The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven books written by C.S. Lewis that built a vast mythology with a richly defined world and characters that could rival that of his friend and pier J.R.R Tolkien’s Middle Earth series. At the heart of the series lies Narnia, a mystical fantasy world brimming with curious creatures, and it is explored by the four even more curious Pevensie children: Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter. Their adventures take them throughout Narnia as more of the unusual otherworld is revealed to them.
While many have heavily speculated the series to be a metaphor for the teaching of the Catholic Church, Slate published an article saying that Narnia was more than just a Christian allegory, and Lewis clarified after writing them that there was no intention for the series to come across as religious rhetoric as it was categorized in the fantasy genre, but welcomed any speculations that were made by his readership.
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A stunted series of films were adapted from Lewis’ septet of novels and intended to chronologically work through each book. In 2005, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe debuted in theaters and was later followed by Prince Caspian in 2008. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was the third and final novel adapted for the cinematic retelling before the ongoing series was drawn to a halt. The fourth film, which was first announced as The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair, was consequently canceled following the collapse of the film series altogether.
Updated September 25, 2022: This article has been updated with more information regarding The Chronicles of Narnia franchise history and the status of the series since being acquired by Netflix.
It was later announced that Netflix would take on the responsibility of rebooting the series for the streaming service, but news circulating their upcoming projects has been slim. While the streaming giant continues to craft its upcoming approach to Chronicles of Narnia, here’s a look back at why The Silver Chair movie adaptation never happened.
What Happens in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair?
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The Silver Chair unites Caspian with his estranged son Rillian, and Caspian dies shortly after the two are brought together once more. Rilian is named the new King of Narnia, though the story truly follows Eustace Scrubb and his friend, Jill Pole, as she is introduced to Narnia for the first time. Their mission was initially to rescue Rilian after being sent on their journey by Aslan. Before Price Rilian is proclaimed to be dead, it is Scrubb and Pole who come across the captured prince and the Silver Chair itself, to which he is bound to. The two are caught freeing him by the Lady of the Green Kirtle, who reveals herself to be the Green Witch. Her ability allows her to transform into a green creature resembling a serpent, and she is later slain by Rilian.
After Rillian is named the new King of Narnia, Scrubb and Pole return to Aslan’s Country where they are greeted by a revived, rejuvenated Caspian. They are then sent home to England at the utmost conclusion of the novel. The Silver Chair was the fourth novel in the Chronicles of Narnia series published, but the sixth story in the franchise chronology.
Why Didn’t The Silver Chair Happen?
A significant decrease in box office revenue signaled to filmmakers between each movie in the Chronicles of Narnia franchise shifted the studio’s plans. Instead of adapting The Silver Chair, which was the next book published in the series, the studio opted to instead look into a prequel with an adaptation of The Magician’s Nephew, though the idea was squelched after Walden Media lost the rights to Chronicles of Narnia in 2011.
In 2013, it was announced that a new film would be developed, an adaptation of The Silver Chair. While production on The Silver Chair looked initially promising after Captain America director Joe Johnston signed on to helm the project in 2017, development ultimately lagged. The cast that was expected to reprise their roles had aged out of their respective characters’ age ranges, which would require an entirely new cast to step in where the others had left off. For this reason, The Silver Chair was intended as a reboot of the Narnia franchise and likely would not have included any cast members from the original film series, including Liam Neeson as Aslan. Indeed, Johnston’s signing-on was the latest update that had surfaced from any pre-production work of The Silver Chair before 2018 when it seemed the franchise’s future shifted.
It was announced that Netflix would be taking over the Chronicles of Narnia franchise and looking to develop films and television series around the property. This development seemed to be the nail in the coffin for The Silver Chair film, as there was no outright desire to proceed in recovering The Silver Chair after complications arose when attempting to plan the fourth film.
Why Did the Narnia Movies Fail?
Though The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe performed well in theaters, the fate of the Chronicles of Narnia film series was slowly marching towards its own downfall. The film series struggled with consistency when looking for a studio to carry the weight of its once-emerging cinematic universe. The saga lost its footing when trying to navigate the third film, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader after Disney withdrew from the project, and it was later passed to 20th Century Fox (although with Disney acquiring 20th Century Fox they now own the rights to the whole trilogy).
When The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe hit theaters in 2005 it was a major hit for Disney. The film was the second highest-grossing film at the domestic box office in 2005, even beating out Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. With a strong box office and six more books to adapt, it seemed Disney had found a new franchise that could rely on for years to come.
However, unlike Harry Potter or later franchises like Twilight and The Hunger Games, Disney did not quite strike while the iron was hot and instead of having a sequel ready for the following year, there was a three-year gap between the release of the first film and second, 2008’s Prince Caspian. With a long gap between sequels and the fact that the series moved from a holiday release to a summer release date, where it had to compete with both Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and the unexpected hit of Iron Man, Prince Caspian struggled to find an audience. By the time The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was released, it seemed like enough audiences had jumped ship.
An often overlooked aspect is the fact that the studios may have overestimated the Narnia property. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe was a hit film because it was an adaptation of a beloved book many people read as kids but for many, it is the only entry in the franchise they know. Unlike Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or Twilight, this was less of a franchise in the eyes of general audiences and more like a single book. The Chronicles of Narnia films were asked to directly compete against Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, which both had the advantages of higher budgets and a more dedicated fanbase. Chronicles of Narnia could not nail down a niche following that would eagerly commit to the franchise as intensely as to other fantasy series. There was poor marketing and little buzz around any sequel films. An absence of demand from a fandom led to the failure of the Chronicles of Narnia films yet hopefully, the franchise can find new life as a television series the way that A Series of Unfortunate Events did.
