‘Silver Chair’ Still a Possibility?

Inside Out has posted a a 32-minute podcast interview with Micheal Flahery (Walden Media president). The first five minutes are the most interesting for Narnia fans. Flaherty talks about why he thinks VDT’s box office started slow, the darkness in Prince Caspian, and finally gives an update on the status of the next film.

LISTEN HERE

Last we heard, it sounded pretty certain that if they made another Narnia film, it would be The Magician’s Nephew. But here, Flaherty seems to indicate nothing has been finalized:

“We’re still in our conversations right now with 20th Century Fox, and the C.S. Lewis Estate who own the rights to all the books. We’re all trying to come to an agreement about which film to do next and how to film it. So, we’re waiting to see where that goes.”

Flaherty talked about book sales in his last update. Here, he gives another reason they are considering The Magician’s Nephew:

“But there are some elements in [the books] that are a little tough, and Caspian is the darkest, and Silver Chair is pretty dark tooâ€Ļ physically and tonally. A lot of it takes place underground. That’s why, for the next one, we’re really hoping to go in the direction of The Magician’s Nephew.”

UPDATE 2: The clip is on our YouTube Channel. Listen below…

Transcript:
(1:50 – 5:14)


IO: [Dawn Treader] started out very slowly in the United States.

MF: “Yeah, very slow. Made for an agonizing opening weekend.”

IO: What do you think went on? Why do you think it was so slow?
MF: “People are just so busy at Christmas time. And we in Hollywood are so ego-centric. We feel like everyone can just drop everything they have, all their family commitments, all their Christmas commitments and dedicate themselves to seeing a movie on opening day. And we’re real impatient. But, eventually the movie stayed in the theaters and ended up doing really well. We were pleased with it.”

IO: It did much better overseas, didn’t it?
MF: “Three times what it did here. It’s quite a puzzle, and it’s fun because there’s so little research that’s done in Hollywood. You’re free to just forward as many theories as you want. And, I don’t really know why the disparity is. What’s interesting in the United States is, ticket sales almost exactly mirror the book sales. So the number of people who saw Prince Caspian was half the number of people who saw The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. And the book sales are half. The people who saw Dawn Treader was about a third less than the people who saw Prince Caspian. And the book sales are about a third less.”

IO: Prince Caspian was a bit darker and grim and violent.
MF: “Yeah, and this is the paradox when you want to do faithful adaptations. That book is a dark war kind of novel. And we actually pulled back a little. In one scene, Peter beheads a couple of people [laughs]. At the end they run into some Greek gods who give everybody wine and they get drunk. So it’s amazing because I think a lot of us, in our minds, have this perfect image of these Narnia books because we grew up with them. But there are some elements in there that are a little tough, and Caspian is the darkest, and Silver Chair is pretty dark tooâ€Ļ physically and tonally. A lot of it takes place underground. That’s why, for the next one, we’re really hoping to go in the direction of The Magician’s Nephew.”

IO: You talk about mirroring the book sales. The Magician’s Nephew was the second-highest seller of the series, wasn’t it?
MF: “Yes. And pretty close, sort of nipping at the heels of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It’s amazing and it’s a great origin story. And I like the way that Lewis did it and that’s what we’re trying to do with our film, which is: You actually start in the middle of the story, so then when you tell the origin it’s much more interesting. You can say to yourself ‘that’s where the lamp-post came from!’”

IO: Oh yeah, you can connect the dots on that which is always a lot of fun. What about production schedule and all of that? Do you have a script for this yet?
MF: “No, we don’t. We’re still in our conversations right now with 20th Century Fox, and the C.S. Lewis Estate who own the rights to all the books. So, we’re all trying to come to an agreement about which film to do next and how to film it. So, we’re waiting to see where that goes.”

Back in October, NarniaWeb posted a poll on the homepage asking which film should be made next. 86% voted for The Silver Chair (1,841 total votes).
UPDATE 1: We just added a new poll. Go back to the homepage and scroll down to the poll on the bottom-right.

423 Responses

  1. Not Of This World says:

    Ah! When will they make a decion?

  2. The Magician's Nephew !!

  3. Starlily says:

    I would personally prefer the Silver Chair next, just because it would be chronological and Will Poulter could be in it. I'm also impatient to see Puddleglum (providing his character is done right). But whichever movie they make next, my main concern is that they do a good job with the script, casting, special effects, and overall feel of the movie. I think they missed the mark with VoDT, and I really hope they don't cut corners or embellish too much with the future movies.

