It’s been a while since we’ve heard any updates from The Mark Gordon Company about the “Chronicles of Narnia” franchise, but the critically acclaimed fantasy series is still very much alive and will return to the big screen with a major twist.
According to Collider, producer Mark Gordon said that a 4th “Narnia” film is currently in active development and production may begin in the near future.
Gordon confirmed the status of the much-anticipated sequel to Collider during the TCA winter press tour in anticipation of his new CBS series “Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders”.
He said:
We’re hoping to be able to make the movie very shortly. We’re very excited about it.
However, it seems like the next film won’t be a direct sequel as Gordon said that it will reset the entire franchise.
When asked whether any of the original cast members would return to reprise their respective roles in the new film, Gordon said:
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.
This is not necessary a bad thing, of course.
Gordon clarified that these “original characters” are not new character creations. They are the characters that exist in the Narnia mythology but have yet to be introduced in the film series.
Titled “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, the first movie adaptation of the C. S. Lewis’s children’s epic fantasy series was released a decade ago.
The film was met with positive critical reviews and 2 sequels were subsequently released in 2008 and 2010. A 4th film titled “The Magician’s Nephew” was announced in 2011, but Walden Media was unable to produce it as their contract of the series’ film rights expired.
In 2013, The Mark Gordon Company and The C.S. Lewis Company took over the rights from The Walden Group. They announced plans to adapt “The Silver Chair”, the 4th book in the series, and enlisted “Life of Pie” scribe David Magee to pen the script.
It’s no surprise that the studios would want to reboot the franchise and cast new actors because “The Silver Chair” takes place decades into Narnia’s future.
It centres on a wizened King Caspian who enlists the help of Aslan to find his missing son and only heir, Prince Rilian. Aslan recruits 2 English boarding school students, Eustace Scrubb and Jill Poole, to help track down the prince and solve the mystery.
Both Scrubb and Caspian appeared in 2010’s “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” and they were respectively portrayed by Will Poulter and Ben Barnes. However, it is unclear whether the reboot will recast both roles. Aslan, which was voiced by Liam Neeson, could be recast too.
So, what do you guys think? Are you excited about the new “Narnia” film? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.
Sources: Collider via Comic Book.
