Whatever spin-off movies tell us about these or other characters, I hope it will have to be approved by the Estate (or a designated authority).

It would set the canon for the future, and we don't want it to resemble some of the worst fan-fiction!

@coracle True. It seems that spin-offs are the thing nowadays, like with Star Wars, Disney, Marvel, and even DC. Wonder if Lord of the Rings will do the same, with Amazon having the series in the works.

So hopefully Netflix would keep it canon. There is plenty of opportunity to extend on the stories, though. It leaves a wide open space for creativity.

@courtenay I was just about to talk about Morgoth! Your discussion regarding the Calormen and Tash was very interesting. 

@jasmine_tarkheena I didn't know this channel "Into the Wardrobe" (it seems interesting, I'll watch it), but I liked this theory about Jadis and Tash. It makes sense.

  I know that Lewis didn't want his work to be an allegory to our world or to Bible events, but I think it's fair to say that Jadis in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe looks like a version of Satan: the way the Narnia dwellers are afraid of her, the fact that she seduced Edmund only to enslave him and accuse him for "his sin", she wanting the humans dead... so I read The Last Battle, and then Tash was the one which really looked like a portrayal of Satan, and this got me confused.

  So, the idea of Jadis allowing herself to be possessed by Tash conciliates the two things and is reasonable, in my opinion.

@coracle I agree! It being made carefully is really important.

@calormenwarrior It would also explain that both Jadis and Tash claimed the rights to their lawful prey (Edmund and Rishda, though I don't really know if Peter was actually just referring to Rishda or could he have been referring to anyone as Tash's lawful prey).

Hopefully Netflix can make it clear that the White Witch and the Lady of the Green Kirtle are not the same person, like CS Lewis did. It's like, "Why aren't Prince Rabadash and Rishda Tarkaan the same person? Should I list the reasons?" If you remember the prophecy in The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe, it says that when the Pevensies reign at Cair Paravel, it will be the end not just of the White Witch's reign, but of her life. And Aslan killed her at the battle, and He meant it! I think it would be the easiest thing to do, because they're both witches and had the same motivation. But it doesn't make them the same person. Old Narnians even say in The Silver Chair, "We see it now. Those Northern witches have always meant for the same thing, but in every age, they have their own way of getting it." I feel dumb talking about it, but both Rabadash and Rishda are Calormenes and in the upper class society... and they both wanted to take Narnia for their own. But they're not the same person.

Each of the villains should be his or her own villain. You can two evil witches in Narnia history but it doesn't have to be the same one! You can even have two arrogant upper class Calormene princes or Tarkaans or whatever in Calormene history, but it doesn't have to be the same one!

@jasmine_tarkheena You're right, I forgot to consider some of these details you brought. I really prefer them to be different characters, anyways. 

Posted by: @calormenwarrior

@jasmine_tarkheena You're right, I forgot to consider some of these details you brought. I really prefer them to be different characters, anyways. 

As they should be. I think Netflix could fall into the trap of bringing back the old villain, like Walden did. It's almost like the Dark Knight trilogy kept bringing back the Scarecrow (I don't know if it was because fans liked Cilian Murphy as the Scarecrow so much or filmmakers just randomly decided to bring him back).

It isn't like Voyage of the Dawn Treader would bring back Miraz. And why should they? He's an old character and has been dealt with. Plus Voyage of the Dawn Treader really doesn't have a villain (unless you count Governor Gumpas and Pug as villains, though I think they were just minor bad guys.)

Obviously, we will see another White Witch and another Miraz and even another Lady of the Green Kirtle from Netflix. The whole world is being re-imagined, so it's totally fine. And we'll get to see the villains we haven't seen on screen yet, like Prince Rabadash and Shift and Rishda and Ginger.

So it is kind of a trend that even the villains are getting their own movies these days. It would be no surprise if even the Narnia villains each got their movies at some point.

A movie about Jadis growing up in Charn, and learning the dark secrets of the Deplorable Word, and the Battle of Charn.

A movie about Miraz and how he became angry and jealous when Caspian X was born.

A movie about the Lady of the Green Kirtle and how she got to be in Narnia in the first place and her plot to become Queen of Narnia.

A movie about how Shift got to live up far into the west beyond Lantern West, given that the book says "he was so old that no one in Narnia knew how he came to live in those parts."

A movie about Rishda and how he got to be a Tarkaan captain who wants to make himself ruler of Narnia

Those are just random ideas, though.

