I'll repost what I said in the other thread; that my number 1 choice would probably be Paul King, writer and director of both Paddington Bear movies.

To start with, his Paddington movies are as close to being "perfect movies" as i think you will ever find. They have a 97% and 99% score on Rotten Tomatoes respectively. Pretty much unheard of for a mainstream movie outside of Pixar.

As well as just being thoroughly charming, delightful, and well crafted movies in their own right, they also show that he has ability to balance the childlike whimsy of the original children's books with the more grown-up sensibilities needed to make a financially successful mainstream movie. They are silly and funny when they need to be, and serious and heartfelt when it matters most.

He also does a good job in these two films of taking fantastical concepts (such as a talking bear) and bringing them into a very real and grounded world, yet without ever feeling the need to go "grim and gritty" or to feel the compulsion to over-explain itself by providing in-universe explanations as to why he is a talking bear. He trusts the audience's intelligence well enough to realise that the logic of a talking bear isn't important to the story, and that its the logic of the character journeys that matter the most, and i think he absolutely nails that.

Overall, his Paddington movies just strike the perfect tone throughout and I would love to see what he would do with another British childhood classic like Narnia.

Given that he's a British director who studied English at Cambridge University, there is almost no chance he isn't already familiar with the Narnia books, either from childhood or through education, and so i think he would be well placed to take the series on. 

He's currently directing a new take on Willy Wonka for Warner Brothers, so perhaps he might not be willing to go straight into a 3rd Classic Children's property, but at the same time, if he strikes gold with Wonka, and can capture the unique magic of Roald Dahl's work as well as he did Michael Bond's, then i have no doubt he would be able to do justice to Lewis's as well.

Paul King sounds like an interesting choice. I think it will be interesting on what his take on Willy Wonka (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) will be. I've seen the 1970 with Gene Wilder and the 2005 with Johnny Depp. So there's going to be a third take on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Might as well wait and see how it turns out.

Now back to the topic about who should direct Narnia films or series. Whoever it is, I'll get on the record and give some guidelines and warnings (yes, obviously he or she will have to go to the Estate for that, but it wouldn't hurt if a Narnia fan does it as well).

So director, whoever you are, here are some guidelines and warnings-

1. Stay as close to the books as you can. I'm not saying you should absolutely do 1 on 1. I understand that you may have to make some changes or tweak some things. But stay close as possible to the books as you can. You may not have to get it a 100% right.

2. As most Narnia fans would agree, do not make Narnia about saving the world. Don't be all like, "Oh, we got have a huge epic battle to save Narnia!" For instance, let HHB focus on Shasta trying to find out about his true identity and where he belongs. So do not make Narnia about saving the world!

3. This is a big one, but do not diminish the Christian aspect. This is especially if you know who Aslan is in our world. Even though I wouldn't necessarily expect anything religious, make it so that even secular audiences can enjoy, but not diminish the Christian meaning. Hey, no one is perfect. I don't want to be too dismissive. But you have a big challenge ahead about the Christian aspect of Narnia.

So whoever the director is, he or she has a real challenge ahead when adapting Narnia to films or series.

Posted by: @icarus

I'll repost what I said in the other thread, that my number 1 choice would probably be Paul King, writer and director of both Paddington Bear movies.

.....

He's currently directing a new take on Willy Wonka for Warner Brothers, so perhaps he might not be willing to go straight into a 3rd Classic Children's property, but at the same time, if he strikes gold with Wonka, and can capture the unique magic of Roald Dahl's work as well as he did Michael Bond's, then i have no doubt he would be able to do justice to Lewis's as well.

Although it's perhaps somewhat of a moot point, given that we've now got Greta Gerwig lined up to direct the first two Narnia movies at least, but I would have to say that Paul King once again thoroughly impressed me with Wonka.

It would have been very easy to turn an origin story for Willy Wonka into a joyless and boring slog (see the Tim Burton movie) but Paul King showed once again that as with Paddington he can deliver charming and delightful storytelling in spades.

