Gresham Shares Plans for Next Narnia Film
It has been over six months since we last heard any kind of update on the Narnia films. Now, we finally have something to report.
Kristi from The Lion’s Call has posted a brief report on Douglas Gresham’s (co-producer, Lewis’ stepson) comments at Oxford earlier this week. He revealed his hopes for the future of the Chronicles of Narnia films:
- There is a seven-year moratorium on producing any Narnia films outside of Walden Media.
- He might have future films made independently.
- The Silver Chair is the film he would like to make next.
- He would like to see Andrew Adamson return, but thinks he would be too expensive.
- In the meantime, he will focus on a film adaptation of Lewis’ “The Screwtape Letters.”
We previously believed the moratorium period was 3-4 years, and that the next film would very likely be The Magician’s Nephew. Now it appears the wait will be longer than we thought, and Gresham will maintain the original published order and continue with The Silver Chair.
To clarify the issue: By law, no Narnia films can be released by anyone without Walden Media until the moratorium ends, and it appears that Gresham would prefer to make the films independently. Assuming the moratorium began just after Dawn Treader‘s release, the earliest we could see the next Narnia film is probably 2018.
What do you think? Share your thoughts in the Discussion Forum!
I SINCERELEY BELIEVE THAT THE WAY FORWARD FOR THE NARNIA MOVIES IS THROUGH COMPLETE CGI WE MUST COMPLETELY EMBRACE MOTION CAPTURE TECHNOLOGY ALA THE NEW TINTIN MOVIE AND THE BEOWULF MOVIE(2011).
I HAVE BEEN A NARNIA FAN FROM THE AGE OF 7 AND I AM NOW 37 YEARS OLD. IT BREAKS MY HEART TO SEE SUCH GRAND SCALES OF PRODUCTION FROM LORDS OF THE RINGS, HARRY POTTER AND THE HOBBIT. YET IN MY OPINION NARNIA CAN CAPTURE THE IMAGINATION MUCH BETTER. i HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY UNDERWHELMED WITH THE WALDEN FILMS SO FAR AND FEEL THEY HAVE BEEN UNDER PRODUCED WITH MEDIOCRE BUDGETS COMPARED TO THEIR CONTEMPERARIES. LWW WAS PASSABLE PURELY IN ITS NOVELTY VALUES BUT PC AND VDT WAS NOT THE STANDARD THAT IS BEING PRODUCED CURRENTELY. I ABSOLUTELY WANT A COLLECTION OF NARNIA MOVIES THAT WE AS FANS CAN BE PROUD OF YET THE ACTING HAS BEEN WOODEN AND THE BUDGETARY CONSTRAINTS ARE EVIDENT AT EVERY SET-PEICE. THE CRINGEWORTHY "FOR NARNIA" SHOUT AT THE BOTTOM OF THEIR VOICE LENDS AN AIR OF SPURIOUS SINCERITY TO THE CAUSE. MY MESSAGE THEN IS A CRY FOR HELP DIRECTLY TO DOUGLAS GRESHAM NOT TO MAKE ANY FURTHER MOVIES AND SERIOUSLY CONSIDER A RE-BOOT IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER IN MOTION CAPTURE TECHNOLOGY. I DO NOT BELIEVE ALL FILMS SHOULD USE THIS, ONLY THE FANTASY MOVIES LIKE NARNIA AND LOTR. I BELIEVE THE NARNIAN MOVIES ARE PERFECTLY PLACED TO PIONEER AN ENTIRE 7 FILM MOTION CAPTURE SERIES WHICH CAN MORE ACCURATELY DEPICT NARNIA AND ITS WONDERFULL CREATURES AND CHARACTERS. RATHER THAN USE NEW ZEALAND, IRELAND OR WALES, USE C.S. LEWIS' OWN IMAGINATION AND CREATE THE BEAUTIFULL LANDSCAPE WITH THE TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE. THIS ALSO TAKES AWAY CONTINUITY ISUES WITH AGEING ACTORS AS THE MOTION CAPTURE CAN AGE THE CHARACTERS AS THE SCRIPT SEES FIT RATHER THAN SHOEHORNING MEDIOCRE YOUNG ENGLISH ACTORS WHO ARE THERE BASED UPON BEING BRITISH RATHER THAN ANY REAL ACTING TALENT. WITH SOME NOTABLE EXCEPTIONS I MUST ADMIT. bACK