Considering the current political climate, it might be topical for a Jadis focused movie. But the ‘Deplorable word’ seems all too relevant today. I’d rather not see Jadis and that word come to fruition.

Jadis is kind of cool because of her power, but the deplorable word was not something even Tolkien did.

For a Jadis movie, I would not want a movie to make her sympathetic, like what they did with Maleficent. It would not be fitting for her character.

Filmmakers, if you are reading this, if you make Narnia villain spin-off movies, please do not lose sight of what makes these baddies that we love to hate or hate to love in the first place!

Posted by: @jasmine_tarkheena

For a Jadis movie, I would not want a movie to make her sympathetic, like what they did with Maleficent. It would not be fitting for her character.

Filmmakers, if you are reading this, if you make Narnia villain spin-off movies, please do not lose sight of what makes these baddies that we love to hate or hate to love in the first place!

Just as a counter-point to Maleficent then, could you provide an example of a villain-centric movie in which the villain was not portrayed sympathetically, but where the narrative still provided a compelling story?

Racking my brains I can think of plenty of movies in which a villain is the lead character (almost every crime film ever) - but they always fall into the category of being either a charismatic anti-hero, or a tragically sympathetic villain.

Posted by: @icarus

 Just as a counter-point to Maleficent then, could you provide an example of a villain-centric movie in which the villain was not portrayed sympathetically, but where the narrative still provided a compelling story?

I don't know if I can think of any, but I'm sure some other Narniawebbers might.

Though I will say that even though it's not a villain-centric movie, the way they did Shere Khan's backstory in the 2016 remake of The Jungle Book helped the audience to understand his hatred for humans and fear of the "red flower."

Posted by: @icarus

Racking my brains I can think of plenty of movies in which a villain is the lead character (almost every crime film ever) - but they always fall into the category of being either a charismatic anti-hero, or a tragically sympathetic villain.

That's true, they do. But I don't think that's what we want for Narnia villain movies.

On that note, they don’t even have to put “Narnia” in the titles. They can be standalone movies and just simply be called-

Queen Jadis of Charn 

The Queen of Underland

Prince Rabadash

Miraz, Lord Protector

Rishda Tarkaan

Shift of the Western Wild

Ginger the Cat

They can be standalone movies without having "Narnia" in the titles.

I'm sorry but really,...this won't happen. (I'd describe it as pipe dream meets fan fiction). 

Why would someone with enough money make a movie about one character in seven books, without having first made at least some of canon books?

This is not like heroic fantasy cartoons, where new stories and backstories can be whipped up. It's a mid century classic series, still under copyright.

Posted by: @coracle

I'm sorry but really,...this won't happen. (I'd describe it as pipe dream meets fan fiction). 

Why would someone with enough money make a movie about one character in seven books, without having first made at least some of canon books?

You're probably right. I know it's been a trend these days. I think that's what people like, and from what I understand, some even tend to like the villains more than the heroes.

I think another option could be is that Narnia movies could give the villains some kind of backstory, like the example I gave of what the 2016 remake of The Jungle Book did with Shere Khan.

The Magician's Nephew could have a flashback of the battle of Charn as Jadis is telling of it in voice over.

The Horse and His Boy could have Rabadash visiting Cair Paravel as a nice guy, then we can watch him reveal his true nature.

Prince Caspian could have Miraz becoming angry and bitter when he's no longer next in line after his brother to be king.

The Silver Chair could have the Lady of the Green Kirtle not remembering her own origin, given that her main tactics is to make people forget.

The Last Battle could have Rishda tell of his ancestry, even going back to whoever the Tisroc may have been between The Silver Chair and The Last Battle. It could even show how Shift came to live in the Western Wild.

I think Narnia movies has potential to have great villains. So, filmmakers, I take the Narnia villains movies back! Do what you can to make great Narnia villains, but don't lose sight of what makes them love to hate or hate to love in the first place!

(We might have to change the topic to “Narnia Villain Backstory” or “Narnia Movies With Villain Backstory” or even close this thread and start a new one about “Narnia Villain Backstory” “Narnia Movies With Villain Backstory”)

@jasmine_tarkheena I would not be surprised to see some little backstory scenes thrown in as flashbacks, where it was helpful for explaining things that are just spoken or narrated in the books.

@coracle 

Yes, given that it seems to be a trend nowadays. That is, unless trends have change over time.

Perhaps in a Prince Caspian movie or series, when Doctor Cornelius tells Caspian of how Miraz tried to eliminate those who were loyal to Caspian IX, it could all be shown in a flashback.