Apted Thinks ‘Silver Chair’ is Next

Back in September, Producer Mark Johnson suggested that he was not sure if “The Silver Chair” or “The Magician’s Nephew” would be the next Narnia film. In NarniaFans’ recent interview with Michael Apted, the director says he thinks it will be the former:

NF: […] Is there any news regarding directing the next one for you?
Apted: No they have only sort of decided I think to do the Silver Chair, but they haven’t started or hired a writer or anything. This one took a long time from when I was first hired in 2007 and here we are now in 2010.

Read (or listen to) the entire interview here.

That does NOT sound like an official confirmation. For years, most fans have just assumed that “The Silver Chair” would come after “Dawn Treader.” It may be that Apted is simply making the same assumption. But since over 80% of NarniaWebbers think “The Silver Chair” should be made next, most fans should find this encouraging.

The main issue the majority of fans have raised is Will Poulter’s age. “The Silver Chair” takes place less than a year after “Dawn Treader.” Many fans are concerned that if they do not make “The Silver Chair” soon, Will Poulter will be too old to play the part. “The Silver Chair” also seems like the logical follow-up to “Dawn Treader,” as Caspian’s son and Eustace play important roles. It also includes one of the series’ most beloved characters (Puddleglum), and one of its most iconic images (the silver chair).

“The Magician’s Nephew,” however, is probably the more beloved book in the series. And this is just speculation, but commercially speaking, the studios may be more attracted to the idea of making a prequel to “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” which grossed over $700m worldwide.

So far, the films have stuck to the original published order (LWW, PC, VDT, SC, HHB, MN, LB). It will be interesting to see when/if they deviate from that. Where will they fit “The Horse and His Boy” in?

171 Responses

  1. Brian in Calgary says:

    Maybe the Lady of the Green Kirtle is also from Charn. Perhaps she could have been Jadis' sister, the person who 'forced' Jadis to say the Deplorable Word.

  2. Thyservant says:

    Well, I'd rather have Jadis' sister as the one who bring the magic rings into Atlantis. In fact, the rings are made by Jadis' sister and at the moment Jadis spells, she puts on the ring. She wants to come back and revenge someday originally but then she falls in love in our world and thus the rings are passed on. Just a few ideas getting "weirder and weirder", haha!

  3. Starlily says:

    Just keep in mind that Magician's Nephew is the beginning of the series, and Last Battle is the end. You might want to read MN first because LB is very final, and is best read at the end. But you can make your own choice. They both have beautiful endings–though LB makes me cry.

  4. Amelia says:

    I'm not sure why somebody said MN was "really bad"! It is my favorite in the series (that I've read so far); it's amazing! It's about how Aslan created Narnia. I found it very exciting and very interesting, as it explains things from some of the other books. The Creation scene was amazing, I thought (I'll have high expectations for how the filmmakers handle that scene! πŸ˜‰ ) There are some really neat Biblical parallels in MN too.

  5. Pepper Darcy says:

    Really bad? Bad as in bad content? If so: NO WAY! It's sooo clean πŸ™‚ And, it's one of my VERY favourite of the Narnia books! Up there with LB… I like VotDT/SC best, then LB/MN! πŸ™‚ Read MN! It is so awesome! And explains some loose ends as well =D

  6. Pepper Darcy says:

    wow, I had just found that 30 min. ago and sent it in. Seems everyone else has found it too πŸ™‚

  7. Pepper Darcy says:

    Well, I just hope that after SC they do LB, JUST so they have Jill and Eustace being the right ages. THEN they can do which movie (HaHB or MN) whichever way without worrying about kids' ages πŸ™‚

  8. LL says:

    Really? Haha, how do you send something in to narniaweb??? πŸ™‚

  9. Princess Lucy says:

    heyy what about digory, polly, shasta and aravis…i mean then they will look older in their stories than in the last battle which won't make sense…remember they are all in the last battle…..

  10. Princess Lucy says:

    uum she is not the only villian u know…theres alot more villian in the series….the witch in silver chair, the telmarines, the sea serphent, the calomerons, and tash….they have pretty big roles in the series just like the white witch…just because she has appeared in the first film doesn't necessary mean to add her in every film like harry potter…come on this is narnia not some other series with the same villian…yes i agree tilda is great but we dnt want to make the fans of the books loosing interest of the series due to a unneccessary addition of a WITCH!!!….

  11. Princess Lucy says:

    it would actually be nice to have the kids from different books as adults in the last battle…its a nice way to end the series…what do u guys think!!!

  12. Thyservant says:

    I agree that age is a problem. But the Last Battle should be the last battle, right? Just my own opinion…

  13. Gem says:

    Yes!!! I think they will do The Silver Chair. They'd be crazy not to. I'm just worried that becuase they STILL aren't sure of anything that it will take another 3-4 years for it to come out, and they CAN'T do that again. They can't do it with how fast the kids are growing up and for fans and other viewers.