TO THE MOTION CAPTURE POINT, CONSIDER FOR A MOMENT FOR SET PIECES LIKE "THE HOUSE OF CHARN IN MAGICIANS NEPHEW" THE FLIGHT OF FLEDGE WITH DIGORY FLYING OVER THE NEWLY CREATED NARNIA, THE TALKING HORSES IN THE HORSE AND HIS BOY AND THE VAST DESERT FROM TASHBAAN TO ARCHELAND AND TASHBAAN ITSELF. SPIELBERG AGONISED OVER ACTORS FOR TINTIN AND CAPTAIN HADDOCK AND EVENTUALLY DECIDED TO GO WITH EXACTLY HOW THE AUTHORS VIEWED THEM VIA MOTION CAPTURE. THE VOICE ACTING THEN ADDS REAL DEPTH TO EACH CHARACTER. NARNIA CAN BE SAVED FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS ON CELLULOID BY A COMPLETE RE-BOOT USING MOTION CAPTURE, CGI AND DIGITAL IMAGERY. THE OTHER OPTION IS TO CONTINUE WITH THE MEDIOCRE PRODUCTIONS SO FAR WHOSE BOX OFFICE FIGURES(EXCEPT LWW DUE TO NOVELTY VALUE) AND BOX OFFICE PERFORMANCE HARDLY JUSTIFIED FUTURE FILMS. I FELL THIS SHOULD BE GIVEN SERIOUS THOUGH AND THIS FANTASTIC TECHNOLOGY WHICH HAS BEEN USED COMPLETEY IN BEOWULF, TINTIN AND WITH THE EXCEPTION OF REAL ACTORS IN THE WHOLE OF AVATAR. PLEASE SAVE NARNIA FROM BEING A MEDIOCRE FOOTNOTE WHICH WAS BESTED BY LOTR AND HARRY POTTER TO THE BEST FANTASY LAND IMAGINED.
WHHAAATT! 2018?! 🙁
But it will be worth the wait DEFINITELY! i am so glad that the next one will be The Silver Chair because William Poulter s such a brilliant Eustace Scrubb and it would be such a shame if they missed out that film as it is in my opinion one of the best stories and the film companies wouldn't be doing C.S.Lewis any credit if they left it out.
But I worry they will do something even worst, a flop movie or something like The Golden Compass and Eragon, unless they got a better director like Peter Jackson, Guillermo Del Toro, James Cameron, Martin Scorsese, Nolan or…. atleast Andrew Adamson.
And Matthew Vaughn.
and Joss Whedon.
Amid all this fuss and waiting, I can manage to say that there are awesome films coming up! 😛
Yes!
Amen
Did any one watch TDKR this weekend? I did! ;D
Nope…I looks really good! Have you seen Brave? I just saw it recently and I thought I wouldn't like it very much, but I really liked it! I wouldn't say it was one of Pixar's best, but it was still pretty good.
Yeah, TDKR is amazing! I haven't seen Brave yet. It will only be released on Aug 1 here. 🙁 It looks great to me too. 🙂
But just to compare with the others, I wasn't laughing the whole time I saw Brave's trailer, although I'm already sure I'll like Brave; whereas the moment I saw M.U.'s trailer's first shot, I burst out laughing until it ended! 😀
I can't wait to see Monster's University! It looks hilarious! 🙂
😛
Thanks for everyone's reply!
WHAT?!?? REALLY??? Why does he HAVE to make the films independently?? Why can't they just keep going with the series so we can keep the same actors before they get too old and all? WHY?!? And who says someone else can't make a film with Walden Media, if this guy doesn't want to? Gahh.
I bet, if VDT B.O. got 600mil above or just like LWW did, they will do the next Narnia movie immediately! As fast as they can!
I know. 'Cause in seven years, Peter will be in his thirty's!!!!!!
He's crazy!!!!!!!!! He can't do it!!!
yes he can and he WILL!!!! LONG LIVE ASLAN!
If they use that Michael Apted again, then is no more hope.
Aslan will say "SEE YA THE NEXT 100 YEARS, WHEN THERE'S ANOTHER NO CHRISTMAS' WINTER."
Michael Apted version of VOTDT was a horrible mistake. I wish Andrew Adamson would have done that one to.
