I still can't quite understand (as I said before about LOTR) why people refer to multiple climaxes or high points towards the end of a film as "multiple endings" when only one of them is the actual end of the film...   In all seriousness, I don't get why it's a problem! Most long stories have several episodes over the last few chapters where loose ends are tied up, the various characters (whether goodies or baddies) get their just deserts, and the whole story comes to its ultimate (and hopefully satisfying!) conclusion bit by bit.

The biggest problem I can see with adapting The Last Battle is that it's the most overtly religious-themed of the Chronicles, with a plot that could be very bluntly summed up as "Narnia gets destroyed and all the good guys die and go to heaven." Not an easy sell, so to speak, and not something that most mainstream / secular film-makers would jump at the chance to do, I reckon...

I was thinking recently about how a screen version of The Last Battle could handle the last moments where "He no longer looked to them like a lion..." Lewis deliberately doesn't describe this and I hope any future screenwriters will keep it at the same level of subtlety, as showing Aslan visibly transforming into the person of Jesus would almost certainly look far too mawkish and tacky (and risk alienating the significant percentage of the audience who don't (yet?) consider themselves Christians).

I'm imagining that perhaps we see Aslan in close-up as he speaks those last words: "The dream is ended: this is the morning" — and on the last few words, he shines with a brighter and brighter light until it fills the whole screen and we can no longer see the form of the Lion, but at its centre, where it's brightest, the light is subtly starting to form the shape of a cross, or perhaps the figure of a man with arms raised in the cross shape... something like that, but not lingering very long before we switch to... hmmm, words on the screen or a voice-over are cliches, but I really can't think of any other way to conclude this story without that! I would show and/or have a narrator speak a slightly shortened version of the final paragraph of the book, which is too beautiful and iconic to lose (I reckon!) and explains things that can't really be shown or told within the film narrative.

@courtenay 

In Return of the King, it would fade to black then goes to another scene. Whenever it fade to black what's when you expect for the credits to start. I think the criticism was that a lot of audiences had a hard time to figure out when the credits was going to start or when the movie was going to end.

It will be a while until The Last Battle gets adapted. I think that will depend if the six others are successful, both commercially and financially.  

I think it would also be a real treat to see all the characters from past Narnia books, like Fledge, Frank and Helen, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, Mr. Tumnus, Cor and Aravis, Corin, King Lune, Reepicheep, Caspian, Ramandu and his daughter, Drinian, Lord Bern, Trumpkin, Trufflehunter, Puddleglum, Rilian, and Glimfeather, at the reunion. Although I can almost picture it looking almost like a curtain call.

A brighter light would be idea for Aslan. "The term is over, the holidays have begun! The dream has ended, this is the morning!" I can see where the challenge would be. Maybe after a bright light, they can go ahead and start rolling the credits.

Now I'm wondering how they're going to pull off Tash in stable. Are they going to have him come slowly and say his only line-

"Thou hast called me into Narnia Rishda Tarkaan. Here I am. What has thou to say?"

Now they might have to word that differently. Maybe something like, "Rishda, you called me into Narnia! Now I'm here! What you have to say for yourself!?" Anyhow, how they're going to do that? I would like to see what they're going to do with Tash in the stable and Rishda's reaction, "Oh, no! What did I do?!"

The scene out of these I am anticipating to see Emeth meeting with Aslan. It's a very moving scene, seeing Aslan from Emeth's perspective. We all kind of hope that Aslan should be portrayed as unpredictable and have a wildness in him. When Emeth meets with Aslan,

"Surely this is the hour of death, for the Lion (who is worthy of all honor) will know that I have served Tash all my days and not him"

Emeth has been serving Tash and was longing to meet him. But when he meets Aslan instead, it's like he has no idea what he's capable of.

Though, I can kind of see that it could easily get cut out, especially if it is to be a movie. Well, who knows? The scene with the waking of Father Time and Father Time blowing his horn, and Narnia coming to an end could easily be another 20 to 30 minutes. Though I look forward to see Emeth meeting with Aslan.

Maybe if they decided to have multiple endings, there perhaps doesn't have to be any tension (unless they want to have the seven friends of Narnia worrying about being sent back to our world as an ongoing tension ). But who knows? Perhaps these multiple endings can be a smooth transition.

Posted by: @courtenay

I was thinking recently about how a screen version of The Last Battle could handle the last moments where "He no longer looked to them like a lion..." Lewis deliberately doesn't describe this and I hope any future screenwriters will keep it at the same level of subtlety, as showing Aslan visibly transforming into the person of Jesus would almost certainly look far too mawkish and tacky (and risk alienating the significant percentage of the audience who don't (yet?) consider themselves Christians).

