Posted by: @jasmine_tarkheena

Though I would be concern that if they start with MN and go in chronological order, they turn Narnia into an overarching narrative, which I don't think was CS Lewis's intentions.

I'd kind of completely disagree with that, if only because going in chronological order gives you much more emphasis on the discrete standalone nature of the stories.

The jump from MN to LWW, and then from LWW to HHB is absolutely huge, with very little continuity in characters, times, or settings.

By contrast, publication order gives you a much smoother, more flowing transition form LWW though to SC, and really emphasises the idea of common characters and locations between stories.

Therefore, if you really wanted to dissuade viewers from the notion that Narnia is one seamlessly flowing narrative, then you'd start them off with the rollercoaster ride of jumping from MN to LWW to HHB.

I'm going to admit right up front that as old as this thread is, I don't believe I ever posted in it. I also didn't read it closely, so what I'm about to say may have already been posted. 

For my part, I selfishly want MN first because it's never been done before, whereas we have three releases of LWW. But that's neither here nor there. 😉 

What I will say is that I've always wished that whoever took on the entire Narnian world, would consider coming at it from the practical standpoint of actors ages. Digory and Polly are the oldest. It would be so nice to have them be older than the Pevensies. At some point there's going to be some fudging with the ages in the book to make that work (like, I don't think they'll wait 15ish years to make HHB after LWW) but if they can at least have the actors in the right order, that could be pretty cool. 🙂 

Posted by: @waggawerewolf27

Digory Kirke as a boy and Digory Kirke about 40 years later, are basically two different people, and when LWW starts, there is no real connection between them. Professor Kirke is not referred to in LWW by his first name, for instance. And for children, especially, they sometimes can't believe that their "oldies" were children, once, themselves. 

I am close to accepting that MN will be the first film.
However I will be disappointed if there is not some sort of narration in the early part of the story (what I want of course is that we will meet the narrator in LWW, because he will be the Professor, aka Digory Kirke). It makes a lot of sense for an older male to speak the words of Lewis the narrator, and somewhere in it he will quietly start to use the first person (I) instead of the third (he). A good drama doesn't need narration of course, but this would be a justifiable ploy to make first-time people wonder, and old hands smile. The narration would drop out, and we would follow the children's adventures.
If MN carries on right to the end of the book, there must be a mid-credits scene where we see adult Kirke dealing with the apple tree that has fallen in the storm. Perhaps a carpenter comes to look at the wood, and suggests he could make a nice chair or cupboard out of it. Kirke says, "Enough for a wardrobe do you think?"

@fantasia Won't they have the actor who played Prof. Kirke in their LWW play him in LB, not the actor who plays Digory in MN?