    I guess that's a lot to ask for. 😛 But I think it would pay off in the end. The books are great, and their movies need to be great too.

  4. Arvan says:

    This interview frustrated me for several reasons:

    MN is published as the first in the series. Of course it sells a lot of books!

    "the number of people who saw Prince Caspian was half the number of people who saw The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. And the book sales are half. The people who saw Dawn Treader was about a third less than the people who saw Prince Caspian. And the book sales are about a third less."
    That's not what he told us when they were making VDT. It was supposed to be the "popular" and "best-selling" book that would make for a high-grossing film.

    When he talks about "darkness", I have to ask: is there something wrong with a film being "dark"? Being dark isn't the same as being evil.
    And before you think "family film", I have to say: Harry Potter anyone? That's marketed (or was marketed) as a family series. The first film in that series was darker than any Narnia book.
    Oh, and The Last Battle/Silver Chair are both DARKER than PC, so I'm not sure what Flaherty's thinking here.

    Lastly, when he talks about the Greek gods getting everyone "drunk", I have to wonder when he last read the book. Nowhere does the book say anyone got "drunk"!

    That said, I pray that they choose to do The Silver Chair next!

  5. glumPuddle says:

    "That book is a dark war kind of novel."
    I agree to an extent. I think the important thing is for PC to be dark relative to LWW. I wasn't bothered by the darkness in the PC movie.

    Flaherty seems to say their solution to the "tough" parts is to avoid them altogether, and that's why they want to do MN next. You can certainly see this philosophy in the adaptation of PC, with key bits like Bacchus and Silenus getting cut. Very sad. Many of the "tough" bits are what make the books unique. Remove that, and you remove what makes them special. Now I'm worried they'll cut Aslan's line about swallowing up men and women, cities and realms out of SC.

    I wonder if he was being sarcastic about families being busy during Christmastime and that was why VDT did poorly. Because apparently they were not too busy to go see LWW which grossed $745m worldwide. It's no secret that Christmas time is a coveted slot for a movie.

  6. Kris says:

    Can we make up our minds and get the ball rolling here?? At this point, I'm ok with either one. There are good and bad points to both, but I just wish they would make a decision! Ah well, I guess I'm being too impatient…

  7. glumPuddle says:

    "Nowhere does the book say anyone got drunk"
    Research Bacchus and Silenus a little and you’ll see what Flaherty is talking about. 😉

    "Being dark isn’t the same as being evil."
    Flaherty is looking at this from a box office perspective. A lot of moviegoers complained about PC’s darkness. That’s what’s "wrong" with it from that per$pective.

  8. fantasia_kitty says:

    I'm probably going to have a lot of people disagree with me here, but I feel that had they done a proper adaptation of VDT, it would have been light, fun, and adventurous and they wouldn't need to worry about the darkness of SC. The VDT movie ended up waaaay darker than SC imho.
    At any rate, I'm reading this as 'Walden wants to do MN next but nobody else does.' LOL I suspect that's at least part of the reason we don't have a green light yet.

  9. glumPuddle says:

    I guess it's really hard for me to think of the VDT film as dark because it all seems so silly to me. I can't take it seriously enough to think of it as dark.

  10. Nick says:

    Silver Chair is definitely darker than Prince Caspian… and that's what made it the best in the series.

  11. Arvan says:

    I know about Bacchus and Silenus, but I also know about the fauns, which are nothing like Narnian fauns (if they were Narnia would not be a children's series)!

  12. Nance says:

    I personally would like to see MN next cause it talks about how Narnia was created. It would be sooo cool to see that!!!

  13. Not Of This World says:

    I've never really got that part of PC. Can someone explain it to me?

  14. Arvan says:

    Silly yes, but it was by far the darkest film yet. (PC was darker overall, but man, was VDT dark in places!)

    I agree with you, Fantasia_Kitty. Walden wants to do MN next and I'm starting to think that the C.S. Lewis Estate doesn't.

  15. Anhun says:

    My money's on Fox as the pro-SC crowd. For some reason I feel like I've heard that Gresham really wants to do MN, but I'm not willing to swear to it.

  16. Lucia says:

    Yes SC is dark.But it can be great if they make it,I think.

  17. Queen Su says:

    Oh ho ho…don't give me all that about Prince Caspian. The movie wasn't a faithful adaption, they don't get drunk, and they did nothing to lessen the battles…in fact they did quite the opposite.
    As for Silver Chair, I think they should go ahead and do it.

