‘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:

“Weโ€™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. Weโ€™re all trying to come to an agreement about which film to do next and how to film it. So, weโ€™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 tooโ€ฆ physically and tonally. A lot of it takes place underground. Thatโ€™s why, for the next one, weโ€™re really hoping to go in the direction of The Magicianโ€™s Nephew.โ€

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: โ€œYeah, very slow. Made for an agonizing opening weekend.โ€

IO: What do you think went on? Why do you think it was so slow?
MF: โ€œPeople 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 weโ€™re real impatient. But, eventually the movie stayed in the theaters and ended up doing really well. We were pleased with it.โ€

IO: It did much better overseas, didnโ€™t it?
MF: โ€œThree times what it did here. Itโ€™s quite a puzzle, and itโ€™s fun because thereโ€™s so little research thatโ€™s done in Hollywood. Youโ€™re free to just forward as many theories as you want. And, I donโ€™t really know why the disparity is. Whatโ€™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: โ€œYeah, 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 itโ€™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 tooโ€ฆ physically and tonally. A lot of it takes place underground. Thatโ€™s why, for the next one, weโ€™re really hoping to go in the direction of The Magicianโ€™s Nephew.โ€

IO: You talk about mirroring the book sales. The Magician’s Nephew was the second-highest seller of the series, wasnโ€™t it?
MF: โ€œYes. And pretty close, sort of nipping at the heels of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Itโ€™s amazing and itโ€™s a great origin story. And I like the way that Lewis did it and thatโ€™s what weโ€™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 itโ€™s much more interesting. You can say to yourself ‘thatโ€™s where the lamp-post came from!’โ€

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: โ€œNo, we donโ€™t. Weโ€™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, weโ€™re all trying to come to an agreement about which film to do next and how to film it. So, weโ€™re waiting to see where that goes.โ€

Back in October, NarniaWeb posted a poll on the homepage asking which film should be made next. 86% voted forย 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. Daugter of Eve says:

    they hould do it lion, witch, and wardorbe then prince casipen dawn treader silver chair horse and his boy magichens nephew the last battle to finsh it of i think it be cool to bring back pevinse kids when not suppose to come back

  2. Susan the Gentle says:

    Personally I would prefer magicians nephew but I think they should do silver chair because it's like ending the story with Caspian if you know what I mean.

  3. Daugter of Eve says:

    dt doasn't feel as magical as lww and pc it like theres no magical things in it( watch all 3 in order and u will probly argere with me)

  4. Queen Lucy the Valient says:

    i agree

  5. Kelly says:

    I don't really mind which they do next. SC would fit with how it's being done so far but I think MN would also be good. But I want another film sometime soon. ๐Ÿ™‚

  6. Queen Lucy the Valient says:

    i agree with doing sliver chair

  7. Fire vien says:

    I totally agree!!

  8. Twinimage says:

    Interesting… Walden always seems to come up with more and more excuses why their movie didn't do well. Again, they refuse to acknowledge their own original mistakes of making a mediocre film. If it were a good film, word of mouth would have spread about how good it is.

    I hope the next film is the Silver Chair for obvious reasons.
    They should really consider SC, because after that, they will have much more time to make MN, HHB and LB whenever they want.
    I realize they're supposed to still be young in LB, but you can make actors look young enough.

  9. aslan's child says:

    urghhh!!!they need to make a decision!!!i think that whatever book they make into a movie they should try to make it as much like the book as possible because thats what really irritated me about "the voyage of the dawn treader" they cut out some really good scenes in the book,and it was way too magical which made feel less real to me,i think andrew adamson had the perfect idea when he made the "lion the witch and the wardrobe".i think it was a mistake to let him go.

    And i personally like what he did with prince caspian because thats pretty much hoe the book was.so what if he made a mistake and put susan and caspian together,but it wasnt as bad as what they did with my favorite book vdt

  10. aslan's child says:

    i agree, what i really like about the books is how it makes me feel(kinda like lewis said"a kid on christmas morning")and the movies should make me feel that way too!!

