Spartan, I don't understand why Del Toro wouldn't like the spiritual element in LWW. His brilliant movie, Pan's Labyrinth has overt Christian parallels.

A quote from this article: http://www.slashfilm.com/article.php/20 ... toronarnia

"The director revealed to CNN that he turned the offer down because, as a lapsed Catholic, "he couldn't see himself bringing Aslan the lion back to life." "

Perhaps after breaking with one's faith it's painful to revisit religious themes.

Anyway, if VDT turns out well, I really want Apted to direct SC. Even though I've heard he's agnostic, he seems to be respecting the Christian themes in Narnia at the moment. If he's an artistically gifted man as well as a fair one, I'd be pleased to see him take the helm for more than one film.

Not all of them perhaps-- I can see HHB or perhaps even LB needing a different flavor. I think it's the general consensus around here that a director of Adamson's type would do well with HHB.
We'd need a special sort of director for LB though. A director who can do "epic" without losing sight of the important themes.

We'd need a special sort of director for LB though. A director who can do "epic" without losing sight of the important themes.

When you say it that way Peter Jackson comes to mind, but I'm afraid that would stoke the flames of the whole Narnia vs. Lord of the Rings discussion.

Honestly, The Last Battle never seemed very "epic". It seemed very intimate, and the final battle was really quite small. It was almost as if every single dog and bear made a difference in who would win the fight.

I didn't use 'epic' to mean large-scale, but intense action. Guess I should have clarified that. The word 'epic' has been annoying me of late. I wish it would stick to its original definition instead of embracing all sorts of meanings since its entry to slang.

I think Tom Burton could probably do SC, but I'm afraid he would make it a little too weird. As for LB, I vote Christopher Nolan, not that that would ever happen.

Tim Burton as the director with Johnny Depp as Glumpuddle and Helen Bonham Carter as the Lady of the Green Kirtle. That'd be just... fantastic.

I dunno, maybe he could do a good job because I do like SOME of his stuff that's slightly less wacky, but for the most part, he just isn't my cup of tea.

No I don't like that combination at all, even if you thought Tim Burton could do a good job. As well, I can't see Helen Bonham-Carter as the Lady of the Green Kirtle. Having just revisited the DVD of Alice in Wonderland, complete with HP asides (Um from Umbridge ) I think that Helen Bonham-Carter would be too loud, too much like Bellatrix L'Estrange and the Red Queen.

I don't know what others think, but I see The Lady of the Green Kirtle as being somewhat more like Anne Hathaway, who played the White Queen in that movie. Or even Helen McCrory who played Narcissa Malfoy in the last HP movie. Someone who can convincingly play professional sweet and charming but deadly underneath. Like a murderous psychologist/nurse or something, only losing her cool when her villainy has been exposed.

As for Puddleglum, I agree with whoever it was who said Bruce Gyngell would have made a perfect actor for the part. Whichever actor gets the part will have to be tall and thin, and will have to be better than Tom Baker who played Puddleglum in the BBC production.

This is where Andrew Adamson really shone. His choice of Tilda Swinton to play Jadis really worked.

I was being extremely sarcastic Wagga. I'd hate that combination too. But if Tim Burton directed SC, it's almost a guarantee that's who'd be playing those roles.

As for LB, I vote Christopher Nolan, not that that would ever happen.

I hated the Dark Knight with a passion, though I can't deny it wasn't a very well-made movie. Chris Nolan would certainly know how to make the dark part of LB with no problem. But could he handle the joyful ending? Don't know. He's an interesting possibility for sure.

But one perk with Chris Nolan would be that LB would certainly somehow end up with a magical PG rating as a deservedly PG-13 rated movie.

I suspect that if Silver Chair ever does get the go-ahead, then the studio chiefs at 20th Century Fox are going to want to have quite a big say in who the directors job goes to (perhaps more so than Disney did over Walden in hiring Adamson and Apted) as it just seems like the executives at 20th Century Fox tend to be a little more hands-on in their productions and in choosing directors (which is not always a good thing, but anyway).

