Now it could possibly be a director for 2 Narnia films or 3 or even just 1. Then of course, I think it will depend on his or her style of storytelling. 

Peter Pan & Wendy aside though, I think that David Lowery's adaptation of Pete's Dragon is not only one of the best Disney remakes of recent times, but it is also a genuinely great movie in its own right. It also has a lot of Narnia like qualities in many ways, in that it manages to strike a nice balance between being serious and heartfelt, fantastical yet grounded, and all-round engaging as a children's story which adults can still appreciate.

Furthermore, David Lowery's adaptation of The Green Knight might just be one of the most interesting movies of the last few years for me. Its definitely not for children, but for anyone looking for a serious take on an Arthurian classic I would highly recommend it. The film also has a lot of Narnia like qualities in the way it is structured - reminding me a lot of VoDT in that regard. The Green Knight is a highly episodic story and often only has a general thematic symbolism connecting much of it together (definitely took me a second viewing to really appreciate some of the nuances of that symbolic connection), but for me I think that's a really important trait for anyone looking to adapt a book like VoDT - having a director who appreciates that cinematic storytelling doesn't just have to be about 3 act story telling and having a conventional "hero's journey" character arc... it can be about exploring a singular theme or idea, such as that of chivalry, honour and virtue in the case of the Green Knight.

Steve Barron directed three episodes of The Storyteller, which is my favorite fairy tale-inspired TV show of all time, and he also directed the 2000 Arabian Nights miniseries, which I consider close to a masterpiece. Mind you, the main things that made those great IMO were the scripts, but the direction sure didn't drag them down. I really enjoyed the cinematography and music too. 

Keep in mind though that most of Steve Barron's directorial credits are for music videos and he also directed the Coneheads movie, which I know by reputation as really stupid. Still, anyone who directed The Storyteller (three episodes of it anyway) and Arabian Nights strikes me as qualified to direct one of Netflix's Narnia movies. 

I actually heard that Kenneth Branagh reading The Magician's Nephew as an audiobook. Though I would have never thought of him as directing a Narnia film. Well, it sounds like an interesting choice.

I guess I was just interested to hear whether there were any presently active live-action film directors who you felt at least had some of the qualities necessary to direct a Narnia film, even if they don't have all of the qualities.

Sure. I think there are plenty of movies being made nowadays with great casting, great visuals, great music, great writing, etc. Those are all things I want from a Narnia movie. Keep in mind though, while I'm sure there are plenty of good movies out there, I only go out of my way to see a movie if it's based on a book I like and I usually only pay attention to who directed a movie if I really liked it. (Or maybe, out of morbid curiosity, if I really disliked it. {ym}:giggle: )

A director whose name I can remember is Kenneth Branagh. He directed the recent Hercule Poirot movies, and he's done a lot of Shakespeare stuff. I wouldn't heartily recommend every movie he's made but I do think he has a great sense of style and if he's in the director's seat, a movie's probably not going to be boring. I wouldn't feel super comfortable with him directing a Narnia adaptation though because his movies are always sort of grandiose and larger than life. That would work great for some scenes from the Narnia books like the creation scene from The Magician's Nephew or the apocalypse from The Last Battle. But I'm not sure if I'd want every scene to feel like that. The casts of his movies also tend to be very star studded. (Come to think of it, so do Greta Gerwig's after she hit the big time.) His Hamlet is almost like a Muppet movie with how many bit cameos it has from big name actors. That's not a bad thing. In fact, it can be a great thing. Often movie stars become movie stars because they're really charismatic and talented. I'd say most of Kenneth Branagh's movies have great casting. (I think Emma Thompson has ruined the role of Beatrice from his Much Ado About Nothing for me and Lily James is my favorite Cinderella.) But I'm not sure I want every actor in the Narnia movies to be super recognizable. It's kind of fun to see a great performance from an actor you've never seen in anything before. I'd like a mix of famous and non-famous like in the Walden Media movies. 

Is that a good example of a director who has some qualities that might be great for Narnia and some that might not be so great for it?

As a potential example of where I see the whole issue from - if you were to ask me for a list of genuinely great film directors who who's style and sensibilities were definitely not a good match for Narnia, then I'd have to think that pretty far up that list would be Martin Scorsese. He's a director who's made some of the greatest films of all time, but generally seems to stick to the crime drama genre and likes to tell stories which exist in a world of extreme violence (e.g. Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Casino, Gangs of New York, The Departed, Wolf of Wall Street, etc.). Based on his resume, and despite his undoubted qualities, he would therefore probably be the last person you would want to direct an adaptation of a beloved children's book like Narnia.

And yet.... in spite of all this, Martin Scorsese did do an adaptation of a children's book - 2011's "Hugo" - and it was absolutely fantastic! Not only that, but Hugo probably has a lot of the qualities that I would want from a Narnia tale. I love the interplay between the two child leads, and the genuine sense of wonder and delight they have when they reveal the heart of the mystery.... also the way they have to sneak through the rafters of the train station building reminds me of The Magician's Nephew, and overall the film just generally has a great feel to it. Sure you could argue that my analogies here are somewhat superficial, but in terms of the "boy & girl go on a mystery adventure" framework, Hugo's got a lot going for it that I would love to see in a Narnia movie.

Perhaps there aren't many other film director's out there who could deliver an absolutely belting children's movie out of absolutely nowhere, but I guess my point is that as long as the director has at least some of the right qualities going for them, then most good film directors should be adaptable enough to meet the task at hand. Therefore, given that this is largely an academic exercise for us to draw out what exactly we want to see in a Narnia film, that's why I suggested the two directors so far that I did, and why I'm definitely keen to hear more of other people's suggestions.