I think glumPuddle puts it well: http://www.narniaweb.com/2011/02/opinio ... a-no-more/

it's because Walden and Fox think that the franchise as a whole will benefit from making MN first. It will remind everyone of LWW which did extremely well at the box office (although let's not forget that VDT's marketing tried to "return us to the magic" of LWW, and we all know how that ended up.)

It all goes back to comparing LWW and VDT at the box office. Would you rather make a film associated with VDT or LWW?!

Walden's hope is that if they make MN first and it does well, they will make enough money to make SC afterwards. But if they make SC next, they might not make enough money to continue the series. Hope this helps!

I actually do know one of the reasons, and hopefully it's ok that I'm sharing this, but a big factor is that MN is the second best selling Narnia book in the series. (LWW is obviously number one.) Whereas SC is the second worst selling book in the series. They're hoping that the box office numbers will follow book sales and bring a boost to the series.

While it's a positive thing that Fox seems to feel confident with continuing the series, this decision still looks like it was made in desperation, and that's something you don't want your audience to sense with a franchise even if it is the truth. I saw several comments on movie websites about VDT's marketing, saying that it was trying to be the next LWW even though the story itself is very different.

All I would say to Fox/Walden if they intend to move forward with MN: have more honest and interesting marketing (don't make it completely obvious that you REALLY want this to make more money, that's distracting). But more than that, please be creative and more accurate with this next film!

If all the books were going to be made, then I would want SC to be made next. Otherwise Eustace would have to be re-cast, the order would be all mixed up, etc. As it is, I think I'm happy about this decision.

The Narnia films seem to be going down further in quality, depth, etc. with each movie. The more that come out, the worse they seem to get. LWW is one of my favorite movies; PC was okay; VDT wasn't worth my ticket money. I know a lot of people on these boards may disagree with me on this. But that is my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

I have a feeling that the next Narnia movie that comes out will most likely be the last one. And The Magician's Nephew is my favorite book. MN, unlike SC, has never been adapted to screen before. I will be happy to see my favorite book made into a movie. If SC had been made instead, I might never have gotten to see MN happen.

So if one of my favorite franchises has to die... at least it will go out in a blaze of glory. Bring on MN and Digory!

~Riella

I really don't like it. I really wish that they would stick to the true order of the books and see Caspian's story finish already. But at least the films are still being made and told myself a few hours ago when I found this out that that's all that matters and BBC never made it to magician's Nephew so this should be very interesting.

I guess they have there reasons but i think eutace will be replaced because of this. Which is one thing i don't like about mn coming first.

So it's all about the money then.

I did not know MN was the second best selling one. Not so many people know about that fact. Does this apply to the US of A, or just to England? Or is it worldwide? I honestly thought that because VDT was regarded as the best installment, that it was the second best selling one. But then, a lot of people know about PC- and it is often regarded as the weakest book.

Personally, I do not mind the order, as long as they make all of them.

So it's all about the money then.

Well, yes. It has to be. If they don't make money, then no more movies.

I'm honestly not thrilled with the decision myself. I AM excited about the possibility of seeing MN made into a movie, don't get me wrong. I just wish they had waited til after SC.

But having said that, I was discussing with my husband last night that if their logic is correct (about having the movie box office follow the trend of book sales), then MN will pretty much guarantees movie five (whether that be SC OR HHB ). If they continued on with SC and it did even worse than VDT, then that may finish up the series.

Unfortunately I'm a little concerned that the logic behind this decision is flawed. MN is the second best selling book because of the change in publication order... MN is now first in the series and people are often most likely to buy the first book in the series. However, for people who have read all seven, it's also one three least popular. So we shall see.

After some reflection I can see other reasons why MN would be the next one to go. I think that all along Walden wanted to make MN first but the franchise was limited by the Pevensie story arc, and the necessity of fitting in the actors with the characters.

Now, apart from Will Poulter as Eustace, there isn't quite the same pressure to adhere to a particular order of filming. People who are interested in buying and viewing the DVD's later on, would be able to view them in whatever order they like. Furthermore, MN is a stand-alone, as well as a prequel. It doesn't have to be linked to the remainder of the movies, apart from something to link MN at its end to LWW to explain where the wardrobe came from and that Digory grew to be the LWW Professor. They might be able to intersperce at the very end of MN some footage from LWW to make these points. The MN production will need Disney's permission to do this however.

I find it interesting that the debate has been always MN or SC, not MN or HHB, or SC or HHB. Or even SC or LB for that matter. I think that if there is to be a fifth movie it will almost certainly be SC, though whether it will come sooner or later is yet to be seen. I still think it should be sooner rather than later. I don't know how big production companies like Disney, Warner or Fox agree to finance movies, since although all three can boast outstanding box office successes, they have also produced a whole lot of movies that are also-rans, some of which make it into sequels and whole series nonetheless.

Consider Police Academy or any of the James Bond movies, for example. The Police Academy series may have sunk without trace. But whilst only a rare James Bond movie may get into the top 100 worldwide box office, they are interminable TV movie fodder, just fine to keep Dad and Grandad happy of an evening. The DVD's make good Christmas and Father's day presents, as well. I can see what Narnia films are made fitting into this TV/Christmas pressie DVD slot niche quite nicely.

I'm with Aravis Narnia! why make MN first? the continuity will be ruined if they do! and they would have to re-cast Will Poulter if they wait on SC b/c by the time they are finished making MN, Will Poulter will be about 23 years old!

But having said that, I was discussing with my husband last night that if their logic is correct (about having the movie box office follow the trend of book sales), then MN will pretty much guarantees movie five (whether that be SC OR HHB ). If they continued on with SC and it did even worse than VDT, then that may finish up the series.

Do you know what the statistics on the narnia book sales are? I've heard 85 million for LWW and 35 million for all the other books combined. This would mean that if the relative success of the movies is proportional to the relative success of the books, then MN won't make more than 298 mil worldwide, and that's if all 5 of the other books have only sold a handful of copies apiece (unlikely, IMO).

It's also worth noting that VDT fared worse than PC even though PC is a far less popular book.

I would prefer they not make anymore Narnia films, but if I had to choose the next one, I'd pick SC. Two reasons:

1) Puddleglum. The first three films have done a decent job on the most memorable characters. I liked Tumnus in LWW, Reep in PC, and Eustace in VDT (they nailed Reep in PC, but then messed him up in VDT). So even if they destroyed the SC story, I bet they'd do a fair job on my favorite character.

2) LotGK. BBC's money-saving decision to cast Barbara Kellerman as both the WW and LotGK caused confusion that somehow spread to some fans' perception of the books. Perhaps this silly mis-understanding could be reversed if Walden cast a different actress.

So it's all about the money then.

Yeah, for sure. The decision has everything to do with VDT's box office. If VDT had been a hit, they would have made SC next.

In terms of story-telling, making MN* next doesn't make sense. It is a 100% commercially driven decision, not a creative one.

From here on out, the franchise will have to limp along and try to survive one movie at a time.

*Typo corrected

In terms of story-telling, making SC next doesn't make sense. It is a 100% commercially driven decision, not a creative one.

glumPuddle...I think you meant to put MN in place of SC in that sentence? Is that a typo?