Yeah, Flaherty really made Walden sound wimpy in this interview. I was also confused when Flaherty agreed with Lewis that we shouldn't shield kids from the darkness in the world as long as we know the good overcomes it. But then the quote from him that Reepicheep775 just pointed out totally contradicted his position. So, they are avoiding The Silver Chair because they feel The Magician's Nephew would be lighter? Come on, Walden! You can't sweep SC under the rug just because you don't have the guts to deal with man-eating giants and earthmen in Underland. Really, kids see much more unsettling stuff than that in Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter.

I think everyone knows which film SHOULD be next. But we also know that money is the big Hollywood factor and they will do whatever they feel brings in the most profit. And Walden apparently thinks it's MN.

Here is what it boils down to for me:

If they make MN next, it will feel like a last-ditch effort to milk the franchise a little more before it dies. It will be very difficult to take them seriously.

If they make SC next, it will feel like a genuine effort is being made to continue the series and make all seven. It will be...slightly less difficult to take them seriously.

"Return to magic, return to hope" mentality for the remainder of the series? I'm going to cry now...

Seconded Reepicheep775. But it wasn't the stuff that they're focusing on now that made LWW magical, it was the reality, the seriousness... I just which the movie makers would see that. Narnia is about reality just as much as it is about fantasy. At least the BBC series didn't try to dumb the movies down on purpose

Here's hoping that the fact that they've been pushing MN forever may indicate that someone... somewhere loves the book for what it is and won't try to make it epic like PC or magical like VDT. A good story, a good script, will contain both of those inherently- You don't need to try to put them in there at all, if you do you will fail.

To claim Caspian is the darkest of the books is venturing into levels of absurdity that make it difficult for me to take anything he says seriously. The book itself is not that dark, with the exception of the Sorcery and Sudden Vengeance chapter. Walden chose to actively make the story darker and more violent than it needed to be. But now that they've come right out and said that they're actively shying away from any more dark elements, I've pretty much lost any hope that we'll see a faithful adaptation. Hopefully the remakes will be made in my lifetime.

"Return to magic, return to hope" mentality for the remainder of the series? I'm going to cry now...

Seconded Reepicheep775. But it wasn't the stuff that they're focusing on now that made LWW magical, it was the reality, the seriousness... I just which the movie makers would see that.

I know, eh! The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe wasn't nearly as light and "magikal" as The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Not only has Walden not read the books, I don't think they even watch their own movies!

At least the BBC series didn't try to dumb the movies down on purpose

I agree completely. I mean, to be honest a lot of the stuff that children watch nowardays icontains things that, when you list them, sound inapproapriate, but in practice you really don't notice because you are either too busy watching and enjoying the film (!) to notice, or it goes over the heads of most viewers!
For example, it is almost impossible to find a U/ PG film that doesn't contain mild language or inuendo, violence etc. But the films are still classifyed U / PG because it is stuff that children don't understand or mind. Children don't need shielding. C.S Lewis thought that and his books reflected that and the films should too. Walden are doing a Lewis book adaptation so it should be as Lewis wrote it (As far as possible), otherwise they should pick a set of books that depict only happiness...if they can find any books like that. Not even 'the magic key' is without its dark elements and We were reading those in Reception!

Sorry, rant over I just feel very strongly about SC

Is that it then? Are we stuck with this "Return to magic, return to hope" mentality for the remainder of the series? I'm going to cry now...

I know... I think I'm starting to lose my "hope" for the rest of the film series. see this "Return to magic, return to hope" campaign as the filmakers thought "This could be our last chance if we can't bring in the crowds". They didn't. How depressing.

But VDT was a great movie! Didn't you cry on the vieving? I did! I think the situation is not so poor as we think. Do you know that it was attended by British Royal Family? On http://www.traileraddict.com are B-rolls from that event! And it was watched there for the first time! FIRST TIME!

Yes, I almost cried because the movie was so mediocre.

CharlotteRose, PG stands for Parental Guidance. Why must people expect G level content from a PG movie/TV series etc?

Because the parents don't actually want to do the guidance? They want the film-makers to do all this so they can have someone else to blame. Am I being too harsh? I don't think so, unfortunately.

Yes, waggawerewolf27, That is kind of my point. Though I don't really understand your question Warrior 4 Jesus. I am totally against the people who want a film that is 'G' rated when the film is PG. I was trying to make that point that people go to see a PG film and complain that they are (e.g) too violent for children etc, when actually the children don't feel that way.

The more and more I think about it, the more and more I believe that doing MN could be the best thing they can do with the franchise. First off, people remember LWW more than any Narnia movie. If they can wow the audience with big special effects and the "ah ha!" moments, MN could mkae more than VDT, maybe even more than PC! Also, a prequel will renew interest in the franchise. Once people see MN, they'll see the other films in a different light. Then they'll be ready to see a sequel to VDT.

Really, when is the best time to do MN? What if VDT exceeded expectations and made more than PC and then some. Then SC was made and did poorly. They'd want to do MN then. For MN & HHB, there is no perfect time to do them unless they were made after LB. Of course, all of us want LB to be the last movie.

So, I think we should stop complaining about SC not being next. Do I want SC to be next? Of course I do! No one wants to see it on the big screen more than me! But if we can bypass the two interruptions now (HHB & MN), we should hopefully see SC & LB in a linear release.

If MN is ever and even greenlit, I feel they just have to get Digory's character right. His journey for me is the heart of the book. Every time I read it, I feel more and more emotions toward him, and he's one of my favorite characters.

I just think Walden Media really needs to understand the books better. By saying this, I mean, look at it. Are The Silver Chair and Prince Caspian really that dark? Did they even read The Last Battle? While I was reading MN recently, in the section about Charn, I felt the same intensity I did while reading about the Underworld in SC. There are parts of MN that make me just as scared as the other books.

Is Walden Media going to try to sugarcoat the true darkness of Narnia as long as possible? What are they going to do when they run out of MN on the Narnia adaption list? Are they going to make SC a happy story of a cave exploration for a Prince who is lost down there with the Wicked Witch of the North?

What is it with darkness they don't want to show to children? In the world right now, there are issues that are much worse than what happens in most of the Narnia stories. There are long ongoing wars, famine, and the like. I think darkness in stories can help relate kids to the real world.

In the long running, MN, like the other Narnia stories, has things they just have to get right. But I am upset they are running the series away from what it is. They don't want to get into the deepness of issues that can help children cope with real life. Walden Media, if you ever cared about Narnia, let it be itself showing it's true colors, not some dumb downed My Little Pony setting.

What is it with darkness they don't want to show to children? In the world right now, there are issues that are much worse than what happens in most of the Narnia stories. There are long ongoing wars, famine, and the like. I think darkness in stories can help relate kids to the real world.

Their problem with darkness isn't related to a concern for the children, but a concern for the bottom line. They did some marketing research into PC's poor performance (for a sequel to a mega-hit). One of the top reasons people gave for why PC turned them off of the franchise, was that it was too dark. So now supposedly, they are trying to move away from overly dark stories. I do agree with you about MN, though. At some points it gets very dark indeed. The incident of Digory twisting Polly's arm is downright disturbing, and is likely to have feminists in an uproar, if they include it in the movie.

Why would feminists be in an uproar from that scene? Digory is just being a horridly behaved boy at the point in the book where he does that. He wouldn't have to grab her too hard in the movie. Part of me thinks they shouldn't market research/focus group research these things anymore....I don't know how accurate these studies ever are. I'd love to see the actual results of the one for PC published....they must be available for viewing somewhere?