The books could work as a series of mini-series but they would have to be very expensive mini-series. The typical BBC series is made for several pounds (not really but they're seriously low-budget, that's why they rely so much on quality characters and quality scripts). The Doctor Who reboot is a huge exception to the rule. See the classic BBC Doctor Who series for an understanding of their typical budget (and back then it was seen as quite expensive for a children's sci-fi series).

Whether PC or MN gets greenlighted next, it might make more sense to do the film as an international production rather than by an American film company like Fox. The last two films both made more money overseas.

Yes that is a good idea in lots of ways. But Fox isn't strictly speaking an American company, even if it has headquarters in Los Angeles. I think that Rupert Murdoch is the head honcho at Fox, and Fox do have facilities in Australia, namely Fox Studios at Moore Park in Sydney. Furthermore, Rupert Murdoch's children still run his Australian empire for him.

What does that mean for the Narnia franchise? Lots. Including Australian pay television rights, free-to-air television rights, airline television rights with Qantas, Virgin Blue and other airlines, not just the release of DVD's. That is in addition to whatever money such films earn in USA. Foxtel practically does all the pay television in Australia, though I don't know what will happen once TV in Australia becomes completely digital.

By the way, I agree with W4J above about BBC. Although the BBC made the first four films as cheaply as possible, apparently they didn't like the expense of SC and pulled the plug on doing the other three movies that still waited to be filmed.

Although a miniseries is a fine idea in a way, such a thing would probably not make the same amount of money as a top budget Hollywood movie is expected to make. Also, as a miniseries, I don't think as many people would be exposed to the stories, but that's just my opinion. At any rate, the Narnia movies have fallen flat, at least to some peoples' views, because of how the stories were adapted, not because they were high budget.

Now, having said all that, I believe you are saying that "Narnia" has been way too "Hollywoodized" for your taste. If so, I agree wholeheartedly. The "Suspian" affair, teen-aged caricatures, and an unbelievable obsession with including in every movie to date at least one battle scene are all testimonies to this. Battle scenes must be incredibly more fun to make than a scene with emotional and dramatic impact! *Sigh* But, unfortunately, Hollywood is the central hub of film. As such, we are left with the choice to "take it or leave it."

That brings me to your last thoughts, Linus the True, about who should write the next film. Of all Hollywood's imperfections, there are people within who are serious about their work. Even more specifically, there are people who are serious about making fantasy as if it were true, tangible, and full of meaning. I have never heard of the lady of whom you speak, but she seems to be like that type of person. So, you may have something there.

To conclude, my own thoughts about another film are simple. The main question I'm asking myself is: "Will the filmmakers and sponsoring companies learn from the mistake known as The Voyage of the Dawn Treader? That is the ultimate question in my mind. In some ways I'm disappointed that another movie is in the works. It makes me wonder if the filmmakers didn't get the message that many fans were truly displeased -- to use a delicate term. I mean, the fact that they are planning Magician's Nephew next and not The Silver Chair seems to me to be and indication that they don't care a straw about what fans think, but about their own agendas. This makes me REALLY nervous... really nervous.

I mean, the fact that they are planning Magician's Nephew next and not The Silver Chair seems to me to be and indication that they don't care a straw about what fans think, but about their own agendas. This makes me REALLY nervous... really nervous.

Well that's just it... if you ask anyone outside of the Narnia Fansites which one should be made next, the answer is always MN... So it's not so much that they're not listening to the fans, they're just not listening to the fansite members...

Did that make any sense? If not just tell me and I'll try to explain it better...

No, that makes perfect sense to me. At first I was completely shocked by your statement, but then I read some other posts around the forum. Shows that I've been out of the loop lately. I did not know that Magician's Nephew was the second best selling book in the entire series. After reading that, I'm not surprised that Fox would pick it to try to boost their numbers and that fans would generally anticipate it more. Well, Alea jacta est. We will just have to sit back and wait. Still, I'm kinda nervous about the next film. The main reason for this showed up in VDT when Caspian mentioned Susan. That, to me, gave the impression that these filmmakers refuse to learn from their mistakes. Further up and Further in... ... I hope!

Whether PC or MN gets greenlighted next, it might make more sense to do the film as an international production rather than by an American film company like Fox. The last two films both made more money overseas.

I actually thought this too and thought perhaps they could have BBC Films put forth some money for a production.

In fact, I would rather see the rest of the stories as BBC miniseries....The BBC might also be more willing to stay close to the story material than Hollywood is.