  11. Galadrielle says:

    I believe in what is most appropriate, and that is Silver Chair. Prince Caspian, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and Silver Chair as a trilogy-within-a-seven-story-series tell the tale of one man and his relationship to Alsan, and to his family and friends, and to his job. Caspian has one very important task which he completes, with Aslan's aid. The Magician's Nephew, which I can see being told by Jim Broadbent's Diggory to Lucy, can be put aside for later – and the older Lucy gets the better, perhaps. However, in Silver Chair, I also find it essential to have a young Eustace. Eustace meets Jill in school, not college – and there's a big difference between the relationship between students and their leaders in school and students and their leaders in college!

  12. High Queene Shelly Belly says:

    I think the main thing they need to realize is the embellishments/substitutions they are coming up with are INFERIOR to CS Lewis genius -level material. And the more they substitute with their own original material, the farther the box office drops. Film the books accurately, and let the results stand on its own merits. I will guarentee the box office will RISE. their material is so dumbed down as to be insulting.

  13. glumPuddle says:

    "And remember, sheโ€™s supposed to appear the same age in MN as she does in LWW."
    I disagree. At the end, Jadis becomes immortal. I think it would be really cool if eating the apple made her look younger. So Tilda looking older for most of the movie would probably be a big positive. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Basically, I think Tilda is now old enough to play her character younger. ๐Ÿ˜‰

  14. narnia fan 7 says:

    I hope they do the Silver Chair next.

  15. Chronicle says:

    I hope they do Silver Chair next and also "dark" did not hurt the Lord Of The Rings or Harry Potter series but then again those studios made sure to also build up plenty of hype for those films, I mean Harry Potter comes out in July yet their already advertising in May unlike Fox that waited a week before the films release to kick in the advertising.

  16. Arvan says:

    Bingo.

  17. High Queene Shelly Belly says:

    SC is not "too dark" , nor was PC book. it's all in how you film it. Did anyone here have nightmares from the violence in the BBC versions? it was a concious decision to make the new PC as harsh as it was, and it was their own fault it was poorly received. they didn't let the family audience know they were going to a teen boy battle flick. they could have kept caspian a teen ager and filmed it true to the book and they wouldn't have lost thier core audience,

  18. ThE SiLvEr ChaIr!1!

  19. Aslan's BFF says:

    You almost want to knock them over the head with a frying pan. Right? It's like huge, "DDDDUUUUUHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

  20. Aslan's BFF says:

    But what if they were to do MN and SC at the same time? Riddle me this.

  21. WilliamMOseleyand Skandarcrush says:

    That was my first reaction… but now that I think of it, Silver Chair could be better next. There's 4 more books to be made, so Silver Chair wouldn't be so bad. But they were to make only SC, MN, and LB next, I think MN should go next. (and Andrew Adamson direct them all!! ๐Ÿ™‚ )

  22. yeswelovenarnia says:

    I think both would be great personally. But I personally am leaning more towards Silver Chair and then Magician's Nephew.

  23. glumPuddle, thank you heaps for covering this so well! The video clip, written transcript of that important bit of the interview, even the title. lol I didn't have time to cover this interview in detail for Aslan's Country. So thank you again! Paul at NarniaFans also did a great job. ๐Ÿ˜€

    http://www.aslanscountry.com/2011/05/micheal-flaherty-on-the-current-state-of-narnia-4/

  24. Anhun says:

    Agree completely. I think the "too dark" complaint is really about the dramatic shift in tone and target audience from one film to the next. If they've learned something from the struggles of the past two films, I hope it's that a Narnia film should be a true family film: something that can enchant the kids and still be stimulating enough for their parents.

  25. Anhun says:

    Now that's a neat idea.

  26. Just Queen, not High Queen says:

    I think they should film both SC and MN at the same time as a compromise for this difficult decision.
    SC is the more logical movie to do next!!!!!!!!!!

  27. Caspian says:

    Prince Caspian IS NOT THAT DARK! The book, I mean. Yes, Peter cuts people's heads off. Yes, Bacchus shows up. But that doesn't mean everyone gets drunk/it HAS to be bloody. If they left in more of the scenes with Aslan and left out the random battle stuff that wasn't needed (*cough* Night Raid *cough*) it would have been a LOT less dark.

    This is my oar. For all it's worth.