This saddens me, The Magician's Nephew is the best book. I waited my entire life to see these on the big screen, and I fear I will never get to see all of them … why not make TLWW, Prince Caspian (which they messed up completely), Dawntreader and Silver Chair and forget the other stories … oh wait, somebody already did that back in the 80's 🙁
I agree with you about Prince Caspian. They didn't go by the book. If I hadn't read the book first I might have liked it more, but it really bugged me that they put Prince Caspian and Queen Susan together *yuck*.
But I like Prince Caspian movie more than the book. 😛
Really?!!! :O Why?
Yeah; as a fan, I was disappointed with Susan and Caspian's love story, plus he was supposed to marry Ramandu's daughter in the next book! and about what they did to Peter's character.
I don't really like Susan & PC love story as well, but I think Prince Caspian was better than LWW and VDT, the acting is better, great emotional and intensity. I think Peter is great in PC, just like a true warrior, and Edmund as well. 🙂
I can accept the change, but the change must be good, I think they did the little change of PC nicely. Yeah, I don't really like Susan & PC's love story, but it's acceptable for me.
Prince Caspian was supposed to be ten years old (that's not too much of a big thing, but that's only one of the BIG changes they made from the book). Yeah. I agree with mixedfiction about Peter. They changed him. But I think it was partly Prince Caspian being so touchy.
Caspian's supposed to be the same age as Peter. Since movie-Peter was older than book-Peter, Caspian had to be aged up as well.
Aaah! That makes sense! Thanks 🙂
Aslan say "Things never happen the saem way twice." , learn from that.
Totally! Although, my fave one is Prince Caspian. I think it's because of the number of battle's they had in it. But they did it so wrong!
i was bummed about caspian and susan to
I think Prince Caspian was a pretty good movie even though it wasn't exactly the same as the book, although i must agree that pairing susan and caspian together is a bit digusting.
yeah
If I were choosing, I'd having them make "The Horse and His Boy" next. It's my second favourite of the whole series, after "The Last Battle", and it's NEVER been used in cinema.
Of course, neither has "The Last Battle", but I'm rather glad of that, seeing as "The Last Battle" is made of stuff that I doubt anyone could properly portray or interpret.
At any rate, things being what they are, I know that's not even in anyone's sphere of thinking just now.
So if they were going to make "The Silver Chair" next, I don't see why Douglas Gresham doesn't just do it with Walden Media. I guess I'm a little impatient for the next movie to be out! 🙂
Personally, I don't know about Andrew Adamson as the director, but of course what I say counts for very little.
There's a "Screwtape Letters" movie?! Why did I not know this before, and why have I not looked into it?!
I'm leaving to go see if I can find a trailer or something…ta-ta!
Maybe they should do this movie, THE GIANT SURPRISE: A NARNIA STORY.
Oh come on 2018!!
I can't wait that long and why the silver chair?
there are better one's than that and they should start by finishing this seres they have not done the magician's nephew and the horse and his boy both very good book's
I know this is totally random but I think that if Emma Watson wasn't so famous and was a bit younger she would make a good Jill Pole. 🙂
Agree, especially when she is in Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets, if they decide to do Narnia movie earlier.
I think Harry Potter and LOTR was the hottest movie of that time, which around 2001 – 2003, that's the greatest time for fantasy genre's movies.
I loved the first two Narnia movies, but Voyage of The Dawn Tredar wasn't that good. I think it because, Andrew Adamson didn't direct it.
BTW, I was Susan Pevensie for Halloween.
Two hundred & ninety eight…
Two hundred & ninety nine…
Three Hundred, wop wop wop!!! 🙂
Haha! 🙂 Funny
Wow! Long wait for another Narnia movie! O_O
Though filming the Screwtape Letters sounds interesting… if a little ambitious perhaps? How will he make a film about a senior devil writing letters to his junior, I wonder…
They already produced and performed the Screwtape Lettes on stage in New York at the Westside Theater. It ran for 309 performances in 2010. So now all they have to do is to adapt the play to a screenplay and start production.
Did not think we would have to wait THIS long, I was in hopes for The Magician's nephew, too bad Disney could not take it back…..I was buying the movies as soon as they came on the Market! I wil pray for the right path will be taken for the next adventure! Can not wait…… But I will!
ARE YOU SERIOUS!!!! i will be 18 before i can see the silver chair? life is not fair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If they had have carried out the momentum from the first movie into the second then Walden would not have pulled the plug after VDT,and to add insult we now have to wait until 2018, typical take a great story and feck it up and then run