Swords actually work…As it has nothing concerning the Witch now. What such weird collection could possibly do?

  44. farsight1 says:

    HOORAY! THE WITCH IS DEAD!

    Ok, now I'm 100% optimistic about this movie.

  45. Starlily says:

    You're right, it just wouldn't be Dawn Treader without these two crucial scenes. They communicate so much! Now, even if other parts of the movie deviate from the book, at least we'll have those two scenes to be happy about.
    I just wonder how they'll do Eustace's undragoning. It will be a tricky scene to do. I mean it works well in the book, but I wonder how they'll interpret it in the movie? And I wonder if Aslan will turn into a lamb at the end? And I wonder if they'll have Lucy pray to him when they're at the Dark Island, when he comes as and Albatross?
    Well anyway, I can't wait for the movie!!!

  46. Anna says:

    King Caspian

  47. narniafan4ever β™₯ says:

    Hey there fellow Christians! πŸ˜€

  48. narniafan4ever β™₯ says:

    Interesting last point, TalkingRat. πŸ˜›

  49. narniafan4ever β™₯ says:

    LOL! πŸ˜€

  50. JadistarkilleR says:

    ok so witch/ snake cave/ malevolent spirit is gone. question is what will they use as a lead off to Silver Chair? sometimes they scrap something that initially prove controversial only to replace it with something worse. i'm hoping this is not the case, because frankly i dont want to think what they came up with to replace the evil witch/ snake cave.

    they're not actually gonna have Rillian born at the end of the film are they? because other than Eustace, nothing else really links VODT to SC. Caspian doesnt really count because he's hardly there, although his part is pretty significant at the end.

  51. Aslan1982 says:

    I remember Ben Barnes saying there was links to the The Silver Chair in this new movie. If the Lady of the Green Kirtle is not in the new Voyage of the Dawn Treader film then what is Ben Barnes referring too. What is going to be the point of collecting all these swords then? It sounded like a very good idea, shame it might have been cut.

  52. Paul T P says:

    Well that sounds excellent, I had been hoping that they would keep the 'another name' and 'un-dragoning' portions in but to be honest I thought it would be a rather slim chance- good to see folks are prepared to stand up for what makes the Narnia books what they are, and that now people seem prepared to listen to them! Praise God!

  53. NarniaNerd says:

    YAY!!! No witch. Omigosh, I am so excited about this film!!! I don't think I will be disappointed by this one. πŸ˜€

  54. NarniaNerd says:

    I agree with you! Praise God that they kept those IMPORTANT elements of the story. It's really exciting. I'm just so excited!!! I'm bursting with excitement.

    okay, calming down…

  55. Phoenix says:

    Awesome! It looks like the film is coming together the way we would like it too…

  56. Cithea says:

    I am SOOOOOOOOOOO happy they are going to leave the line in! I'm happy times 10! πŸ™‚

  57. WilliamMoseleyandSkandarcrush! says:

    Hey! I love it when Christians post on Narniaweb. I'm a Jesusfan too! And I'm SOOOOO glad for these AWESOME spoilers! I hope they have the Edmund/Eustace talk when Edmund finds Eustace as a human again when he's on night guarding. And I'm glad that They have the Aslan and Eustace/dragon thing. Oh, and also the Lucy/Aslan thing. I really hope they do the part where she reads the magical book perfectly. I've always loved that part. AAAHHHH!!!!!! I CAN'T WAIT 4 THE MOVIE!!!!!!!!! πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

  58. WilliamMoseleyandSkandarcrush! says:

    Is that in the leaked script? I hated that stupid thing. It crushed my heart!

  59. WilliamMoseleyandSkandarcrush! says:

    He is not cute and he's a HORRIBLE actor. Well, I saw him in another movie and he was great. But in Prince Caspian; HE WAS HORRIBLE!!!

  60. WilliamMoseleyandSkandarcrush! says:

    AMEN TO THAT LAST PART!!!