I vote "no" on a high-intensity open - it will impact the film's pacing, and not for the better.

Some of the negative reviews for PC noted that the film had pacing problems. It started with an awesome chase sequence and the Pevensie's entry into Narnia, and then the pace slowed down until about the last 45 minutes. You don't want people checking their watches one-hour in.

Besides, VDT is set at the end of WW2, so I'm not sure what action they'd portray.

Ok yeah I vote no Caspian as well. It would ruin the suprise...and the fact that he's still alive...

I think it should open with all four Pevensies and their parents going their separate ways to show where they are going and why Lucy and Ed have to go to their rotten cousin's house. Maybe Peter telling Ed to make sure he watches out for Lucy and Susan demonstrating somehow that she's over Caspian now...

I was imagining during the beginning credits a shot of Lucy looking out the window of a car during a rainy day on her way the the Scrubb's.

Tawariell, I Like your idea of Peter telling Ed to look after Lucy.
And I also like your idea of them showing that Susan has gotten over Caspian and maybe they could also show quickly that she is losing her belief in Narnia.
And Lucy looking out of the window in the rain sounds like it would be a great shot.

Tawariell and 7chronicles, those are great ideas. It would be nice to show Susan is changing. Maybe the only way she can get over Caspian is to tell herself Narnia was never real, and only a game they made up. It would be cool if they could kinda show that at the beginning of the movie...

I like the idea of the opening shot being a picture of a ship - the one that Susan and the parents are going to America on. It could be a still shot, filling the screen - with background noise that makes you think you're looking at the actual ship, then pulling back to realise you're looking at Lucy and Ed at the railway station, with Lucy holding a postcard of the ship.

EDIT: Other ideas: Lucy is outside the railway station, looking at a small boat on a river or canal, or maybe she's looking at a poster in the station?

Maybe she then turns the card over, and we hear her mother's voice reading the message written on it. (Postcards were a common form of communication in 40s).... encouraging her and Ed to behave well at "Auntie Alberta and Uncle Harold's"... etc...and for Ed to take care of Lucy.
She stuffs it into her bag (whatever she's carrying onto the train) as the train pulls into the platform. Ed pats her on the shoulder as they get on board, and comments that at least she'll have a room to herself, while he'll have to share Eustace's....

By the way, the story isn't set at the end of the war - it's still only 1942, a year since PC.

I had a thought: does anyone think it a possibility that the opening scene focus on Eustace, as the new character (as PC's opening scenes focused on Caspian)?
Perhaps Eustace has to go with his parents to the station to pick up his cousins and we see him complain and whine all the way, establishing his attitude right from the start. Perhaps the shot could move up, out and over from Eustace + family in their motor car discussing the unpleasantness of their relations to Peter, Ed and Lu doing the same as they wait at the station? Peter has come part way with Ed and Lu and goes on to the professor's home alone once he has seen them off (This would not be shown). Thus we see each groups' opinion about the other right from the start.

What do all of you think the likelihood of this is? (I personally don't think it's very large, but it is a possibility - at this point almost anything is!)

I also do not want the opening to show the DT or Caspian.

Yes! I agree with what people are saying. We must ask the question, "what is this movie about?" The first two movies had a lot of action in them so a dramatic opening was okay. The opening scene for VDT should not be a dramatic opening because it is not a dramatic movie (I hope). If anything, the opening scene should mysterious. Hopefully, you know what I mean by that.

EDIT: Do you really think they should have Susan in there? My real question: is this Susan's story in any way or is her story gone on to "living in her own world", the meaning of which she took a little too far?

Erm.... VDT should be a dramatic movie but not 'action-packed'.

I agree with Warrior 4 Jesus. I think you're confusing "epic-action" with drama. The definition of drama, according to dictionary.com is:

Any situation or series of events having vivid, emotional, conflicting, or striking interest or results

By that definition VDT is most definitely a dramatic movie. It's NOT, however, an action packed epic.

So yes, I believe the beginning of VDT should be very dramatic, but I do not believe it should be action packed. A simple beginning like in the book, with perhaps a bit more added, will do quite nicely.

I'll always be a,
NL101

Oops, you are right, VDT should be a dramatic movie. It was an non-action opening that I was suggesting. Having said that, I hope you got the part about mysterious. VDT has that sense of mystery and excitement of the unknown. If the film makers could capture that somehow in the opening scene, then that would be so cool!

Adeona: that's a cool idea. Viewers do need to become more familiar with Eustace since he will be carrying on the rest of the series, so starting out the movie showing him would be a great thing, and pretty unexpected I would think...

That is a great idea... if you want to have a choppy opening. To have the smoothest opening to a sequel or like type movie, the film has to give the audience something that they already expect and then throw in a nice surprise (i.e Eustace). If it doesn't happen that way, then the movie will likely have a choppy and even rushed opening. You only need to watch the end of LWW and then immediately watch the beginning of PC: you will see what I mean.

I don't think there needs to be an opening action scene, either. I totally agree with you, daughter of the King. That would be a good way to start off the movie.

In general, given how the series ends, it's a good "theme" to have the Pevensie's at train stations.

But, help me out...has any of the behind the scenes "stuff" had evidence of a train station scene being filmed? That WW2 prop story from last summer and the pics we saw were all outdoors but it didn't look like the sets were arranged to be a train station.