I feel the same way! I am really hoping they don't get rid of Caspian's accent. His tan has already lightened up so losing the accent would really make the films inconsistent. Personally I love his Telmarine accent, it's something different and does give Narnia a more "worldly" feeling to it. Overall the current production team has done a wonderful job giving Narnia an international flavor in terms of enriching the cultures we find in it. I hope they keep it that way for VDT.

I don't really think Ben looked 18 in PC. I think he looked 26. He looked older then Peter and they were supposed to be around the same age. It didn't really work for me, but he did fine.

this is what Ben looked like at the time of his casting as Prince Caspian:

Barnes as Dakin in The History Boys

Ben Barnes, The History Boys After Party

just to give an idea of what the play is about, "The History Boys" is Alan Benett's tale of teenage boys at Cutlers' Grammar School trying to earn the chance of getting accepted in the finest universities in the nation, Oxford and Cambridge. Ben plays the "class peacock", Dakin, who is a cross between Fonzie, Don Juan, and Oscar Wilde (for lack of a better analogy).

so guess how old Ben is in these photos? a teenager? nope.

Ben was 25 at the time when he was cast as Dakin. less than 6 months later he was cast as Prince Caspian. he started shooting the movie three weeks after he left the stage. in truth the whole decision about his casting because he has "the look" is based on that look above. and in all honesty, he does look like Will Mosely's peer.

the decision to make Caspian long haired seem to have come later. Ben was quoted saying that the production team saw a photo of him with long hair (guesses were that it could be from his earlier stage work as Don Juan or his character from the soap Doctors), they liked that look and incorporated it in.

what they didnt anticipate of course is that the extra hair length made Ben appear slightly older than his History Boys look, the added tan and makeup brought the years even closer to his real age. but then production was so focused on making their new lead look his best and forget the consequences that it made him look like a friggin man (which he was) instead of a teenager (which he can appear to be)

Wow, he does look like a teenager especially in the first picture. Yeah the long hair did make him look older. I think it will be quite appropriate for VDT though.

I'm still of the opinion that Ben Barnes looks about 17 in PC. At 25 I was asked for ID going into a Rated R movie so I can't see a 25 year old when I look at Caspian. In VDT however the beard adds more than 3 years to his appearance for me but I find that perfectly believable as long as this means they're making his marriage and Rilian's birth occur sooner too. If they do keep it to only 3 years after PC then I'll have to suspend belief. If Caspian really was in his 20s during PC he probably would have been crowned king before Prunaprismia ever gave birth, which is another reason I think of him as at age 17 or so in the film. Just on the cusp of being able to ascend the throne, making his assassination all the more vital to Miraz.

of course this is Ben Barnes we're talking about, the guy who either a.) has a painting stashed in an attic aging away or b.) has swiped the One Ring from Elijah Wood and is keeping it in his pocket somewhere. i'm willing to bet good money that in 20 years Ben will only look to have aged about 5 years.

Actually it's really not that unusual, there are a lot people that look much younger than they really are, for example I'm 24 and people still think I look about 16 or 17 (hopefully I continue to age so well [By the way, where do you get one of those Dorian Gray paintings anyway?] ). And Matthew Broderick was in his twenties (23 I think ) when he did Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Plus, just look at the kid they've got playing Eustace, he's older than Georgie, yet in the book his character is supposed to be younger. It seems to be pretty common practice in Hollywood to have older actors play younger characters.

He does look younger without the extensions, but i still don't think he looks 18 and i still think he looks and seemed older in the film which is what we are talking about here. I think he looks a lot older then Peter and it doesn't quite make his behavior make sense.

Clearly there are worse problems with PC then Ben Barnes age.

I think that the beard looks wonderful. It makes him look more kingly. And about him looking older, well alot of guys I know in their early twenties look older. So i think that the beard is perfect for King Caspian

Personally, I don’t like the beard. It doesn’t look bad, but it makes Ben look much older than Caspian. I pretty sure I read somewhere (can’t remember exactly where) that Caspian is supposed to be sixteen in VDT. Ben already looked older than sixteen in PC and the beard adds several years to him. I know the film makers wanted to make him look older to adjust for the fact that Georgie and Skandar look older than there supposed to be, but their characters had spent years ruling Narnia before going back to being children. So it would make since for their characters to look a little order than their actual ages. Also, unless they say in the film that only three years have passed I think people who haven’t read the book will assume more time has passed, based on the beard.

I like Caspian's beard! it makes him look older and more like a king! though I must admit that at first I didn't like it.....but that is in the past! lol!

I've just stumbled upon a picture of Ben on the set of Killing Bono, that is shot in Ireland. They started shooting this week, so it's quite recent photo.
I'm not really sure if I like the look but I find it a tiny bit amusing

Oh, and this one is from Dorian Gray DVD realease:

There's also an interview with him:

wow! those are funny pictures of Ben! looks like he has a good sense of humor!

I in fact love the beard on Ben Barnes in VDT. It makes his character look more kingly. And really who has the time to shave on a voyage??
The only thing I wish that could have been done with Ben's hair was highlight it a little with blond streaks since in the book he was a blond and being in the open sun can do that to your hair. Oh well, to late now. But Ben will look good as King Caspian!!

Oh and I love Ben's hair a lot in the Killing Bono picture. He's so cute!

I in fact love the beard on Ben Barnes in VDT. It makes his character look more kingly. And really who has the time to shave on a voyage?

^^ yes! very good point! that might be why most of the men have beards.....exept for Drinian.

Here is another pic of Ben from 'Killing Bono'. They have really done something to his hair

http://benbarnesfan.com/gallery/display ... fullsize=1