So its been very interesting in the past few weeks reading some of the names that have been floated around with regard to some of the other major 20th Century Fox movie franchises, as it stands to reason that if certain directors are on the Fox radar for other big projects, that their names might come into consideration for Silver Chair if they were to start talks on that in the new year:

X-Men Origins - Wolverine 2: Although there has been the somewhat bizzare linking of Darren Aronofsky to this project, presumably due to his prior ties with star Hugh Jackman, the other two names which have been circling this project - David Slade (Twilight Saga: Eclipse, 30 Days of Night) and Robert Schwentke (The Time Travellers Wife, Red) - do both strike me as the sort of directors that Fox might go on to approach for Silver Chair (though not the exact directors, as Schwentke will now be busy on RIPD, and Slade you might assume on Wolverine 2). But they for me they pretty much encapsulate what i would expect with regard to Silver Chair - fairly newish directors who are largely unheard of and not particularly famous, but who do have one or two well known projects on their resumes that most people would have heard of.

Fantastic Four: Three directors have been frequently linked with the Fox "reboot" of their Fantastic Four franchise, and whilst the first two - James McTeigue (V For Vendetta) and Joe Carnahan (Smokin' Aces, The A-Team) - seem far too action orientated for Silver-Chair, the third, David Yates (Harry Potter's 5, 6 and 7) would seem to be around the right sort of ballpark for Silver Chair, though perhaps the Harry Potter associations are one which would be better to avoid.

Rise of the Apes: Rupert Wyatt was hired to this latest instalment in the Planet of the Apes franchise back in March and is currently in the process of directing it, but again he seems like exactly the sort of fairly young, up-and-coming director that 20th Century Fox would hire for a project like Silver Chair. It should also be noted that he is British, and i personally would prefer a British director, if only because it makes an almost certainty that they will have a pre-existing familiarity with the Chronicles of Narnia as a child, which you might be less likely to get with an American or International director. And who knows, if he does a good job on Rise of the Apes (due out in June) and suitably impresses the higher-ups at Fox, he could be a name that comes up again in Silver Chair conversations next year should they happen.

X-Men - First Class: Again a project which is currently shooting, and one for which they managed to convince Matthew Vaughn to return for, despite the debacle over X-Men 3 on which Vaughn walked out on. Again, as he would probably be finished on X-Men First Class (also due out next June) by the time Silver Chair is likely to come up for discussion, his name could be one that is linked to the project, especially with prior fantasy experience on Stardust (and with Ben Barnes no less).

Before settling on Matthew Vaughn for First Class, Fox were apparently considering the following directors: Samuel Bayer (Nightmare on Elm Street Remake), Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted), Louis Leterrier (Incredible Hulk, Clash of the Titans), David Slade (30 Days of Night, Twilight:Eclipse), Daniel Espinosa, and Carl Erick Rinsch.... Note how David Slade's name also came up here, as per Wolverine 2, but again the list its the same sort of mix of half-unknown and fully-unknown directors that Fox seem to target.

I hated the Dark Knight with a passion, though I can't deny it wasn't a very well-made movie.

Why did you hate the Dark Knight with a passion?

Anyway I think Tim Burton would be the perfect choice. Puddleglum, the Underlanders, the Giants, the Owls...those are the kind of creatures I would love to see Burton's design with. And I think Johnny Depp would be a good Puddleglum.

BUT NO HELEN BONHAM CARTER!!! Get Kate Winslet instead (with her hair dyed red).

I like the idea of Peter Jackson, as long as he made it resemble Frodo and Sam's part of the journey as opposed to all the battles the rest of the fellowship faced. You know, give it more of a "is more dangerous than the heroes expect" quest feel. Or, it could just be that I don't know too much about directors.

I like the idea of Michael Jackson

I think you mean Peter Jackson.

Well first of all, Peter Jackson will probably be directing The Hobbit, so it probably wouldn't work in his schedule. But I also don't really like there being so many connections between Narnia and LOTR.

Thanks FriendofNarnia2, I fixed it. C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were friends after all.

It is true that they were friends, but their stories are completely different. Narnia should not be labeled a LOTR rip-off.

I think Jackson could pull it off, but you're right about one thing, he is busy right now.

I used to think that Tim Burton would be the perfect director for SC, but then I related this view to a friend, who promptly replied, "yeah, but he would get bored with the story half-way through and then would throw in a bunch of his own stuff, -and a modern dance sequence."

I haven't considered Burton for the job since.