I want Andrew Adamson back. I respect even the changes they made in PC, and I wouldn't mind the rest the series being close that.

I think glumpuddle has yet another good point. Can we really expect a total newcomer to swoop in and save the whole series from disaster and epic failure?

I am really frightened to have Andrew back, thinking of all the damage that could be done. But I think bringing him back would be better than handing the series to a stranger and just waiting to see.

I'm voting Andrew now. If he pulls it all together, then maybe we can shop around for someone new.

I vote for Michael Apted or if we can't get him, somebody different. Here's why:

- Apted is a much more humble director. He lets other people do their jobs and concentrates on his. Adamson likes to try to get his fingers into everything. During production of all three films, we'd have interviews with directors. Adamson would be like, "Well, we didn't know how we would pull this off, but our VFX dudes are awesome, so we did it." Apted would say, "We did it this way because we knew we could do it." The latter approach stays within budget and hits deadlines.

- Apted didn't choose the writers who wrote all three films. Adamson did. Apted tried to get drafts from some better writers, but it seems that he was brought on too late to make many changes. Remember, the green mist was Markus and McFeeley's idea, not Apted's. They were working on VDT while PC was in production. Before Apted was ever on board.

- Adamson insists that Narnia is epic and his Narnia films look like LOTR knockoffs. Apted understands that Narnia is a kids' series and that it's more fun than epic. He successfully captured the fun element in VDT, something that I thought was lacking in both of the previous films.

- Adamson nailed Lucy and Edmund, but missed Peter, Susan, Reepicheep, and Caspian. Apted nailed Eustace, Reepicheep, Caspian, Edmund, and Lucy.

Summary: Give Apted a break! A lot gets pinned on the director, but quite a bit of what we say is Apted's fault really comes down to stuff he inherited from Adamson. We were all ready to tar and feather Adamson after PC, but now we want him back to give another Narnia movie the PC treatment? If he'll take it, I would love to see Apted do another Narnia film, since he'll be coming into anything else with almost no work done for him.

Take away the scriptwriting and whatever and the direction of VDT is still troublesome. Apted is a very capabable director but I just don't think he's right for a children's movie, let alone a big fantasy.

Well I personally liked PC so that doesn't get in the way of wanted Adamson back for me.

With Apted: even if you took away screenwriting and stuff and just concentrated of directing, I still think Apted fell short.
More than that, he doesn't seem excited about the franchise. If the director is not excited about a movie, how will audiences ever be? Adamson was not perfect, but he did a decent job and he really liked doing it! I appreciate his enthusiasim. A movie like this will only succeed with a director who has a passion for the source material and the film itself.
Personally, I did not feel Lucy, Edmund, and Reepicheep were nailed in VDT although I agree Susan, Peter, and Caspian in PC and LWW were not nailed either.

Adamson!!!! I really like is directing abilities, his attitude towards Narnia, his personality....and so much more! I really want him back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was going to vote for someone new but I'm still blown away by Andrew's work on LWW, not a huge fan of his take on PC but if he can pull off the same magical stunts he did in LWW he can deffinitely pull off MN! I'd love to see his take on it.

I think it would be a mistake to characterize Adamson as a known commodity. We don't know what he would have done with VDT. It could have been dreadful. Heck, it could have involved a showdown with the actual Marshmallow Man . As for Apted, we don't know what he would have done with LWW or PC, it might have been brilliant.

The problem with comparing Narnia directors is that the books are so different. Even though, in my opinion, VDT is the best book in the Pevensie trilogy, it is far and away the hardest to adapt. Whereas, some of the credit for LWW's brilliance as a movie should really go to Lewis. In that book he created a strong story line and engaging characters, all of which can be readily translated to a screenplay.

I vote for Michael Apted or if we can't get him, somebody different....
....Apted understands that Narnia is a kids' series and that it's more fun than epic. He successfully captured the fun element in VDT, something that I thought was lacking in both of the previous films.

How did Apted do that by himself (i.e. capture the "fun" element)? The "fun" elements were supposed to be created naturally by the script first...all he would have done would have been to try to enhance the story visually by relying on the production team as well as his working with the actors on their performances to bring the "fun" across.