I actually don't imagine Aslan transforming into Jesus in that scene in the book. I assume he revealed Himself as He really is as opposed to how he appeared either on Earth or in Narnia. 

If I were doing a movie, I would probably focus on the other characters' awed faces than cut to a black screen with the words of the book's final paragraph superimposed on it in white letters. Maybe that would be anticlimactic, and it would certainly be less visually interesting than your suggestion, but it strikes me as being closest to the book's effect.

Posted by: @col-klink

I actually don't imagine Aslan transforming into Jesus in that scene in the book. I assume he revealed Himself as He really is as opposed to how he appeared either on Earth or in Narnia.

Actually, I imagine pretty much the same thing — obviously I don't know for certain, but I would also guess the Son of God "as He really is" is not confined to the physical form of a first-century 30-something-year-old Palestinian Jewish carpenter! But that's getting into all sorts of theological and metaphysical debates, which I certainly don't want to stir up here...  

However, I assume that many Christian readers, and possibly C.S. Lewis himself, would say that Aslan at that point literally transforms into the risen Jesus, or certainly into some form that followers of Jesus in our world would recognise as the same Saviour. That's why I suggested maybe a subtle cross shape appearing as the form of Aslan fades into light. It'd be very interesting to know exactly what Lewis himself visualised happening at this point, but I think he quite deliberately left it open-ended and I'm guessing he wouldn't have wanted to tell his readers what they should or shouldn't imagine here.

Posted by: @col-klink

If I were doing a movie, I would probably focus on the other characters' awed faces than cut to a black screen with the words of the book's final paragraph superimposed on it in white letters. Maybe that would be anticlimactic, and it would certainly be less visually interesting than your suggestion, but it strikes me as being closest to the book's effect.

That's a really good idea too — I didn't say before, but I do imagine that as Aslan speaks his final words, there ought to be a brief cut to the faces of the other main characters looking at him (and also bathed in the light that's coming from him) in awe and wonder, before cutting to that final paragraph of the book somehow. White letters on black would be very effective; I'd suggest having them scroll up the screen slowly, to give viewers time to read and savour them.

If someone ever does make a film / miniseries of The Last Battle, I think they really will have to include that final paragraph somehow (maybe slightly shortened, and rewording the "that I cannot describe them" part to take it out of the first person, unless of course these screen versions are structured so that we do have a narrator all the way through). Resorting to text on screen or a disembodied narrator's voice-over for an ending is a bit of a cliche, but it can still work well, and in this case, the ending of the story (and the beginning of the Great Story!) is something that genuinely can't be told in words or shown in images. So as far as I can see, there's really nothing for it but to end it the same way Lewis does, as closely as one can do on screen as opposed to on paper.

Now there's another issue that I think one or two other posters here have touched on — should there be a narrator (either text on screen or a voice-over, or both) throughout all the instalments of a screen adaptation of the seven Chronicles? There are a few opening or closing lines in the books that are already well known or deserve to be (especially the opening line of VDT ), and including them could be a nice nod to the original books — a happy reminder for those who've read them and a bit of encouragement for those who haven't, perhaps! Or would having narration make it all too stilted and awkward? But that's off topic for this thread and perhaps the pros and cons could be discussed somewhere else.

In talks about the multiple climaxes for The Last Battle, some of these they may have to change. Here are the following-

1. Battle of Stable Hill

2. Eustace and Jill get thrown into the stable

3. Tirian pulling himself and Rishda into the stable

4. Tash showing up

5. Peter banishing Tash

6. Tirian meeting with the other friends of Narnia, tasting the fruits from the fruit tree

7. Aslan saying he can't do anything for the dwarfs

8. Aslan telling Tirian well done

9. the waking of Father Time,

10. the end of Narnia

11. Peter closing and locking the doorway,

12. Lucy and Jill mourning for Narnia,

13. Emeth telling of his meeting with Aslan,

14. going further up and further in,

15. the reunion of all the characters from Narnia's past,

16. Lucy having a talk with Mr. Tumnus about "Narnia within Narnia",

17. Aslan talking to Puzzle,

18. and Aslan telling the seven friends of Narnia they have died in the railway accident, and Aslan "looking no longer like a lion."

So I think we should talk about how they should get each scene right, even if they are going to have to make some changes. Some changes, I want to see Emeth meeting with Aslan done right and not be too cheesy. So we can even discuss about how to and how not to each do ending for The Last Battle.

