@icarus 

Yes, and there also is the problem of getting permission to use private property.  Most people would probably not like their house being used to film a movie and view it as an intrusion on their privacy, which is understandable.  However, I liked it when the BBC Narnia used real castles and some real houses in their productions, but a castle is much larger than most people’s homes. It is possible to replicate Victorian homes and to do it accurately with modern technology. That would solve many of the legal issues if the equipment is already owned by the people making the film.

I think I would actually prefer seeing the movie in a regular theater since the overuse of technology may go against the true spirit of the books. A huge budget film might not work so well for Narnia.  I actually like the experience of an old fashioned theater since the new technology is less likely to be a distraction .  The same movie might be made so that it looks good being shown in an old place of entertainment.

@narnian78: I wonder if there is a house with the attics connected where they could film The Magician’sNephew.  There might be some in the UK...

There probably is still such a house available, when in the late Victorian era, terrace-style houses have been ubiquitous in big cities in UK, especially the areas which missed out on the WW2 blitzkrieg, unlike London, itself. Not only in UK, but also in Sydney, the oldest large city in Australia, where they were quite the feature of Sydney's inner-city housing, before post WW2 apartment blocks and office blocks became larger & more of a priority. Even in my own locality in the Western Suburbs, we have a row of six such terrace houses, with their characteristic Sydney Lace balconies, kept for heritage reasons, on the main street into town. Even when terrace houses went out of style, semi-detached houses were also being built. 

When we visited London in 2009, we stopped in Bayswater, where all the houses seemed to be terrace houses, dating from Queen Anne's reign. They all were painted the same, when heritage rules demanded they all had to use Queen Anne white for maintaining their exteriors. The hotel we stayed in was made out of about four such terrace houses, & the top floor had a distinctly lower ceiling than was the case for the 1st and 2nd floor. I understand that in days gone by, live-in domestic staff used any such bedrooms directly underneath, & even within the attics with skylights inserted. Whilst Uncle Andrew and Polly went a bit further, to built studies and pirate dens in their own home attics. In both London and Paris, attic garrets were often modified as extra accommodation.  

The tricky bit is to find such a row of terrace houses, in which all, or even one, has a bay window in the parlour for Digory to sit in, when additions like that suggested that a previous owner, like Aunt Letty, Mavis and Andrew's parents, had a bit of money at one time, which Uncle Andrew had been frittering away, according to his sister, Letty. But do we actually see the house from the outside, or Polly's house, next door, either? All we really see, is their adjoining backyard gardens. The sort of house that Digory was staying in would have the parlour (lounge room) downstairs, along with the kitchen, perhaps a dining room as well. The main bedroom could also be downstairs, especially if someone had been invalided there, but would be more likely upstairs, and in the front, facing the street. Uncle Andrew and Digory had to share a lesser room, leaving the smallest bedrooms for live-in staff.

@narnian78: Yes, and there also is the problem of getting permission to use private property.  Most people would probably not like their house being used to film a movie and view it as an intrusion on their privacy, which is understandable. 

I'm sure that big UK film studios like at Leavesden or Shepperton, could also rustle up something or other, when TV shows like "Love thy neighbour" or "Keeping up appearances" used similar terraced houses, with dividing interior walls, and sometimes with front doors that opened directly onto the street without any sort of front garden. It is not unknown for such studios to even rent premises if necessary. However, I also agree with icarus, that movie sets would be the most logical solution. 

Do people think that this adaptation should expand on Jadis being one of Lilith's descendants, or is that whole can of worms better left unopened?

@bismdweller definitely leave it out! There are a few inconsistencies in things people said about Jadis, between MN and LWW, and even within LWW. The whole Lilith legend is not related to the Greek/Roman mythologies, and would be better left out.  Our descent from Adam and Eve is quite enough Biblical material (apart from all the parallels that many of us can see!).

I understand that the publication order is 1. LWW; 2. PC; 3. VDT; 4. SC; 5. HHB; 6. MN; and lastly, 7. LB. The Last Battle was published about 1956, but at the time, I would not have had access to any of the books to read for myself, until I joined our local council library at the end of that year. I'm not sure in which order I actually read the books, since much depended on which books were available and when, and have the impression that MN was the last book that I read. 

pete: By the way, @narnian78, I know your question about BBC Narnia was to @courtenay, but I must say - with the BBC productions having a very soft place in my heart, I would have liked to have seen a BBC production of MN.  In fact for many years I dreamed of such a production.  I even dreamed of acting in and or directing such a production myself!  And of course with the puppets and costumes - it does leave plenty to the imagination.

Yes, it was great to see the BBC series on TV, and we did enjoy the first 3 books in half-hour episodes on ABC, I think it was, even though PC & VDT were eventually combined in the same film production. I understand that it was Barbara Kellerman who played the White Witch in LWW, filmed in 1988. She also had a minor role in Prince Caspian as "the Hag", as well as playing the Lady of the Green Kirtle in Silver Chair, filmed in 1990. I've linked to the Wikipedia entries for both Barbara Kellerman and the Lady of the Green Kirtle, when there were so many theories about the relationship between The White Witch and the Silver Chair character that Barbara Kellermann also plays. 