Agree with your thoughts about the BBC's reputation for sticking close to the source material. A lot of well-produced and well-written miniseries come from the Beeb. And if the rest of the movie series failed I'd hope that it would at least continue in miniseries form as that format gives a lot more time for the story to breathe and develop (even if the books are short) I could see each book at maybe running up to 3 hours per miniseries per book.

The modern BBC is extremely politically correct. Any modern adaptation of the Narnia books is less likey to be true to the books than a Hollywood version as they will be seen as too "christian centric"

That said, if the BBC did take them up they proabably could do a fairly good tv version - production wise. The new Doctor Who series is a good example of modern BBC production values.

Well that's just it... if you ask anyone outside of the Narnia Fansites which one should be made next, the answer is always MN...

Actually, if you ask most people outside of narnia fansites which book they should make next, the answer is usually, "What? The LWW was part of a series?"

In fact, I know some people, who thought, until I corrected them, that the film-makers had just pulled PC out of thin air. Owing to the fact that PC's overall plot structure is identical to LWW's (4 Pevensies trudge across Narnian landscape to meet up with the good guys in preparation for an epic battle with the bad guys), some people thought PC was just a lame attempt to milk LWW's popularity and that the filmmakers had run out of ideas.

Anhun, Yes that's true (and massively annoying! People need to do their research) But I specifically meant those who read all the books, and would like to see the movies, but aren't on a site like NW or AC... and therefore aren't following the production as closely. For example I my friend (a big LotR fan) who has read all the books, although she has yet to see all the films, which she would rather see and her answer was "MN for sure!" MN is simply more popular... and in all honesty I'd have to say that as long as we can keep Will P as Eustace I'd agree with her... (even though I liked SC better )

The Doctor, the new Doctor Who series is not a good indicator of modern BBC's production values. It's definitely an exception to the rule. The majority of BBC series are still made on a shoe-string budget. To think otherwise is foolish.

The modern BBC is extremely politically correct. Any modern adaptation of the Narnia books is less likely to be true to the books than a Hollywood version as they will be seen as too "Christian-centric"....

That's sad if true. I don't really know as I'm an American. I guess I was thinking of the quality miniseries I've seen like North and South or Little Dorrit. Those are better examples of quality miniseries than Dr. Who which is a TV episodic.

Ah, yes, but historical dramas are always going to be easier (and cheaper) to realise than fantasy stories (where there are many more special effects, strange costumes and creatures to create etc.). Also, the BBC are well-known for creating high-quality historical dramas on small budgets.

I'm pretty sad about what this franchise has come to. LWW started out with so much potential for an awsome fantasy series. Hope seems to be dying that Narnia will be able not only to make films as good (if not better) than LWW (and PC in my opinion) but also catch mainstream audiences again.
I think the main problem came from waiting to long between instalements.

I agree Linus the True that they need new scriptwriters. The idea of a miniseries is interesting and something I have though about. It seems to have its pros and cons. However I think at this point that if the films fail then they will abandon the whole franchise and not attempt to make a miniseries. And who knows how long it may take until some other production decides to adapt the books, whatever format that may be.

I specifically meant those who read all the books, and would like to see the movies

That group still isn't a significant chunk of the movie-going public. It might very well be true that MN has a larger built-in fanbase than SC. But it's still not enough to justify what will, in all likelihood, be a very expensive movie. If they can't attract casual and movie-only fans, the movie won't make money and the series won't continue, whichever movie they make. One thing the past year has taught us is that, unless the source material is extremely popular and/or recognizable (e.g. HP, Alice in Wonderland, Rapunzel), clarity in marketing is critical. People want to know who the characters are and what they are trying to do.

Now, MN has a bit of an advantage in the character department in that the white witch is a recognizable, popular character. However, she can't single-handedly sell the movie, as the VDT marketing campaign proved. Now, none of the characters in SC have much star-power, but they can be easily explained in a trailer. You have two school children sucked out of their dreary boarding school lives into a magical world, you have their part-man/part-frog guide, and you have a lost prince. SC actually has a significant advantage in terms of plot. In SC, the children must find a lost prince and remove his enchantment, overcoming various obstacles on the way. It's like Sleeping Beauty, except the "Beauty" is a guy. Again, it's very easy to explain in a trailer.

In MN, the characters spend a lot of time exploring with no express purpose, they have short term goals and motivations, and, towards the end of the book, the different subplots start to come together, but for much of the book their adventures seem random. It would be very hard to convey what's going on in the marketing materials. Given the public's general lack of interest in Narnia, I don't think people will show up just because it's the beginning of Narnia.