He also adapted his style excellently to the musical format of Wonka and impressed with some really clever and inventive direction.

Furthermore, even though it was an original story, the invented elements (particularly Olivia Coleman's character) felt very true to Roald Dahl's books, even if the movie as a whole was more a tribute to the Gene Wilder film.

Overall, another smash from Paul King in my books and i would be even more keen now to see his take on Narnia if the opportunity ever came up.

@icarus 

The 1973 Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory is a classic; the 2005 Tim Burton Charlie And The Chocolate Factory is dark and quirky (though that is his style of storytelling). I haven't seen the most recent Wonka film (I'll probably go see it after the Holidays are over).

Honestly, I can't imagine Tim Burton directing a Narnia film. So Paul King would be idea if Greta Gerwig directs only 2 Narnia films. Well, I suppose it wouldn't surprise me if the Narnia film franchise went through different directors like the Walden Film trilogy did (Andrew Adamson for LWW and PC and Michael Adpted for VDT). So I would not be surprise if the new Narnia film franchise went through different directors.

This is going to sound depressing, but I don't really think there's any director who's perfect for Narnia. Actually, I think there probably is one, but we don't know who they are because they're not famous. (Not yet anyway.) 

I can think of directors whose styles have aspects that would be great for Narnia but none of them exactly perfect. The closest I can think of is Hayao Miyazaki and he's a pacifist, something of which C. S. Lewis disapproved. Also, he makes animated movies and I'd like to see more live action Narnia movies. (Not that I'm against animated Narnia movies. I find animation to be a fascinating medium. It'd just be disappointing not to bring Narnia to life in a photorealistic way when we finally have the technology to do so.) 

Complicating the matter, I think adaptations of different books would benefit from different directors. For example, a director of basic action-adventure movies would be best for The Silver Chair. (That's why I wasn't as disappointed by the idea of Joe Johnston directing an adaptation of that as some people were though I didn't love the choice either.) For The Magician's Nephew or The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, an artsy director who might win an award at the Slamdance Film Festival. 

That doesn't mean I don't want to see more movies based on Narnia books though. Imperfect adaptations can still be great and there might be a director out there who's perfect for Narnia. I just don't know who they are yet because they're currently unknown. 

Posted by: @col-klink

I can think of directors whose styles have aspects that would be great for Narnia but none of them exactly perfect. The closest I can think of is Hayao Miyazaki and he's a pacifist, something of which C. S. Lewis disapproved.

The issue there would not only be Lewis's disapproval, but the fact that many of the Narnia books do include violence or warfare of some sort. If a director is known for always taking a pacifist position in his (or her) films, that's someone who probably wouldn't want to adapt books where the need to take up arms against an enemy — however reluctantly — is a major part of the plot.

(That to me, by the way, is far less ambiguous than the discussions we've had here as to whether a self-proclaimed feminist director, like Gerwig, could do the Narnia books justice — in case anyone was wondering.   Gender issues aren't central to  the plots of any of the Chronicles, so there's no clear and obvious answer as to how a feminist director might respond to them, or choose to change them. Whereas battles and warfare are an inescapable part of many of them — particularly LWW, PC, HHB and of course LB — so it's immediately obvious that this would present problems for a director who is a firm pacifist.)

Also, he makes animated movies and I'd like to see more live action Narnia movies. (Not that I'm against animated Narnia movies. I find animation to be a fascinating medium. It'd just be disappointing not to bring Narnia to life in a photorealistic way when we finally have the technology to do so.) 

I'm "on the fence" about that myself — like you, I'd love to see Narnia portrayed photorealistically, as it was in the Walden films, but sticking closer to the original books than they did! But I would also love to see an animated version, if it could be done well enough and in a style that looks "right" for Narnia. The big advantage of animation is that there are no worries about finding and casting actors who look the part for their roles, and no need to find appropriate places for filming on location. (Although even whole sets can be rendered entirely in CGI these days, if one has the budget for it.)