- Adamson nailed Lucy and Edmund, but missed Peter, Susan, Reepicheep, and Caspian. Apted nailed Eustace, Reepicheep, Caspian, Edmund, and Lucy.

Again I don't see how a director "nails" characters unless you meant that he was very good at working with the actors to make sure their characters rung true in performance? The script would establish that first and the director would hopefully try to again enhance/bring out the characterizations by working with the actors. But then Adamson had a hand in the scripting in LWW and PC. I'm not sure how much of a hand Apted had in VDT but he definitely tried to focus on the actors giving good performances and he has a reputation for that in the previous films he's made. He only had the script to work with...Adamson appeared to have a larger part in the scripts of the first two films?

Apted didn't choose the writers who wrote all three films. Adamson did. Apted tried to get drafts from some better writers, but it seems that he was brought on too late to make many changes. Remember, the green mist was Markus and McFeeley's idea, not Apted's. They were working on VDT while PC was in production. Before Apted was ever on board.

While the leaked script was a terrible adaptation, in almost every way it would have made for a better film than what we got. I would hardly call the screenwriters who came on afterwards better writers, considering the plot holes the story is littered with.

While the leaked script was a terrible adaptation, in almost every way it would have made for a better film than what we got. I would hardly call the screenwriters who came on afterwards better writers, considering the plot holes the story is littered with.

You have to understand how rewrites are done. Markus and McFeely still got first credit for the screenplay, which means that the writers brought on after Apted were not allowed to completely rewrite the script. If you're not allowed to touch what's wrong, you can't fix it. This is known as a script-doctor rewrite. Script doctors really can't do much.

If Markus and McFeely didn't get first credit, then we'd be looking at what's called a page-one rewrite. That means the original script is thrown away and a new writer begins from scratch. For whatever reason, this wasn't done. It was probably due to production schedule.

And Apted brought on writers with some good movies under their belts, not the least of which was the writer of the spectacular Amazing Grace. Unfortunately, that writer doesn't have any credit on VDT, so that means somebody, likely the studio, tossed out his revisions, or that he didn't/wasn't allowed to make any substantial changes.

Stateofgreen, I mean that Apted, with the "epic" script he was given, managed to do like the examples you gave and put some of the fun back. I'd like to see what he'd do if he was given the chance to start from scratch. Same with the performances. In fact, character performance and dialogue/arcs are some of the few things that can be changed by a script doctor. My hunch is that Apted wasn't allowed to tweak the story much, but he made sure that the characters were right.

Also, a lot of people don't realize this, but producers outrank the director. And Adamson was one of the producers of VDT.

Ideally, Alfonso Cuaron. I think he would be a good match for this particular installment.

Realistically, I do not mind. I do not watch movies because of their directors. I am not faulting Michael Apted for what I would change in VDT- I think that not showing Caspian and Lilliandil together at the end is more the fault of the script writer. They can bring him back. Or bring Andrew Adamson back. Or whomever else is up to the call.

Alfonso Cuaron would be an excellent choice. I too generally don't watch movies because of the directors but there's no denying that a quality director who is suited to a particular project will result in a better made movie.

I would honestly rather have just about any director in hollywood rather than the guy who made VDT.

I think Adamson did an amazing job. LWW is just brilliant, and to me feels like a classic already- for its genre. PC was very good, though it had some problems- I didn't like Miraz so much and I hated the kiss and everything with it. But the rest was done very nicely.

Apted, He brought Narnia's entrance nicely. Eustace was terrific. But overall, I enjoy the movie because it's Narnia. However it is lacking in a lot of things. I didn't particularly like Apdted. I don't think he did the best he could have, (his Amazing Grace I thought was terrific). Apted simply doesn't believe in Narnia I think, and I don't like his comments of the future of the series.

Overall,
I definitely don't want Apted back. I'd be very open for Adamson to return for Magician's Nephew- because of the connection it hold with LWW. This would be my choice. But I'd also be open to someone new.