  18. Silver the Wanderer says:

    Oh please oh please! Let's do SC next, shall we? So we can see Will Poulter some more. He's brilliant. 😀

    But honestly, if they end up doing MN, I'll just be grateful they're making more movies. 😉

  19. glumPuddle says:

    There's a reason at the end of the scene, Lucy and Susan say they would not have felt safe if Aslan was not there.

    NOTW… Here's how I see it in a nutshell: PC is about a return to the glory and values of the old days. Bacchus and Silenus (referenced by Tumnus in LWW) represent those old days. Their appearance (along with the trees coming back to life) signals Narnia's reawakening.

  20. glumPuddle says:

    I think LB (which I am re-reading now) is by far the darkest in the series. Lewis did things in the first half of LB I really didn't think could happen in Narnia. The plot of LB is also much more intense. The story takes some really tense turns.

  21. Avra says:

    The snow was awful last christmas, you don't have to blame the slow opening weekend on the season's inherent business.People could hardly get out of their house's! As far as my opinion go's on what movie to make next, I am sure you all know SC is my first choice.

  22. Mark Sommer says:

    I wrote up a summary of the interview last Wednesday if anyone is interested: http://live.hollywoodjesus.com/?p=7819

  23. Narniadreamer says:

    i vote for the magicians nephew. i like that book better than the silver chair.

  24. Eliseo says:

    I'd prefer to see MN next, but I really don't care which Narnia film is next as long as they green light more films.

  25. Shastafan says:

    Hm… I have no idea what to say about this. I still feel so rocky about VDT, that's it's hard to think about SC or MN. But I agree, LB is the darkest book in the series, although PC and SC are darker too. Walden seems to be having a hard time understanding Narnia or the box office. SC is dark, but I doubt it would be that hard to make it dark but still watchable for all families. And really, why miss a much more action packed story for a more tricky one? No wonder Walden's having a hard time greenlighting any film; they just don't have enough overly great reasons to do MN instead of SC.

  26. Arvan says:

    I agree completely. End Times material is always dark, and even in Narnia it's no different.

  27. Abz says:

    bring on the silver chair!
    cannot wait till then! XD

  28. glumPuddle says:

    If they make another film, it should undoubtedly be The Silver Chair. Making MN next will feel like a last ditch effort before the series dies. SC will feel like a genuine attempt continue the series and maybe make all 7.

  29. Seiko says:

    They should do Silver Chair first, and then The Magicians Nephew. Both are the 3rd and 4th best books in th series behind LWW and VOTDD, so just pick one already. How about the one in the chronicological order? Do the prequel afterwards, just do it already!

  30. Louloudi the Centaur says:

    As a response to MF saying people are busy at Christmas time and prevented them from seeing VDT: LWW was released at Christmas and it did very well indeed. What makes him say that it was people being busy at the holidays? Maybe it was your partner, 20th Century Fox's, fault. What type of marketing did anybody see in the states other than TV spots and posters?

    Whichever film is next, I have preferences for who directs what. If MN, Andrew Adamson. He was the one who made LWW, and MN is the prequel to that. If SC, Michael Apted. He was the one who wanted to connect the books VDT and SC together in the first place. Maybe some things will make sense in Dawn Treader once Silver Chair is done.

    As to "this book is dark" or "this book was violent", I only think some of The Last Battle could really scare young children. C.S. Lewis meant to write these books for children(though adults may enjoy them too). Children have to learn life isn't all butterflies and rainbows at some point. I mean, when I was younger, I watched the Redwall TV series. It had no blood, but it was still full of fighting and battles and death,and I dealt with it just fine As long as there is little to no blood, I think children of all ages can enjoy the films.

  31. Arvan says:

    I agree, except Micheal Apted should be kept away from Narnia. Adamson would be better in my opinion.

  32. wolfloversk says:

    I don't know what one they're making next, and I don't know anymore which one should be next… but I know one thing. If they don't make up their minds soon, we might have to kiss the entire series goodbye. The actors are getting older here… and at this rate they're aiming for JP4 😐

  33. glumPuddle says:

    Not necessarily…if they make MN next. They can take their sweet time with MN. They only need Tilda and Liam to return.

    I actually wonder if, from a marketing perspective, it might be a good move to wait a decade and then make MN…not as a reboot exactly…but almost.

    The series has lost all momentum right now, so waiting a long time might cause more good than harm.

