Just over 10 years ago,The Chronicles of Narniafranchise launched with the big screen adventureThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, which paved the way for 2008’sThe Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspianand 2010’sThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of The Dawn Treader. It’s been over two years since we heard anything about the fourth installment,The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair, with a December 2013 report thatLife of PiwriterDavid Mageecame aboard to write the script. Today we have a new update from producerMark Gordon, who reveals thatThe Silver Chairwill reboot the franchise entirely. Here’s what he had to say, when asked if any characters from the first three movies would be involved.
“We’re hoping to be able to make the movie very shortly. We’re very excited about it. No, it’s all going to be a brand new franchise. All original. All original characters, different directors, and an entire new team that this is coming from.”
The producer then clarified that these “new characters” will be characters who originated in C.S. Lewis' beloved novel series, but haven’t been featured in any of the previous movies. The choice to reboot the property makes sense becauseThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chairnovel is set decades after the events ofThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of The Dawn Treaderin Narnia, although on Earth, only a year has passed. The story centers on Aslan the Lion sending two children, Eustace Scrubb and Jill Pole, to resolve the mysterious disappearance of King Caspian X’s only son, Prince Rilian.
The reboot also makes sense from a financial standpoint, since each entry in the franchise suffered drastic decreases at thebox office.The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobedebuted in 2005 and was an instant hit, taking in $291.7 million domestically and $793 million worldwide, from a whopping $180 million budget. The sequelThe Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspianearned $141.6 million domestically and $419.6 million worldwide from a $225 million budget, andThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of The Dawn Treaderearned $104.3 million domestically and $415.6 million worldwide from a $155 million budget.
TheMark GordonCompany took over the rights to the entire Narniafranchisefrom The Walden Group back in 2013, after the company signed a new deal with The C.S. Lewis company. It isn’t surprising thatMark Gordonwould want to start fresh, and there are still three other C.S. Lewis novels in the Narnia series that the producer could adapt ifThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chairproves to be a hit. What do you think about the news that Narnia will get thereboottreatment?