Thinking about it further, I do think (as I know others here have said) it would be ideal to have a director who's a committed Christian — but one who doesn't feel the need to be vocal about it, who is more committed to living what Lewis himself called "mere Christianity" rather than getting into theological arguments and denominational differences, and who fully understands that Narnia needs to appeal to a very broad audience and not be pigeonholed as "Christian fantasy". That's the case with the books themselves — the Christian essence of them is there all the way through, but it's perfectly possible for those who don't know about it, or aren't interested in it, to enjoy the books as they are, and then if they ever do want to dig into the deeper meaning, well, it's always there. I've got some hope that Gerwig may understand that, but I'm not fully convinced and I figure the jury's out until we find out what she's actually going to do.

All that aside, though, I totally agree with your point — if there really is a perfect director for Narnia, we haven't found him or her yet! But perhaps some day...  

Posted by: @col-klink

This is going to sound depressing, but I don't really think there's any director who's perfect for Narnia. Actually, I think there probably is one, but we don't know who they are because they're not famous. (Not yet anyway.)

There's a popular saying: "Perfect is the enemy of good"

i.e.: in life it is rare that true perfection is ever attainable, but that shouldn't stop us from doing things that are in themselves still positives. Take Greta Gerwig for example, is she the perfect choice of director for Narnia? almost certainly not. Has she however demonstrated with her previous body of work that she has more than enough directorial abilities and at least some matching sensibilities with Narnia to be more than good enough? in my opinion definitely yes.

However, since this thread is about other directorial choices (not Greta Gerwig), I'll throw another name into the mix that I think would be a pretty good choice to direct a Narnia movie at some point in the future, and that is Joe Wright.

He has demonstrated he can do really solid and pretty faithful adaptations of books with both 'Pride and Prejudice' (2005) and 'Atonement' (2007), the latter of which I thought was excellent. Admittedly, his 2015 Peter Pan adaptation is one I've not seen, and also not heard great things about, but I'll at least chalk that up as giving him a positive experience of how not to adapt a beloved children's classic. 😉

However its his two latest films which are probably amongst my most favourite of all recent films - 2017's 'Darkest Hour', and 2021's 'Cyrano'. Both have a clear directorial voice, and his own personality is definitely stamped on both of them, and yet they still feel completely distinct from one another, and interesting in their own special ways. In particular, I like the way he explores the concepts of written and verbal communication - which to me is the common thematic connection through Atonement, Cyrano, and Darkest Hour - and I guess I would be interested to see whether the prominence of the narrator's voice in the Narnia books is something he could work with in that regard.

Again, as with Greta Gerwig, I'm not suggesting his back catalogue represents a 100% like-for-like match-up with Narnia, but I do find that there's more than enough interesting sensibilities dotted around his work that i would be intrigued to see what he would do with a Narnia adaptation at some point in the future.

@icarus Would it make you more comfortable if instead of saying "I don't think there's any perfect director for Narnia out there (of whom I can think") I said "there are no movies being made that strike me as having the same spirit as Narnia?" (Again, putting aside the works of Hayao Miyazaki.) 

FWIW, I like your suggestion of Joe Wright better than your suggestion of Paul King since the latter seems to mainly direct comedies. (I don't really love any of Wright's movies that I've seen but the problems I had with them had more to do with the scripts than with the direction.) 

Regardless of who they get to direct Narnia films or series (whether it's a man or a woman), I'm willing to wait and see how his or her project turns out. There are chances that he or she could throw in something that I wouldn't be too crazy about. Then of course, it could turn out better than we would have hoped for.

@col-klink That's a perfectly fine position to adopt... I guess I was just interested to hear whether there were any presently active live-action film directors who you felt at least had some of the qualities necessary to direct a Narnia film, even if they don't have all of the qualities. Absolutely fine if there aren't though.

