...particularly since there's an opening for the Lady of the Green Kirtle to be interpreted as a reincarnated version of Jadis,...

No, thank you. She's of the same ilk as Jadis, but she's not Jadis reincarnated or not. She dies at the end of LWW, some try to summon her spirit in PC (and don't succeed - thank God). Reincarnation has no place in Narnia.

Two things:
1) There's no definitive answer, as far as I know, as to whether or not they ARE the same character, and there are instances where this particular interpretation has been used in the past, so I see no reason why the filmmakers couldn't go that route, especially given the enduring popularity of the White Witch as a character.

2) You seem to be interpreting my meaning of 'reincarnated' differently than I was intending; in the context in which I used the word, I was looking at Jadis as the Narnian equivalent of/analogue to Satan (which I firmly believe she represents), and was using the word 'reincarnated' to represent her reappearing in the guise of the Lady of the Green Kirtle.

IOW, 'reincarnated' in this sense would effectively have the same meaning as the word 'resurrected'.

My two cents...personally I thought it was pretty definitive when Lewis described LOTGK as being of the same type of witch as the WW. From SC the book:
"Long, long ago, at the very beginning a White Witch came out of the north and bound our land in snow and ice for a hundred years. And we think this may be one of the same crew." If she were the WW "reincarnated" he would have described her as such.

I think SC should be still PG. Look what will happen to the children who love Harry Potter now. The film is really 13+ now but the books don't say that. Younger children can take films 1-7 and books but film 8 is different. That gave hope the children and now they need to leave it. About LOTGK I think she could be any cousin of the Witch who escaped from Charn. I always thought about them both they can't die from old age.

I would have to disagree with you on the subject of the age-appropriateness of the Harry Potter books. The final books in the series certainly aren't age appropriate for kids under 13. Way too dark with too much death. It's only appropriate that the movies age up as well. As for disappointing the little kiddies, so what? I had to wait until I was older to watch movies I wanted to see and it didn't cause me lasting harm. Little 5 year olds just dying to see a PG-13 Narnia movie aren't going to keel over dead because they have to wait a few years or wait for the DVD which their parents can fast forward through troublesome spots. I'd hate to see SC or LB dumbed down in the way that VDT was so that they can appeal to kindergarteners.

Quite frankly, making Jadis and the LotGK the same character is a lazy and boring approach to adapting the books. It smacks of "Oh, we can't be bothered to develop a new character, so we'll just paste Tilda Swinton in and we won't have to bother to explain anything or do character development or do anything hard and did we mention TILDA FREAKING SWINTON?!!! " I'm sorry, I think she's a brilliant actress and provided the definitive White Witch performance, but I'm ready to see something new from the evil witches of Narnia. Just say no to Tilda Swinton with a new wardrobe.

I agree with you Bookwyrm (And I adore your Name! )

The film makers have to be loyal to the books, not the young fans... even if it means making the films in a strange order...

The White Witch is dead, and the LotGK is a new Witch... there is not really any connection except for the fact that they are both in the Narnia series...

ON ANOTHER NOTE: I think I remember someone saying that an Australian Puddleglum could be disastrous?? Well (I am Australian) and I think I may have found an incredible exception...
I went to see a recent production of "Much Ado about Nothing" and he was Benedict... He was effortlessly funny and I believe could be an incredible Puddleglum with some accent training

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toby_Schmitz

ideas? (Oh, and he also is really cute )

Little 5 year olds just dying to see a PG-13 Narnia movie aren't going to keel over dead because they have to wait a few years or wait for the DVD which their parents can fast forward through troublesome spots.

While I agree that Narnia isn't, and shouldn't be, geared toward 5-year-olds, it was written for pre-adolescents. A PG-13 Narnia, that's inaccessible to 8-year-olds, is just not Narnia. Lewis himself objected to the books being made into films because of the potential for them to become nightmarish. If they are made into films, they should respect his wishes by dialing down the more frightening imagery.

That being said, I think their approach to VDT was completely bone-headed. They replaced almost all of Lewis' witty dialogue, with dumbed-down exposition ("Look! It's a sword!) that made the movie inappropriate for adult audiences. At the same time, they stuck in a freaky sea-serpent that had parent watch groups warning people not to take children under ten.

It's interesting that the FotF Narnia radio dramas have disclaimers on them that say: "Not appropriate for children under the age of 8". I do agree that the Narnia books are written for kids from age 8 and up. And that they definitely can/should find the happy medium for the next films that will satisfy both the kids and adults.

Ideas for Casting:
Puddleglum- someone who can portray him pessimistically, sombrely, loyally, and droopily(droopy looking face)
LotGK-Katie McGrath (I like how she has dark hair)
Rillian- (don't know yet)
Eustace-Will Poulter
Jill-Me! (I'm weird)
Old Caspian- John Hurt(I know its a bit of a stretch)

My casting thoughts right now.

Puddleglum: Benedict Cumberbatch

LotGK: I just thought of Miranda Otto as a possibility. Or Scarlett Johansson.

Rillian: Eoin Macken. I think he'd be good in a kingly role like that, and looks like he could be related to Barnes' Caspian.

Eustace: Will Poulter (If possible)

Jill: An Unknown

~Riella

Ithilwen, I think those are awesome choices! Eio Macken as Rilian....YES.

Ithil, That has to be the casting choices I've seen so far ever without disagreeing with anyone.

I think Scarlett would be perfect for LOGK! And of course Benedict for Puddleglum! I was the first to mention him in the Puddleglum thread so yes 100% Benedict for Puddleglum!

And Gwaine for Rilian = Perfect!!

My take on Jill, Lu and Ithilwen's choices:

Puddleglum: He should absolutely not be sombre. Puddleglum has a comedic edge to him related to the fact that he takes a certain delight in predicting the worst. Gleefully pessimistic would be the best way to describe him. One of the best examples is when he tells Rilian to look on the bright side of being buried alive: it saves funeral expenses. As for the other suggestions: I think Toby Schmitz looks too much like Ben Barnes. He might make a good Rilian though. As for Cumberbatch, he's too posh.

LGK: Miranda Otto is too old, to my way of thinking, and Scarlett Johansson is much too wooden. LGK should have personality plus. I haven't seen Katie McGrath act. All of the screen shots I've seen of her, show her looking sinister. It's hard to say whether or not she could pull off the scene where she's supposed to be this benevolent creature giving the kids kind advice. The actress who plays LGK should be equally adept at playing sweet and scary.

Old Caspian: I think John Hurt would be perfect!

Rilian: Don't know about his acting, but Eion Macken definitely has the ideal look for Rilian.

Eustace: Will Poulter is dicey. He's a bit long in the tooth for Eustace now. I could live with it if they alter the character so he's more adolescent, but it would seem weird and awkward for him to play Eustace as he's written in the book.

Oh my gosh...Eoin Mackan...EXCELLENT! I suggested him a couple of months ago and I'm glad some other people agree with me! He looks right and he's a good actor (It heklps that he was in merlin so you can see him in the right genre--costume/looks etc) I love that casting choice!

Scarlett would be an amazing LOGK. She is a beautiful woman and would be great. I can definitely see her as that. At least they're not casting Tilda Swinton. I read an article that said it wouldn't happen. I feel as though they painted themselves into a corner. A green mist could have worked as the smell, a visual way to present the enchantment of the smell of the fire. If they used it now, it would just be confusing because people would assume it's a temptation when she's not tempting them. The WW tempted, the LOGK enchanted. Huge difference.

Can Scarlett pull off a British accent? She has the looks yet I think the voice for LoTGK is essential to her character, especially they way she trills her r's.