  34. fantasia_kitty says:

    Doug Gresham has said in interviews that he wants to do SC next.
    http://www.narniaweb.com/2009/12/big-interview-with-douglas-gresham/

  35. glumPuddle says:

    Lewis said that if he enjoyed a story as a child but not as an adult, it was not worth reading in the first place.
    That's what I think the VDT movie is. Something to distract kids with…that's all.

  36. Anhun says:

    Tilda's not getting any younger. And remember, she's supposed to appear the same age in MN as she does in LWW. While I'd agree that you don't have to worry about that nearly as much for a woman like Tilda, as you would for a girl like Georgie, there is still a risk that she'll be too old if they wait a very long time. A decade is certainly too much.

  37. just jill says:

    i absolutely agree. one hundred percent amen

  38. Silver Chair is my favorite book, I hope they make it, but I love MN too. Either way is fine, I just want more Narnia!

  39. stateofgreen says:

    I also agree with you Fantasia Kitty. I do think Fox is pro-Silver Chair too, because they have such a great actor playing Eustace and the continuity makes more sense to go with SC. I don't agree with Flaherty's theory of book sales correlating to ticket sales….PC and VDT didn't sell as many tickets because of the changes they made to the stories. LWW was a blockbuster book. Silly theory.

  40. DamselJillPole says:

    I was liking the idea of MN next bcause it never got adapted to screen ever before.. But I wouldn't mind which way they went. Just pick something soon and greenlight it pleaaase!!!

  41. Not Of This World says:

    Ohhh . . . Thanks GlumPuddle!

  42. Not Of This World says:

    I'd perfer SC next, but I'll not be horrified if they made MN. For me, in a short term sence, I'd rather see SC. In a long term sense, I don't care as long as they are all made and all made to do the books justice.

  43. wolfloversk says:

    Yeah but if they do that forget Will P in SC, and possibly Georgie, Skandar, and Anna in HHB as well.

  44. Not Of This World says:

    What type of website is HolleywoodJesus? (I like the name 🙂 )

  45. wolfloversk says:

    and if it takes 10+ years… would Tilda still be the WW… or even Liam as Aslan?

  46. wolfloversk says:

    that was suppossed to be @ gP not me…

  47. Anhun says:

    â™ĢI'm so excited
    and I just can't hide it!â™Ģ

    Not as good as an SC green light, but it gives me hope. 😀

  48. claireyy says:

    i want more narnia flims : )

  49. Bookwyrm says:

    After finally watching VDT (borrowed it from the library, not spending my hard earned money on it) I hope they choose MN next. SC is my very favorite book in the series and the thought of them doing to SC what they did to my second favrite, VDT, makes me nauseated.

  50. Mark Sommer says:

    @Not Of This World: Hollywood Jesus does reviews of movies and other media seeking to show the spiritual side of pop culture.

  51. Queen C The Gentle says:

    You have to do MN next!!!!Perry Moore left all that money only for them to do MN next!

  52. Daniel says:

    Finally A ray of sunlight! (Marshwiggle's need the sun!)

    SC is my altime fav, and I really really want to see it, I cant wait! and if they dont go with that one, Will will be way older by the time they get to it, and thats just lame.

    WALDEN: this is your conscience speaking, Go with the Silver Chair!

  53. Reepicheep says:

    I actually appreciated PC's (the film's) darkness and it added a lot to the first film and to the whole series, although I did feel as though I was watching LotR in some spots. This was not where it failed, the marketing of both this and VotDT's marketing were misfired epically. PC was marketed too much so people knew exactly what they'd see before they saw it and VotDT was marketed too little. The one thing that will really revitalise the franchise would be if SC was faithful like LWW was. Walden doesn't need to go parental on its fans, what matters is that the film is good as an adaptation and a film. In fact, over six years the general movie-going public has become much more cynical. They shouldn't hold back and they should tell the story with as much content as it needs, and they should also sell the film enough to get people to see it without getting in your face. If they do this everybody wins.

  54. ruhleowyn says:

    I found the sea serpent section to be very dark. I agree with you fantasy-kity, A true adaption would have been lighter.

  55. Not Of This World says:

    Cool!

  56. Liberty Hoffman says:

    SC should be made!
    if they think SC is 'dark', then what will they do when they come to making LB?

  57. thx Narnia Web for the new, news!! lol

  58. Son of Adam says:

    Any of them would be ok! Just got 4 books left, any Narnia story, I just want Narnia!!

  59. Son of Adam says:

    Just do it!!

  60. Fireflower says:

    Ditto Starlily!! SC should come next!