After announcing last year that theChronicles of Narnia franchisewill be “restarted” with the new movieThe Silver Chair, the producers have finally found their director. Joe Johnston has signed on to direct this fantasy adventure, marking his first movie since the 2014 thrillerNot Safe For Work. No cast members have been set at this time, but this story will feature characters from the original C.S. Lewis novels, who haven’t been featured in any of the previous movies.
Varietybroke the news today, which comes eight months after producerMark Gordonjoined forces with Sony’s TriStar Pictures, eOne and The C.S. Lewis Company for this restart.David Mageecame aboard to write the screenplay in 2013, although the studios haven’t set a release date or a production start date at this time quite yet. Here’s what producer Mark Gordon had to say about bringing Joe Johnston in to directThe Silver Chair.
“Joe is a wonderful storyteller who is equally at home in the biggest franchises and the most intimate character pieces. BecauseC.S. Lewis' story is iconic and epic, but also tender, personal, and emotional, he’s the perfect choice to bringThe Silver Chairto the screen.”
Thefantasy moviefranchise kicked off in 2005 withThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. This story followed the Pevensie children, Lucy (Georgie Henley), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) Peter (William Moseley) and Susan (Anna Popplewell), who find themselves in the bizarre and magical world of Narnia. The cast also included James McAvoy in a breakout role as Mr. Tumnus, along with Tilda Swinton as the White Witch and Jim Broadbent as Professor Kirke. The 2008 follow-upThe Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspianintroduced Ben Barnes as the title character, along with the Pevensie siblings, who all returned in 2010’sThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. This new storyThe Silver Chairwill not follow any of the Pevensie siblings, instead focusing on their cousin, Eustace Scrubb, who heads into Narnia to rescue Prince Caspian’s kidnapped child.
Mark Gordonwill produce with C.S. Lewis' stepson Douglas Gresham, Vincent Sieber, and Melvin Adams.The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobegot the franchise off to a good start at the box office, earning $291.7 million domestically and $745 million worldwide.Prince Caspiansuffered a sharp drop, taking in $141.6 million domestically and $419.7 million worldwide, whileThe Dawn Treaderslipped even further, to $104.3 million domestically and $415.7 million worldwide.Joe Johnstongot his start as an effects illustrator and designer on the very firstStar Warsmovie, working on the entire original trilogy before transitioning to the director’s chair. He made his directorial debut with 1989’sHoney, I Shrunk the Kids, which he followed up with 90s classicsThe Rocketeer,JumanjiandOctober Sky. He also directedJurassic Park III,Hidalgo,The Wolf Manand the Marvel Phase I adventureCaptain America: The First Avenger. Hopefully we’ll have more onThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chairsoon.