  28. Anhun says:

    Completely Disagree. The poor reception of the films was not due to the mere fact that they changed them, but due to the underlying reason why they changed them. The story and characters of LWW had tremendous cinematic potential. It is the only book in the series that has been translated to film 4 times. There was no need for major changes.

    The book PC didn't have a fraction of that potential. I think a completely faithful adaptation would have been a dull film and a box office disaster in every sense of the word, rather than just being a disaster compared to the cost. Do I agree with all of the changes that they made? No, but I do feel that change was necessary.

    As for VDT, I think it has enormous potential as a mini-series, and no, the soulless, badly acted, super-literal BBC version didn't realize that potential. But to give each adventure in the saga the emotional impact it deserves would take a lot longer than 2 hours.

  29. Milady of Narnia says:

    I definitely hope The Silver Chair will be next. And that this time around it will be a more faithful adaption of the book, like LWW. The books are the reason I came to love Narnia. How can the original stories not be good enough for the big screen!! ๐Ÿ™‚

  30. fireheart209 says:

    I agree with you. The movie was dark because they left out all the parts that showed Narnia full of life. Both when Narnia was still in hiding and you could only get glimpses and also when Aslan reawakens Narnia and they are free to be themselves again.

  31. a friend of narnia says:

    I argree!!! they got rid of the battle in the woods and just whent with their own thing! my fav is the LTWW because they suck to the plot of the book, I don't mide them twisting little things but not big things because when they do that they just….. well lose it ๐Ÿ™

  32. PuddleCheep says:

    PC (the book and film) do have quite a bit of magic. Just not spread thoughout the story (the book). HB has the least amount of magic and it's one of the best! Why do people keep saying the PC movie had less magic?!?

  33. Nathan says:

    Perfect evidence that Flaherty doesn't care about what Narnia fans want. 86% want to see The Silver Chair. And yet Flaherty wants to make the Magicans' Nephew next? Hello Michael, wake up!

    The reason why Caspian didn't do well is NOT because it was dark. It was because they didn't stay true to the book.

    The Silver Chair will do well as long as they stay true to the book and do a good job of storytelling. However bright or dark it is doesn't matter. That's completely irrelevant.

    The Silver Chair takes place 1 year after the Dawn Treader. Will Poulter who plays Eustuce already looks older. They simply have to do the Silver Chair next. (Oh, and by the way, I like the Silver Chair better than the Magician's Nephew. The only reason why The Magician's Nephew has sold more books is because the publishers put it first in the series. So of course it has more sales. Duh! People want to start with the first book in the series, but like most people they don't finish what they started.)

  34. Nathan says:

    I completely agree. The book Prince Caspian wasn't dark. But the movie was. The reason why Caspian didn't do well is not because it was dark. It was because it was BORING! The book has Susan and Lucy riding on Aslan's back, and then Aslan turns a man into a tree, and turns little boys into little pigs!! How fun is that! But in the movie they just showed Susan and Lucy riding on a horse and having men shoot arrows at them! How boring is that? As if we've never seen a movie with girls riding horses?? BORING! Show us something we've never seen before! Show us what's in the books! Show us the little boys turning into pigs! Show us the man beating a child with a stick, and then his hand turns into a stick and he turns into a tree! Show us the book!!!

  35. DamselJillPole says:

    In LB Jill and Eustace are supposed to be 7 years older.

  36. High Queene Shelly Belly says:

    this is the sllllllllllowest production team I've ever seen in my life!

  37. High Queene Shelly Belly says:

    I would loooooove to see the chronicles done as a miniseries, but a faithful adaptation.

  38. Chronicle says:

    I really think that if they don't make The Silver Chair next they never will. I think if they make Magicians Nephew next they will promote it as "Now see how Narnia began" and if it's successful they will go right into The Last Battle possibly merging it with parts of The Silver Chair and then they'll promote it as "You've seen how Narnia began now see how it ends." I just don't think they would go back and do The Silver Chair after Magicians Nephew, I hope I'm wrong.

  39. Jeanne says:

    Making Sliver Chair first would be better. That way, they'll be telling Eustace's story, back it up since we know he'll be coming back from the film. They also did a good job hinting the presence of Jill at the end of the Dawn Treader. Then they can show The Magician's Nephew and end it with The Last Battle like the promotion idea of the Chronicle.. => "You've seen how Narnia began now see how it ends."

