Of the seven novels penned by celebrated author C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian and 2010’s The Voyage of the Dawn Treader made the leap to the big screen, culminating in a worldwide box office haul north of $1.5 billion. Despite a respectable financial turn, such success didn’t prevent the live-action fantasy franchise from fading into relative obscurity, muscled out of the YA film space by the dystopian juggernauts of The Hunger Games and Summit Entertainment’s Divergent Series.
How and ever, half a decade has passed since Narnia was last realized on screen, and Collider reports that Aslan may be ready to roar once more for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair. Last we reported, David Magee (Life of Pi) had turned in a first draft of the script, though clearly his initial vision has evolved, with the film’s producer Mark Gordon revealing that the nascent sequel will hit the hard reset on the dormant franchise.
“We’re hoping to be able to make the movie very shortly. We’re very excited about it, Gordon said. When quizzed about the chances of old cast members reprising their roles, he confirmed that “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.”
From this angle, Gordon and Magee look primed to lend a new lease of life to the Narnia series, and while long-term fans may balk at the proposition that new characters will be drafted in, Gordon noted that said personas will be native to the fantastical world of C.S. Lewis. Plus, the fact that The Silver Chair takes place long after The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the creative team fanning the flame for a Narnia revival are jumping on at possibly the most opportune window.
No word yet on casting let alone a production start date for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair, though rest assured that the wheels have been set in motion – they’re just moving awful slowly.