‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ Books Ranked by How Much We Want to See Them Adapted on the Screen
Whether you grew up wandering around in wardrobes or you were introduced to the fantasy world much later in life, there’s no denying that C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia has been quite influential to many readers and authors alike. The seven-book series was penned by the scholar and theologian and published between 1950 and 1956, beginning with perhaps the most famous of the novels, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Although Lewis originally wrote the series out of order, there is still a chronology involved. In the late 1960s, Narnia was first adapted as a 10-part television serial. An animated film followed, and later the BBC made its own multi-season adaptation covering the first four books in the publication order. Eventually, a trilogy of Hollywood blockbusters were made, but even so, most of these have only brought a select few of Lewis’ larger Narnian stories to life. As Netflix is currently working on its own adaptations, here is the entire book series ranked by which books we would like to see brought to the screen.
7
‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’
A recreation of the first edition book cover for ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ by C.S. Lewis, the first of ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’Image via HarperCollins
There is no better place to start when it comes to The Chronicles of Narnia than with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The way Lucy Pevensie first describes her adventure into the wintry wonderland that is Narnia ought to be the reader’s first journey to the world as well. Nevertheless, the truth about Lewis’ 20th-century fairy tale is that we’ve seen it before. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has been brought to life on the screen several times already, with the most recent film version having hit theaters back in 2005. While it’s certainly a pivotal chapter in Narnian history (in some ways, perhaps the most pivotal), if we’re going to venture back into Narnia, then it ought not to be to re-tread the same material that’s been done so masterfully before. Whether you prefer the BBC version or Andrew Adamson’s Walden Media picture (this author’s favorite), The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a story that has already been told.
6
‘Prince Caspian’
A new book cover for ‘Prince Caspian’ by C.S. Lewis, the second of ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’Image via HarperCollins
Lewis’ first return to Narnia, Prince Caspian, is another chapter of the larger story that has already been adapted before. The first time was in the second season of BBC’s The Chronicles of Narnia series, with the second being the sequel to Andrew Adamson’s aforementioned The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe film. As the Pevensies return to Narnia a thousand years after the moment they left, they find that the world is different than they remembered, and they help the Narnians establish their new ruler in the titular prince. Prince Caspian is arguably the least thrilling of the seven-book series, with the Walden Media film adding additional material to keep things engaging for modern audiences. While we would absolutely love to see a proper adaptation of Prince Caspian, right now it’s a bit low on our list. Perhaps the next time this book is brought to the screen, it will be closer to Lewis’ original, though given that much of the book is just the characters recounting their parts of the adventure, maybe the last movie version was onto something, after all…
5
‘The Last Battle’
A book cover for ‘The Last Battle’ by C.S. Lewis, the seventh and final of ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’Image via HarperCollins
While The Last Battle would be an incredible film that is certainly worth building towards, adapting it outright would not have the same impact without first tackling all the others. Even Prince Caspian and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ought to be remade in order for The Last Battle to be fully understood and for Lewis’ closing of Narnian history to be properly paid off. Nevertheless, we’ve ranked it slightly higher than the last two here because we’ve never seen it attempted before — and that alone would be worth a try. In fact, the only on-screen Narnia project that could have tackled The Last Battle actively chose not to. In the retrospective documentary, Return to Narnia, director Alex Kirby revealed that he “read it very carefully” in hopes to possibly adapt it. Ultimately, he opted against it, deeming it “extreme fantasy.” Still, if we could get a full Chronicles of Narnia film series that saw the whole of Lewis’ narrative through, it would be truly incredible to see The Last Battle brought to life.
4
‘The Horse and His Boy’
A book cover for ‘The Horse and His Boy’ by C.S. Lewis, the fifth of ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’Image via HarperCollins
Another challenging tale to bring to life properly, The Horse and His Boy is a largely standalone Narnian adventure that follows young runaways Shasta and Aravis, and their talking horse companions, Bree and Hwin. There’s no denying that The Horse and His Boy is a fan favorite, and it even maintains distinct connections to the final chapter of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and sets up the ultimate antagonist of The Last Battle. This is easily one that we would love to see brought to the screen. Although The Horse and His Boy has never been adapted for the screen, it has been on the stage. Back in 2019, Logos Theatre in Taylors, South Carolina, brought the story to life as a stageplay with the full blessing of Lewis’ stepson, Douglas Gresham. While the play’s run was limited, it revived interest in many to see the fifth installment of The Chronicles of Narnia (if we’re going by publication order, anyway) on-screen at some point in the future.
3
‘The Voyage of the Dawn Treader’
A book cover for ‘The Voyage of the Dawn Treader’ by C.S. Lewis, the third of ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’Image via HarperCollins
Admittedly, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader has been adapted before. Both the BBC series and the Walden Media trilogy tackled Lewis’ third, seafaring adventure into the larger world of Narnia. However, neither have been able to capture nor embrace the full scope of what the crew of the Dawn Treader encountered on its mythical voyage. If anything, each previous attempt has only left us wanting more, especially since it too has been considered a favorite in the series by fans. Perhaps the best way to bring Dawn Treader to life in earnest is by adapting the book as a miniseries rather than a film. A feature would only be forced to make concessions and condense the narrative as the 2010 Michael Apted-directed film had to — and thus ending the whole franchise. A miniseries, on the other hand, could allow the audience to actually spend time on each island, embrace the fullness of each character’s arc (especially Eustace’s), and immerse the viewer more fully in the world.
2
‘The Silver Chair’
A book cover for ‘The Silver Chair’ by C.S. Lewis, the fourth of ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’Image via HarperCollins
Few installments in The Chronicles of Narnia are overshadowed by the way that The Silver Chair has often been. The fourth book in Lewis’ original release order, it follows a reformed Eustace as he and his schoolmate Jill arrive in Narnia just in time to save Caspian’s son, Rilian, from a sorceress who wishes to take over the kingdom. It’s truly Medieval in all the best ways, and offers valuable insight into the redemptive power of the high-fantasy land. While the BBC series did adapt the book in its third and final season, it’s never been made as a film. Although there were some previous attempts to follow up the Narnia trilogy with this book-to-screen adaptation back in the 2010s, the whole thing ultimately fell through. After all this time, we would absolutely love to see The Silver Chair make it to the big screen as an epic adventure full of giants, serpents, gnomes, and charms, all of which contribute to the salvation of the decaying kingdom.
1
‘The Magician’s Nephew’
A book cover for ‘The Magician’s Nephew’ by C.S. Lewis, the sixth of ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’Image via HarperCollins
As it happens, the penultimate chapter of Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia is also a prequel that actually kicks off the entire narrative. The Magician’s Nephew deals with the origins of Narnia, setting up the plot of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and answering many of the reader’s questions just before ending the series with The Last Battle. The sequence in the novel where Aslan sings all of Narnia into existence alone has prompted many to imagine what Magician’s Nephew could be like on the big screen. Of course, Netflix is currently adapting The Magician’s Nephew as a feature-length project with director Greta Gerwig at the helm. While diehard fans such as this author have been rightly skeptical of the production based on leaked on-set imagery and questionable updates about the project, we will have to wait and see if it can possibly live up to Lewis’ original tale. It’s certainly one that many have hoped to see come to life for quite some time, so here’s hoping Gerwig can come through — if not, we’ll always have the books!
已发布: 2025-12-13 23:00:00
来源: collider.com