  40. Starlily says:

    I think that's the order the movies should be in too. Though maybe Magician's Nephew should come before Horse and His Boy (though that's my favorite book) just because Tilda would be younger for MN then, and the kids would be older for HHB. It's probably the order the film makers would want too…if they ever get around to HHB. :'( I want to see that one so bad!

  41. Starlily says:

    Exactly! ๐Ÿ˜€ The movies should be magical–not because of spells and enchantments, but because of the way they make you feel, and the way they get their messages across. And by the way, do you have any idea where that quote from Lewis is found?

  42. Not Of This World says:

    I like that Idea. But they would need to be carefull it doesn't come out looking lame. I think they could figure out a way to do it, but they would need to handle it with care. If they are carefull, I think it'll be briliant.

  43. narniafan says:

    silver chair all the way! will poulter should stay and thats it, for that, as long a shes in it then im happy and im sure im not the only one.
    as for the movies not being like the books, i actually think the movies are good as they are. and the books are good as they are. if the movies were made exactly like the books it'll be boring. but the books are fine as they are and i wudnt want them to be changed.
    and well u've got to admit that the extra scenes like the castle raid did make the movie more exciting. u cant say u hate that scene cause imagine it wivout it. the stuff wiv caspian and peter fighting, its got a good teaching cause it shows peters stuggling being a kid again, realises it and tried to redeem himself. the same goes for VofDT, the story they created, it all fits well, and again has a good teahcing. and i just love the fact that the witch is in all 3 of them, cause she sybolises the devil and who tempts everyone into doing wrong.
    and so i cant wait to see whats installed for the next narnia movie, whatever it is ๐Ÿ˜€ (hopefully SC)

  44. Narnian Meerkat says:

    SILVER CHAIR! SILVER CHAIR! SILVER CHAIR! SILVER CHAIR! SILVER CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIR!!!!!!!!! Whow CARES if it's "a little too dark!!!???" If you ask me Narnia isn't even CLOSE to being dark! (Though it would be nice if it was. Just to make a little less kiddish. ๐Ÿ˜‰ I VOTE SILVER CHAIR!!!!! WHO'S WITH ME???

  45. Not Of This World says:

    ๐Ÿ™‚ LOL!!

  46. Lucy says:

    I'll be darned. Usually I never agree with your comments, but I agree with that one. I want Silver Chair next, too. Finally we agree on something!

  47. ANร“NIMO says:

    BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111111

    mi mejor amiga saldra
    no tegais duda

  48. Pevensie2011 says:

    Why don't they just make a choice and get on with it. I was 8 when the first movie came out and now I'm almost 16 and they only have three movies out. I think it's taken them WAY too long. I get that the process takes a long time, but this production team is a little ridiculous…

  49. Patrick says:

    They really need to get over this "too dark" garbage. Personally, I prefer Narnia darker and more serious. Even the novels were written in a very serious manner. Honestly, I don't think anyone would really care if they made the films more dark, perhaps it would even improve box office totals. Thats what movie goers like these days anyway and I don't think making it more dark goes against what the books are about. They are meant to be taken seriously.

  50. Patrick says:

    I also feel that the main message of VotDT was clouded because of the impetous silliness that was brought to it because they just couldn't stay true to the book and had to add the 'green mist' in it.

  51. Eliseo says:

    I dont understand the reasoning behind MN being made as a 'last ditch' effort while making SC is a 'genuine effort' to revive the franchise. Simply because SC was originally published after VDT? Lets remember that PC was not profitable at the box office so it technically should not have received a sequel (VDT) at all. In comes Fox and rescues the franchise. MN is a more marketable film and could potentially be profitable enough to make a $$$ cushion should Silver Chair not be profitable enough at the box office. IMO, making MN is the genuine effort the continue the franchise. The only plus side in making SC first is that there is less room for error (since the story is very linear).

  52. Eliseo says:

    I totally agree Patrick. I loved PC because it was a darker film. I think that the 'darkness' of PC and SC isnt the problem. The issue is that PC underperformed at the box office, and fans were looking for a 'scapegoat' as to why PC underperformed. But I don't think that fans necessarily hated the darkness of the PC sequel, just some of the elements that were unfaithfully bought to film. But the book itself is uncinematic. Walden did an excellent job of making a quality movie out of average source material.