PS: I've also made a polling list for you all to vote on whether The Last Battle should have multiple climaxes.

@jasmine_tarkheena sorry, but i agree with Coutenay. These are not 'multiple endings', they are the story.

There was a bit of fuss when the end of the last LOTR film had so-called multiple endings, but there was plenty more that was left out. But how could such a huge story end with a few smiles and good-byes? 

We should not let that idea affect our enjoyment of the book or its future filming.

But again, how exactly are all those things multiple endings? All of them are important events in the plot that happen in quick succession, but none of them actually end the story except for, well, the last one...   Several of them are points where a significant strand of the plot is wound up and the story changes direction or shifts gears a bit from there on in. But I honestly can't see how the vast majority of those events, other than the last one, can be called "endings". Nearly all of them are not points at which Lewis could have stopped telling the story and still left his readers satisfied.

Seriously, you could do exactly the same thing with all the other Chronicles (and indeed most other stories that are longer than 20 pages or so) — list the important events in the plot leading up to the end of the story and call them "multiple endings". But why? What does that actually mean? What purpose does it serve? I'm genuinely baffled as to why people keep talking about this (as they do with LOTR's The Return of the King) and making out that it's such a problem for film-makers. A good screenwriter will figure out how best to pace the story and keep the audience interested (and hopefully outright hooked!) all the way through, including as various loose ends are tied up in the last episode or last half-hour.

I honestly can't see why this is any more of a problem in The Last Battle than it is in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which could also easily be said to have "multiple endings" in the same way as the above list, even though it's the shortest and, plot-wise, the simplest of the Chronicles. (Aslan's death; the girls' grief; Aslan's resurrection; the statues coming to life; the final battle; the Witch getting killed; the crowning of the four Kings and Queens; Aslan quietly disappearing during the celebrations; the summarised career of the four rulers; the quest for the White Stag that leads them to the "tree of iron"; them stumbling back through the wardrobe into England as children again; their conversation with the Professor and his significant hints that he knows something about Narnia; and, if you like, the narrator's conclusion that "if the Professor was right it was only the beginning of the adventures of Narnia.")

Not meaning to be rude — I'm truly sorry if I sound like it — but just wanting to understand what the issue is here!  

Posted by: @coracle

@jasmine_tarkheena sorry, but i agree with Coutenay. These are not 'multiple endings', they are the story.

There was a bit of fuss when the end of the last LOTR film had so-called multiple endings, but there was plenty more that was left out. But how could such a huge story end with a few smiles and good-byes? 

We should not let that idea affect our enjoyment of the book or its future filming.

There was, yes, a fuss about the end of Return of the King.

 I'm sure we all want to see all those from the previous Narnia books reunited in the new Narnia.

Posted by: @courtenay

Not meaning to be rude — I'm truly sorry if I sound like it — but just wanting to understand what the issue is here!  

Oh no. I kind of understand what you're saying. I think in the Walden adaption, in LWW, it was focused more on the battle than it was on the freeing of the statues; in PC they cut out the romp with Bacchus and Silenus and freeing the school children; in VDT they didn't have Aslan as the lamb inviting the children for breakfast and he changed to a lion.  So it's almost hard to have multiple climaxes and try to include all of them.

I would like Emeth's meeting with Aslan to be personal.  When Emeth tells of it, show it all in a flash back. Then when Emeth sees Aslan, show the expression on his face, what it feels like to be this person meeting face to face with the all powerful. That is, no need for a big epic helicopter shot, but to make it personal. And of course I could start a whole other thread about on "How and not to do Emeth meeting with Aslan."

PS: I've changed this topic title "Multiple Climaxes in The Last Battle?" and discuss how each should be done right and what they may have to change.

FWIW, Jasmine, while I agree that the structure of The Last Battle doesn't conform to the standard narrative structure for a modern movie, you may be exaggerating how long the final third would last. 

Posted by: @jasmine_tarkheena

Here are the following-

1. Battle of Stable Hill

2. Eustace and Jill get thrown into the stable

3. Tirian pulling himself and Rishda into the stable

4. Tash showing up

5. Peter banishing Tash

6. Tirian meeting with the other friends of Narnia, tasting the fruits from the fruit tree

7. Aslan saying he can't do anything for the dwarfs

8. Aslan telling Tirian well done

9. the waking of Father Time,

10. the end of Narnia

11. Peter closing and locking the doorway,

12. Lucy and Jill mourning for Narnia,

13. Emeth telling of his meeting with Aslan,

14. going further up and further in,

15. the reunion of all the characters from Narnia's past,

16. Lucy having a talk with Mr. Tumnus about "Narnia within Narnia",

17. Aslan talking to Puzzle,

18. and Aslan telling the seven friends of Narnia they have died in the railway accident, and Aslan "looking no longer like a lion."