  14. Princess Lucy says:

    lol i was thinking the same thing…hehhehe….so i dnt know they either going to use the older pevensies in the LWW or use the actual portrayals…it would be better to use the actual ones and possibly replace the ones in LWW…but that won't be nice to do…lets seeee

  15. LL says:

    I agree with you Pepper Darcy πŸ™‚

  16. Samuel says:

    I would hope they would try to say the lady of the Green Kirtle is from Charn as well. I surmise that LOTGK is "related" to the white witch only in that she is one of her "kind" a witch. In LWW it is said that WW is descended from Adam's first wife, but that is said like they are simply quoting a legend. LOTGK could have simply descended from King Frank and Queen Helen, perhaps a branch of the original family line rebelled and fled up North, only to meet with the White witch and come under her influence, and then intermarry with the giants… or perhaps they help her invade Narnia… ahh, anything is possible in terms of fan fiction and movie adaptations.

  17. musgrave says:

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  18. DOECOG says:

    When I was first reading SC I thought that the LOTGK was going to turn out to be the White Witch’s daughter. I know there was over a millennium between when they lived, but the LOTGK had indicated she had been around for a long time too. I was pretty surprised when that wasn’t the case.

  19. DOECOG says:

    Well at least seven earth years passes between SC and LB so they should age a bit before they make LB.

  20. Em says:

    The Magician's Nephew is more beloved!?!? Am I like the only person who LOVES The Silver Chair? It's probably my favorite book in the series! Please make it– make it next and make it right!!!

  21. Princess Lucy says:

    in the LB,
    digory kirke is 61(12 (MN), 52 (LWW)),
    Polly Plummer is 60 (11 (MN)),
    Eustace is 16(9 (VDT/SC)),
    Jill Pole is 16 (9 (SC)),
    Edmund Pevensie is 19 (10 – 25 (LWW), 11 (PC), 12 (VDT), 24 (HHB)),
    Lucy Pevensie is 17 ( 8 – 23 (LWW), 9 (PC), 10 (VDT), 22 (HHB)),
    Peter Pevensie is 22 (13 – 28 (LWW), 14 (PC))

    however, in LB they are basically nearly all adults…so we dnt need to rush to make LB…in fact we need to wait for some of the actors to grow…well mainly this film and the HHB…anyways but i think we need to make the SC and MN so the characters are infact younger than the LB..just a thought..btw these ages are from the narniaweb character profiles…hehehe

  22. Bother Eustace says:

    You can send in a spy report by clicking the "Contact Us" link at the upper right hand side of the page, and then hitting the Spy Report icon – the one with binoculars. πŸ˜‰

  23. High Queene Shelly Belly says:

    cs lewis vdid make a comment in a letter or book, i forget which, that stated they are two different people. i was glad i had stumbled on it, because i had been wondering that too.

  24. High Queene Shelly Belly says:

    gosh i hope not cause then it will just be nicole on screen doing yet another role. they seem to like to cast unknowns- and im glad

  25. High Queene Shelly Belly says:

    i know,this is ridiculous, whatever happened to the one movie a year plan? we'd almost be up to last battle by now, geeshhhhhhh

  26. High Queene Shelly Belly says:

    sorry, i think its borrrrrrrrring. who cares about these people? no pevensies? bah, humbug. although i do vote for andrew adamson as the marshwiggle- LOL magicians nephew will be awesome and thrilling to see the creation of narnia- and by the time they do make it, the 3d will be incredible but to wait 4 years for it? arghhhhhhhhh….

  27. marianna says:

    I wounder were they will hold auditions?

  28. marianna says:

    well i am 12 but just as tall as will poulter mybe a little shorter i hope that i can get the part of jill if they hold auditions

  29. High Queene Shelly Belly says:

    ten to one they are afraid to make THAHB because it's too "politically incorrect", however it is just what we need at this time to cut through the political correctness that has taken over this country. if you read between the lines in the book you can see it' s a precautionary tale exactly for our times, and so is last battle, warning against a certain religious-military movement encroaching upon the world.

  30. High Queene Shelly Belly says:

    europe- they need british accents that are authentic- and all of europe would revolt if they cast any americans in a deeply euro-centric project- soorry

  31. Annabeth says:

    hmmm, interesting. I'm not sure what i would prefer. I think it would be better to do SC, LB and THEN MN and HB.
    That's just my opinion.

  32. Mangolite says:

    If they could, they should get Cate Blanchett. Both Tilda Swinton and Cate Blanchett look so much like sisters, they will definitely be passed as witches from the same kind/clan. It's time to let go of one witch just as much as their directors at the helm of the films.

  33. Mayor Wilkins says:

    Yes, you are correct.
    There are other villains.
    But (and this is only my personal opinion here) none of them match The White Witch. She is the epitome of all evil. Only Tash could make a similar claim, and I didn't personally see him as a villain so much as some kind of "false god" that worked against Aslan–Yes, I have "The Chronicles of Narnia" on my bookshelf. πŸ˜‰

    I think what the films are trying to do is give the series the closest thing to a central villain. When it comes to fantasy movies, I think people like central villains. It helps bind the stories together into a cohesive whole. We have to remember that the books and the films are DIFFERENT. Yes, it's true. The books are not the films and the films are not the books. They are two different mediums.