  53. Peter says:

    Last battle rules because it is the last one and it has the end. Very little black clouds with very broad silver linings rule. Last battle may be dark, but Lewis still lightened it up with humour (who can't laugh because some of the antics of Shift and Puzzle), with pure goodness (or wellmeantness) hidden far behind naรฌvity and low self esteem (in Puzzle) and with honourable deeds in harsh and dark times (the revolt of the horses and the graciousness of the small animals who gave food to the imprisoned king). I especially like the fact Puzzle becomes a sort of Narnian antichrist without really (in his heart) wanting to be an antichrist.

    I am a Puzzled Puzzle-fan!!! Cheers: whatever movie you do first, make Last Battle, Magicians Nephew and Horse and his boy (in which Aslan is the embodyment of magic and in which the wizzard of the pool and the transformation of Rabadash are magical moments). Narnia has never been without magic. It is the embodyment of magic.

  54. Peter says:

    little black clouds schould be small dark clouds *or something*

  55. Peter says:

    I like the Silver Chair least in Lewis's series. But Will Poulter is such a good actor. I wonder if Eustace didn't jump from heavenly real Narnia in our world and simply pretends to be Will Poulter.

    Eustace somewhere on the world says "Ohw. rustlebukkins, My cover was blown. Luckily no-one will believe this 'Peter'."

    Will Poulter stop pretending. You ARE in fact Eustace.

  56. Peter says:

    Uhm… don't kill the messenger but:
    a. Walden was one of the responsibles for all post 2000 Narnian movies (and if you mock their lack of judgement, you mock this choise too.
    b. However much I like the Chronicles of Narnia AS THEY ARE, I simply can't believe PC and Voyage of the Dawn Treader did worse just because the books weren't followed. There must be people that like a heart warming (slightly nostalgic) fairy tale too. Something Lion the witch and the wardrobe has and VTDT and PC had in a lesser sence.
    c. I don't get it: is it at all possible that the theaters being more expensive because of 3d, made less people come to theaters (because they can't pay or choose to spent the money on travelling to Israel). And that therefore less tickets were sold? Or am I to simple minded?

  57. WilliamMOseleyand Skandarcrush says:

    And there's Horse and His Boy too ๐Ÿ™‚

  58. farsight-mssngr says:

    So it's not yet finalized. I think this are the reasons why they should first film:

    The Silver Chair: First of all The Silver Chair is next in the chronology and published books right after the story of "Dawn Treader". Next of it, Will Poulter (who plays Eustace Scrubb) will be getting too old if the The Silver Chair will be made later. Then, The Silver Chair is what we fans are longing to see next and other NARNIA films viewers won't be confused in the story if SC is next. And finally, as we all remember that in the ending scene of "Dawn Treader" movie, Jill Pole's name was mentioned that she will visit in the Srubb's residence.

    The Magician's Nephew: In book sales, The Magician's Nephew is one of the best-selling in the series. The story narrates the creation of the world (This will be the very first movie that narrates the creation). Narnia production team believes that The Magician's Nephew will save the movie franchise from it's weak box-office (except for Lion,Witch,and Wardrobe for it's one of the box-office films of 2005).

    Ok. They must finalize the next movie and start filming, casting and the scripts as well. They must release the movie not later than december 2012 (so that there will be no age gap for the film's series)
    If we are talking about The Silver Chair being a dark novel, most probably in the film, it's just ok. Look, Narnia chronicles helps us to see light over darkness. In LWW, Aslan died, but he was risen from the dead. In PC, Caspian was threathened in the witch's return and tempted to bring her back to life, but Peter and Edmund stops this threat. In VDT, they sailed to the Dark Island, though all hope was lost, Aslan shows himself in the form of an albatross and shows the light right after the sea serpent was killed. So it's nothing if the film is dark for in the end, it will show you the Light!

  59. Not Of This World says:

    Great comment, Farsight messenger. It's not about the dark, it's about His light.

  60. Arvan says:

    Puzzle was more of a deceived fellow. Shift was the "antichrist". Or is it antiaslan?