At the time, Wikipedia notes that The Magician's Nephew, written as a prequel to the Narnia series, relates that Jadis gained immortality by eating a magic apple; but except for the LeFay fragment, this book was written after Prince Caspian was finished. At the time, in the 1990's I did hear that after playing LOTGK, Barbara Kellermann could not very well go back to play the White Witch anymore, because of the confusion her role as both witches had caused. 

Similarly, the Walden films had quite a debate going, between whether the next book to be filmed after VDT would be the Silver Chair or the Magician's Nephew. In the end, the whole project was abandoned. But at least, if MN is filmed, we still have the BBC version of Silver Chair to watch, if we want to do so. 

I kind of wish that a completely animated version of The Magician’s Nephew had been made.  But there is not much hope of that now there is a live action movie of the book which will come to our screens. It would be interesting to see what could be done by an artist with the creation of Narnia or Charn. But I think it could tell the story simply and efficiently in a way that modern technology could not. It may actually make the story look more old fashioned, which I think is what Lewis intended it to be. I think it would be  especially good for children or adults who would want a simplified adaptation. 🙂

With the recent news I guess it's time to bring back activity on this thread! I know we've suspected it for a while and already done plenty of speculating but what are people's thoughts?

Posted by: @waggawerewolf27

At the time, Wikipedia notes that The Magician's Nephew, written as a prequel to the Narnia series, relates that Jadis gained immortality by eating a magic apple; but except for the LeFay fragment, this book was written after Prince Caspian was finished. At the time, in the 1990's I did hear that after playing LOTR, Barbara Kellermann could not very well go back to play the White Witch anymore, because of the confusion her role as both witches had caused.

Just checking - I think your keyboard autocorrected LOTGK into LOTR !

I'm fairly confident of a good quality production of MN, but how well it will follow the book, and not present any other agendas is yet to be seen.

@coracle: Just checking - I think your keyboard autocorrected LOTGK into LOTR !

I'm fairly confident of a good quality production of MN, but how well it will follow the book, and not present any other agendas is yet to be seen.

No, my keyboard did not autocorrect anything, when my keyboard knows that I or my brain has the last say.   Especially when I've been on a lookout for Season 3 of Power of the Rings. But thanks for the heads-up and I've duly corrected my post.  

I hope you are right when however fond I was of Walden's VDT, when the Dawn Treader set, which could be put on a gimbal, was really beautiful, up close, the last thing we need to see is that ubiquitous Green Mist, more fitted to SC, anyway, and all those swords to be found. Not to mention the overuse of Tilda Swinton as Jadis to keep her employed in that role, I think the problem was. 

The problem with filming the Narnia series as a whole, is that Jadis AKA the White Witch, only features in 2 of the books, and as with the BBC productions, it is hard to keep a strong, reliable antagonist, in a demanding and dominant role, employed in other roles, longer than the 2 books mentioned. 

Hey guys / girls, it looks like we FINALLY have confirmation...  

Netflix’s Narnia Movies to Begin with ‘The Magician’s Nephew’ — Steven Haber

¿How true is it that it will be a musical? I want to believe that if it's true, it's because Narnia is created with a song, but other than that i'm not thrilled with the idea.

@giigipevensie Pretty sure people were just joking because of the rumors that a pop singer will have a role. 

Posted by: @giigipevensie

¿How true is it that it will be a musical? I want to believe that if it's true, it's because Narnia is created with a song, but other than that i'm not thrilled with the idea.

Along with what @col-klink said about the possibility that a pop singer will be in the cast, there was the flurry of questions and rumours and speculations going on a few months ago when someone else associated with the film made a throwaway comment in an interview, "It's all about rock and roll" — there were a lot of people wondering what that meant, if anything. There's a discussion thread about it here: A Poll on "Rock and Roll"

You can see we had a poll on what people here thought it might mean, and there were options for the idea that the film might be a musical or even a rock opera, but as the poll shows, almost nobody was taking those possibilities seriously!  

There are aspects of some of the Narnia books that I think could possibly make for a good musical, but The Magician's Nephew is not one I'd want to see given that treatment. It's too deep and powerful a story to be turned into something with song-and-dance numbers. As you say, there is Aslan's song of creation, but that's different!!

Since part of the story is set in Victorian England maybe some of the music could be like the musical version of A Christmas Carol, which was made in 1970.  I am not strongly in favor of having a musical for a Narnia story, but if the time period is correct and faithful to the book I might like it. I am not so sure a Narnia story would work as a musical adaptation, but if it is done like some of the Dickens films it might not be all bad. Oliver! from 1968 was really successful, and perhaps the Narnia books could be done in a similar way. As you remember from long ago that classic film and A Christmas Carol had a lot of great catchy songs. At least I hope the new Narnia movie will have good soundtrack music.

Yay! Finally we have some news!

I do think Narnia would have potential to be a musical at one point, just not in a rock and roll style.

As for The Magician's Nephew being the first for Netflix, well, I think it will be interesting to see where they will go with it, and what direction Greta Gerwig will take. It will certainly be different than the previous adaptions that have started with the well known The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe. So we'll see where they'll go with and how well it does if they want to continue on.