As a potential example of where I see the whole issue from - if you were to ask me for a list of genuinely great film directors who who's style and sensibilities were definitely not a good match for Narnia, then I'd have to think that pretty far up that list would be Martin Scorsese. He's a director who's made some of the greatest films of all time, but generally seems to stick to the crime drama genre and likes to tell stories which exist in a world of extreme violence (e.g. Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Casino, Gangs of New York, The Departed, Wolf of Wall Street, etc.). Based on his resume, and despite his undoubted qualities, he would therefore probably be the last person you would want to direct an adaptation of a beloved children's book like Narnia.

And yet.... in spite of all this, Martin Scorsese did do an adaptation of a children's book - 2011's "Hugo" - and it was absolutely fantastic! Not only that, but Hugo probably has a lot of the qualities that I would want from a Narnia tale. I love the interplay between the two child leads, and the genuine sense of wonder and delight they have when they reveal the heart of the mystery.... also the way they have to sneak through the rafters of the train station building reminds me of The Magician's Nephew, and overall the film just generally has a great feel to it. Sure you could argue that my analogies here are somewhat superficial, but in terms of the "boy & girl go on a mystery adventure" framework, Hugo's got a lot going for it that I would love to see in a Narnia movie.

Perhaps there aren't many other film director's out there who could deliver an absolutely belting children's movie out of absolutely nowhere, but I guess my point is that as long as the director has at least some of the right qualities going for them, then most good film directors should be adaptable enough to meet the task at hand. Therefore, given that this is largely an academic exercise for us to draw out what exactly we want to see in a Narnia film, that's why I suggested the two directors so far that I did, and why I'm definitely keen to hear more of other people's suggestions.

Posted by: @icarus

I guess I was just interested to hear whether there were any presently active live-action film directors who you felt at least had some of the qualities necessary to direct a Narnia film, even if they don't have all of the qualities.

Sure. I think there are plenty of movies being made nowadays with great casting, great visuals, great music, great writing, etc. Those are all things I want from a Narnia movie. Keep in mind though, while I'm sure there are plenty of good movies out there, I only go out of my way to see a movie if it's based on a book I like and I usually only pay attention to who directed a movie if I really liked it. (Or maybe, out of morbid curiosity, if I really disliked it. )

A director whose name I can remember is Kenneth Branagh. He directed the recent Hercule Poirot movies, and he's done a lot of Shakespeare stuff. I wouldn't heartily recommend every movie he's made but I do think he has a great sense of style and if he's in the director's seat, a movie's probably not going to be boring. I wouldn't feel super comfortable with him directing a Narnia adaptation though because his movies are always sort of grandiose and larger than life. That would work great for some scenes from the Narnia books like the creation scene from The Magician's Nephew or the apocalypse from The Last Battle. But I'm not sure if I'd want every scene to feel like that. The casts of his movies also tend to be very star studded. (Come to think of it, so do Greta Gerwig's after she hit the big time.) His Hamlet is almost like a Muppet movie with how many bit cameos it has from big name actors. That's not a bad thing. In fact, it can be a great thing. Often movie stars become movie stars because they're really charismatic and talented. I'd say most of Kenneth Branagh's movies have great casting. (I think Emma Thompson has ruined the role of Beatrice from his Much Ado About Nothing for me and Lily James is my favorite Cinderella.) But I'm not sure I want every actor in the Narnia movies to be super recognizable. It's kind of fun to see a great performance from an actor you've never seen in anything before. I'd like a mix of famous and non-famous like in the Walden Media movies. 

Is that a good example of a director who has some qualities that might be great for Narnia and some that might not be so great for it?

@col-klink 

I actually heard that Kenneth Branagh reading The Magician's Nephew as an audiobook. Though I would have never thought of him as directing a Narnia film. Well, it sounds like an interesting choice.

@col-klink LOL, like a Muppet movie?  Love your simile!

@col-klink I do like Kenneth Branagh as well, but I'd have to agree he's not exactly 100% ideal for everything in Narnia.That said, I could also see him handling most scenes of The Horse and His Boy pretty well, as that has the most epic/larger-than-life elements of the books, imo.