Why ‘Chronicles of Narnia 4’ Didn’t Happen

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As a huge fan of fantasy, I’ve always loved The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. It’s a seven-book series that really creates its own incredible world – honestly, it’s right up there with Tolkien’s Middle-earth in terms of detail and imagination! The story centers around Narnia, a magical place full of fascinating creatures, and we experience it all through the eyes of the Pevensie children – Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter. Each adventure slowly unveils more of Narnia’s wonders, and it’s just a truly captivating journey.

After the huge success of the first Harry Potter movie in 2001, the Narnia books were slowly turned into movies. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe came out in 2005, and Prince Caspian followed in 2008. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was the third and last Narnia book adapted for the big screen in 2010, and the movie series stopped being made after that. A fourth film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair, was planned but canceled when the series ended.

Netflix plans to revive the Narnia films, and the project recently gained momentum when Greta Gerwig, the director of Barbie, agreed to direct a new movie. She’s chosen to adapt The Magician’s Nephew, which tells the earliest story in the Narnia timeline, even though it’s the sixth book published. The film is scheduled for a limited IMAX release in November 2026, followed by its debut on Netflix the next month. This brings up the question of what happened to the previously planned adaptation of The Silver Chair.

What Was ‘The Silver Chair’ About and Why Didn’t the Film Happen?


20th Century Studios

The Silver Chair is the fourth book in the Chronicles of Narnia and the sixth story when considering the order of events in the series. The story centers on Eustace Scrubb and his friend Jill Pole, who is new to the world of Narnia. They are tasked by Aslan with a quest to find and rescue Prince Rilian, the son of King Caspian, who has been captured and held prisoner by the Silver Chair.

Before rescuing the prince, the two travelers are discovered by the Lady of the Green Kirtle, who is revealed to be the one holding Rilian captive. She can change her shape, transforming into a serpent-like being, but Rilian ultimately defeats her. Caspian and his son are happily reunited just before Caspian passes away, and Rilian becomes the new King of Narnia. After being crowned, Scrubb and Pole return to Aslan’s Country, where they meet a restored and energetic Caspian. Finally, the two boys are sent back home to England.

Despite the initial success of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe in cinemas, the Chronicles of Narnia films began to struggle. Falling ticket sales led Walden Media, the studio behind the movies, to change direction. They eventually gave up the rights to the Narnia series, and in 2013, The Mark Gordon Company announced plans to create a new adaptation of The Silver Chair.

After director Joe Johnston, known for his work on Captain America, joined the project in 2017, a film adaptation of The Silver Chair initially seemed likely. However, development stalled, and the original cast members were no longer the right age for their roles. This meant the film would have needed a completely new cast and essentially function as a reboot of the Narnia franchise, with no returning actors from the earlier movies. Ultimately, Johnston’s version never got made. In 2018, Netflix announced it would take over the Chronicles of Narnia and create new films and TV shows, effectively ending any chance of The Silver Chair film being produced.

Why Did the ‘Narnia’ Movies Fail To Catch On?


Buena Vista Pictures

Disney’s 2005 film adaptation of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe was a big success, earning $291 million domestically and becoming the second-highest-grossing movie of the year – even surpassing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Globally, the film made an impressive $745 million, and with six more books in the series, Disney seemed to have discovered a potentially long-running franchise. But unlike franchises like Harry Potter, Twilight, or The Hunger Games, Disney didn’t immediately capitalize on this success with subsequent releases.

Unlike the quick follow-up many expected, Prince Caspian wasn’t released until three years after the first film, in 2008. This longer wait, combined with a shift from a holiday release to a competitive summer slot alongside blockbusters like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Iron Man, made it difficult for Prince Caspian to attract viewers. The film earned $141.6 million in the US and $419 million globally, which was a significant decrease in earnings compared to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

After the second Chronicles of Narnia movie didn’t perform as well as hoped, Disney decided not to make a third film, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The rights then went to 20th Century Fox, but in a twist, Disney later reacquired them when they bought 20th Century Fox in 2019. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader came out in December 2010, hoping to do better than the previous film, Prince Caspian. While it earned $415 million worldwide – only $4 million less than Prince Caspian – it was clear that audiences were losing interest in the series, and its popularity was fading.

You know, as a movie fan, I always thought the Narnia films never quite lived up to their potential. The first one, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, did really well because it tapped into a lot of childhood nostalgia – everyone remembered reading the book. But a lot of people didn’t realize it was just the beginning of a whole series! Unlike Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or even Twilight, where everyone knew there were more books coming, many viewers didn’t know about the other Narnia novels, and frankly, those books weren’t as widely known to begin with. It felt like the studio maybe just misjudged how much staying power the franchise really had.

The Chronicles of Narnia series was intended to be a major fantasy competitor to franchises like Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, but it only achieved moderate success with a single popular film. It became another in a string of underwhelming franchise beginnings for Disney, ultimately contributing to their decisions to acquire Marvel and Star Wars. Here’s a detailed look at how the Chronicles of Narnia films performed at the box office.

Title Release Date Domestic Box Office International Box Office Worldwide Box Office
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe Dec. 9, 2005 $291,710,957 $453,302,158 $745,013,115
Prince Caspian May 16, 2008 $141,621,490 $278,044,078 $419,665,568
Voyage of the Dawn Treader Dec. 10, 2010 $104,386,950 $311,299,267 415,686,217

Greta Gerwig Takes on ‘Narnia’


Buena Vista Pictures 

After years of stalled plans, Netflix announced in October 2018 that it had obtained the rights to make movies and TV shows based on The Chronicles of Narnia. By 2019, Matthew Aldrich, a writer from Coco, was developing the project. While work was paused by the COVID-19 pandemic, things started moving again in July 2023 when director Greta Gerwig agreed to helm two Narnia films, just weeks before the release of her movie Barbie.

The project is progressing well. Greta Gerwig is working on adapting The Magician’s Nephew, the first book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, which tells the story of how Narnia came to be. The film, titled Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, will star Emma Mackey (known from Sex Education) as Jadis the White Witch, Carey Mulligan (An Education) as Mabel Kirke, and Denise Gough (Andor) and Daniel Craig (No Time to Die) in currently undisclosed roles. Newcomers David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell will play the main characters, Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer. There’s also talk that Meryl Streep is being considered to voice Aslan.

Filming for The Magician’s Nephew started on August 11, 2025. Despite Netflix usually skipping movie theaters, director Greta Gerwig successfully negotiated a theatrical release for the film. Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew will debut in 1000 IMAX theaters on November 26, 2026, before becoming available for streaming on Netflix starting December 25, 2026. This new film comes 21 years after the original The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Fans are hoping Gerwig can revitalize the Narnia series.

Stream The Chronicles of Narnia franchise on Disney+.

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2025-10-28 04:21