    For the record, I do like other villains in the series. πŸ˜‰
    The White Witch is my favorite. But I also like Miraz. Shift (the evil ape in "Last Battle") is also a very good villain. I'd be interested to know who would provide his voice should that be made into a film.

  34. HisWarrior says:

    Just so you know, MN was not a bad book. In fact, I think you should read it because it really is a good story that explains alot. Just never read it before reading LWW. I made the mistake of doing that, and almost stopped reading. No, read it and enjoy it, just as the third or fourth book instead of the first. (like I did)

  35. Princess Lucy says:

    yh cate is a great choice…that would be awesome…she does have that witch sense in her to show on SC….and she does look a bit like tilda…with white skin,light coloured hair and very english like very westerness..

  36. Princess Lucy says:

    i know….the films need something to connect each narnia film but as long the WW is only appearing as cameo it shouldn't be too bad…however, i can't imagine her being added in the SC…i mean eustrace has never seen her but he will see the new witch….also with HHB, the main characters hasn't seen her too but shes dead..so it wouldn't make sense to add her in the film…the MN obviously shes in it and LB, they can make a preview of how all the villians are defeated towards the end of the film…but we are focusing on the train accident..so i'm not sure there either…they can use another element to connect the films though…theres always different ways to do things…anyways now we are focusing on DT…and wish them the best in success so each book will eventually become a film…hopefully

  37. Martha Dickens says:

    Not making THAHB is nothing to do with political correctness. It is a black mark against the Narnian legacy. In Lewis' time, people thought it was amusing to make fun of other cultures. We don't. Read the stories, ask questions, and remember that the person who wrote this story was altogether too human. That the story is a peevish blend of racist, misogynistic, and reactionary prejudice helps no one and making it into a film "in today's time" as you call it would effectively to make a bogeyman out of Islam. America's military has already done that, Hollywood need not follow suit.

  38. Annabeth says:

    I agree, SC HAS to be made next, Will Poultler already looks about 16. Actually, i have a friend that's a MAJOR SC fan and he's like "I can't WAIT for SC to come out!" while we were talking about VDT.

  39. About which Narnia movie to make next…in my opinion, the best solution is to film two (or maybe even three!) of the movies at the same time. They can be released maybe six months or a year apart. It'd be fine to have a different director for each one because the sories are all pretty different and don't share the same characters (I'm referring to SC, MN, and HHB, btw). What do YOU think?

  40. just jill says:

    yes "the silver chair needs to be first so eustace will be the same age. then thelast battle then back to mn then the horse and his boy that is my very favorite if they do make a movie out of it then i hope they will make it as close to the book as possible they are making the movies to unlike the books l.w.w was good but it seems like as they go on they change them more and more

  41. just jill says:

    ya it explains the profesor and the line in the the movie
    " a wood? what was it like?" πŸ™‚

  42. just jill says:

    the real order of the books is mn lww hhb pc vdt sc and lb

  43. just jill says:

    oh and eustace must be the around the same age in lb!

  44. Mayor Wilkins says:

    That would be an excellent idea.
    Especially since "Magician's Nephew" only has The White Witch (technically called Queen Jadis then) and Aslan as returning characters. So only Liam Neeson would be needed for "The Silver Chair" as a voice. This is a GOOD idea.

  45. Yerdif says:

    Actually, Eustace is five to six years older in LB than he is in VDT and SC.

  46. Yerdif says:

    So it doesn't matter if they make LB right away, they just need to make SC after VDT!

  47. Lionheart says:

    The first time you read them, you need to read them in their original order. LWW, PC, VDT, SC, HHB, MN, LB.
    After the first time, then you can go and read them chronologically. MN, LWW, HHB, PC, VDT, SC, LB.

  48. Narniamaniac says:

    You HAVE to read MN!!! It's the basis of the entire series, and gives so much background info on how Narnia was birthed. Although LWW was where the story of the Pevensies began, when you read MN, you feel like you've known Narnia since the very beginning. You should read MN before you read LB, too.

  49. Alex says:

    Don;t politicize something spiritual. The last battle is not about a military movement. It is about being ready for the coming of Christ following him, not a wordly power against its enemies in the name of Christianity like the antichrist in LB kind of did in some way. If you are Christian, which seems the case, you should be getting ready in love instead of being consumed by worldly politics and antichrist-ian defensiveness.

  50. Alex says:

    btw, I think they should make the Silver Chair and the Last Battle at the very least. Perhaps The Magicians Nephew could come some time after and be successful for being a prequel to the lion, the witch and the wardrobe, but the boy and his horse is too separate from the story for a movie franchise and I wouldn't care not having it. It would be too anticlimactic to have it at the end, but as anticlamactic to have it in between. I just prefer not to have it.

  51. Alex says:

    or what Danieljofficial said. Still, i rather not have the boy and his horse.