Items 1-3 are really one long scene. Same with 4-6, 7-8, 9-12, 14-16 and 17-18. (In the book, we don't actually "hear" what Aslan says to Puzzle. It could easily be shown in a minute.) That trims things down to just 6 scenes, albeit some of them quite lengthy. You're right that some viewers will object to the lack of conflict during this concluding section. But if it's the last movie or the last season in a series, that won't matter since they don't need to make money for a sequel. Also, since most of this extended climax is devoted to exploring a new location, it won't be like there's nothing intriguing happening to keep people interested.

Posted by: @col-klink

Items 1-3 are really one long scene.

I think some could argue that 1-4 is the climax of the story. Though The Last Battle shouldn't be about defeating the bad guy at the end. What would be the point of that anyways?

Posted by: @col-klink

In the book, we don't actually "hear" what Aslan says to Puzzle. It could easily be shown in a minute.

That' true we don't. So I guess we wouldn't worry too much about that.

@courtenay FWIW, I agree with you and Coracle re: The Last Battle, but since I know there are people who relate to Jasmine's concerns, I'll share this page which might be able to articulate what she's saying better than she can herself. 

Ending Fatigue - TV Tropes

Posted by: @col-klink

That trims things down to just 6 scenes, albeit some of them quite lengthy. You're right that some viewers will object to the lack of conflict during this concluding section.

They could, though it would be nice if there was these "climaxes" without ongoing tensions. Then of course, they could decide to have the seven friends of Narnia being worried about being sent back to our world as an ongoing tension.

I think the potential is for The Last Battle, being the ending to the series, is that where Narnia is at in the beginning, the darkness and hopelessness. Then the picture becomes clearer and clearer. Then it ends with a pay off.

Posted by: @col-klink

@courtenay FWIW, I agree with you and Coracle re: The Last Battle, but since I know there are people who relate to Jasmine's concerns, I'll share this page which might be able to articulate what she's saying better than she can herself. 

Ending Fatigue - TV Tropes

That's an excellent article (I love the TV Tropes site ) and makes a lot of sense, thanks!

I don't think Two Towers and Return of the King would have been made if The Fellowship of the Ring had not been successful. And of course out of these three, Return of the King was the most successful in the film trilogy.

And who knows? If the six others are successful enough to make each Narnia book to movie, maybe The Last Battle will end up being the most successful, both commercially and financially.

Now to get back on topic, we can probably share some ideas how they could do these scenes.

I think it be kind of cool if they have Tirian and Rishda duel towards the stable door down in slow motion. Most battle scenes are pretty faced paced. Then when they get to the stable, Tirian puts down both his sword and Rishda's scimitar (I don't know if they'll have the Calormenes use scimitars, though), Tirian jumps back into the stable, taking Rishda with him and tells him, "Hey, why don't you come in and meet Tash yourself!"

Oh, there's also the moment that when Tirian meets the other seven friends of Narnia-

“Sir,” said Tirian, when he had greeted all these. “If I have read the chronicle aright, there should be another. Has not your Majesty two sisters? Where is Queen Susan?”

“My sister Susan,” answered Peter shortly and gravely, “is no longer a friend of Narnia.”

There is usually that concern about how will a film or series adaption will address Susan as "no longer a friend of Narnia." I'm sure that a film or series will set it up a bit more.

Then the waking of Father Time and blowing his horn. I wonder if Ramandu and Coriakin are among the stars who fall from the sky when Father Time blows his horn.

And there's also Emeth telling of his meeting with Aslan. I think they might cut out the part where he tells of how he was looking forward to meet Narnians in battle, and how Rishda insisted they go disguised as merchants and work by lies and trickery. I think they'll go ahead and have him tell in a flashback how that after he walked into the stable, he walked through grassy fields. Then how he met with Aslan.

Then there's the reunion of those from Narnia's past. I'm sure you have some ideas how they can do that. "Oh, great to see you again."

Aslan's country has been teased in VDT, when Reepicheep goes there in a coracle. And there's a bit more of it in SC, when Caspian is resurrected and says that he'd be a ghost in Narnia because he doesn't belong there anymore. Then Aslan's country is really explored in LB.

I think the good thing about these multiple climaxes that there doesn't have to be any tension that needs to be resolved, unless they decide to make where the seven friends of Narnia are worry about being sent back to our world as an ongoing tension. But how to do in a film that explores on the New Narnia?