Summary

• The proposed fourth film in the Chronicles of Narnia film franchise, The Silver Chair, never saw the light of day.
• A variety of factors led to the film's untimely cancelation, including stiff competition at the box office and its place in the franchise as a whole.
• However, a revival of the Narnia films headed by Greta Gerwig may reignite interest in the franchise.

The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven books written by C.S. Lewis, one that built a vast mythology with a richly defined world, with characters that could rival that of his friend and peer J.R.R Tolkien's Middle Earth series. At the heart of the series lies Narnia, a mystical fantasy world brimming with curious creatures, that is explored by the four even more curious Pevensie children: Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter. Their adventures take them throughout Narnia as more of the unusual otherworld is revealed to them.

While many have heavily speculated the series to be a metaphor for the teaching of the Catholic Church, there has never been any official endorsement of this theory by C.S. Lewis. Though some have noted the obvious biblical allegories in the Narnia books, Lewis encouraged the sharing of these interpretations among others instead of dismissing them outright.

Following the success of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in 2001, the Narnia books would gradually be adapted into feature-length films. In 2005, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe debuted in theaters, followed by Prince Caspian in 2008. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was the third and final novel adapted for cinemas before the ongoing series was drawn to a halt. An announced fourth film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair, was canceled following the collapse of the film series.

Updated December 22, 2023: This article has been updated with new information regarding The Chronicles of Narnia and the status of the series since being acquired by Netflix.

It was announced in 2018 that Netflix would take on the responsibility of rebooting the Narnia series for the streaming service, but little information about the status of the franchise has emerged in the five years since. That is, until now. A promising update for Netflix's Narnia stated that not only would the streamer's adaptation officially begin production in 2024, but that Barbie's Greta Gerwig would be attached as a director.

While the streaming giant continues to craft its upcoming approach to Chronicles of Narnia, here’s a look back at why The Silver Chair movie adaptation never happened.

What Happens in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair?

The Silver Chair was the fourth novel in the Chronicles of Narnia series published, but the sixth story in the franchise chronology. The plot follows Eustace Scrubb and his friend, Jill Pole, as she is introduced to Narnia for the first time. The pair is sent on a journey by Aslan to rescue the son of King Caspian, Prince Rilian, whom they find captured and bound to the Silver Chair itself. Before the pair can free the prince, the two are caught by the Lady of the Green Kirtle, who reveals herself to be Rilian's shapeshifting captor. Her ability allows her to transform into a green creature resembling a serpent, and she is later slain by Rilian.

In the end, Caspian is reunited with his estranged son shortly before Caspian's death, at which time Rilian is named the new King of Narnia. After the coronation, Scrubb and Pole return to Aslan's Country, where they are greeted by a revived, rejuvenated Caspian. The novel concludes with the duo being returned to England.

Why Didn't The Silver Chair Happen?

A significant decrease in box office revenue between each movie in the Chronicles of Narnia franchise forced the studio, Walden Media, to shift its plans. Instead of adapting The Silver Chair, the next book published in the series, the studio opted to instead look into a prequel with an adaptation of The Magician's Nephew, an idea that was ultimately dropped when Walden Media lost the rights to The Chronicles of Narnia in 2011.

In 2013, a new adaptation of The Silver Chair was announced, this time in the hands of The Mark Gordon Company. While production on The Silver Chair looked initially promising after Captain America director Joe Johnston signed on to the project in 2017, development ultimately lagged. The cast that was expected to reprise their roles had aged out of their respective characters' age ranges, which would require an entirely new cast to step in where the others had left off. For this reason, The Silver Chair was intended as a reboot of the Narnia franchise, and likely would not have included any cast members from the original film series. This included Liam Neeson, who played the role of Aslan.

Johnston's adaptation never saw the light of day, and in 2018 it was announced that Netflix would be taking over the Chronicles of Narnia franchise and looking to develop films and television series around the property. This development seemed to be the nail in the coffin for The Silver Chair film, as there was no outright desire to proceed in recovering The Silver Chair after complications arose when attempting to plan the fourth film.

Why Did the Narnia Movies Fail?

Though The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe performed well in theaters, the fate of the Chronicles of Narnia film series was slowly marching towards its own downfall. The film series struggled with consistency when looking for a studio to carry the weight of its once-emerging cinematic universe. The saga lost its footing when trying to navigate the third film, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, later Disney withdrew from the project, and it was later passed to 20th Century Fox. Now, following Disney's purchase of 20th Century Fox in 2019, the rights to all three films now belong to a single entity.

When The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe hit theaters in 2005, the film was a major hit for Disney. It was the second highest-grossing film at the domestic box office in 2005, even beating out the theatrical heavyweight Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. With a strong box office and six more books to adapt, it seemed Disney had found a new franchise that it could rely on for years to come.

However, unlike Harry Potter or later franchises like Twilight and The Hunger Games, Disney did not quite strike while the iron was hot.

Instead of having a sequel ready for the following year, there was a three-year gap between the release of the first film and its sequel, 2008's Prince Caspian. This extended gap between sequels, and the series' move from a holiday release to a summer release date, where it faced fiercer competition from the likes of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Iron Man, meant that Prince Caspian struggled to find an audience. By the time The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was released, it seemed like the audience had jumped ship.

It's also possible that the studios may have simply overestimated the Narnia property. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was a hit film because it was an adaptation of a beloved book many people read as children, but for many, it is the only entry in the franchise they know. Unlike Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or Twilight, much of the audience was unaware that this was only the first in an interconnected series of novels. The Chronicles of Narnia films were set up to directly compete against Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, both of which had the advantage of higher budgets and more dedicated fanbases.

The Chronicles of Narnia films were unable to nail down a niche following that would eagerly commit to the franchise as intensely as they did to other fantasy series. Adding to this challenge was the fact of poor marketing and little buzz around the sequel films, ultimately leading to a franchise that seemed to please fewer and fewer people as it went on.

Greta Gerwig Takes On Narnia

Though Netflix has been sitting on the rights of the Narnia franchise for years now, fans finally have something to look forward to when it comes to the next exciting entry in this franchise. After Gerwig's latest film, Barbie, debuted as one of the biggest movies of 2023, Gerwig was finally free to work on adapting C.S. Lewis' classic stories for the big screen. At least, she was, until the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes happened.

Following the resolution of the strikes in Hollywood, production on Gerwig's Narnia film could finally start as early as 2024. Obviously, a predicted release date is out of the question so early into development. Given Gerwig's expertise in adapting established properties, based on how much of a hit Barbie was, it'll be interesting to see what she can do with this exciting opportunity. Plenty of theories surrounding Gerwig's Narnia film will hopefully keep us occupied until its eventual release.

Stream The Chronicles of Narnia franchise on Disney+ and Hulu