We haven’t heard anything aboutThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chairsince late April, whendirector Joe Johnstonsigned on. Sony hasn’t issued a formal release date at this time, but the filmmaker put in an appearance at Paris Comic Con, where he not only confirmed that production will begin next winter, with prep work starting next July, but also that this will be his last movie as a director. Here’s what he had to say, when asked during an interview if this will in fact be his last directorial effort, while also confirming the production schedule.
“That’s the plan. It will take a couple of years to make the film as we won’t be able to start shooting next winter in New Zealand, on the South Island, which will be summer down there. And post and the visual effects will take another year and it’ll be 2019, and I think I’m ready to go do something else. I have a lot of dogs, and they demand long walks every day, in the country.”
Barring a change of heart,The Silver Chair moviewill mark the end of quite the iconic career. Joe Johnston got his start in 1977 as an effects illustrator and designer on the groundbreakingStar Wars: A New Hope, rising through the ranks to become an art director on bothThe Empire Strikes BackandReturn of the Jedi. He also served as a production designer on the TV movie spin-offsThe Ewok AdventureandEwoks: Battle for Endor, while serving as the art director onIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. He got his start as a director in 1989 withHoney, I Shrunk The KidsandThe Rocketeerin 1991. He went on to direct a diverse array of films, such asJumanji,October Sky,Jurassic Park III,Hidalgo,The Wolfman,Captain America: The First AvengerandNot Safe For Work. We reported way back in 2013 thatwriter David Magee(Life of Pi) was writing the script, although it isn’t known if other writers have come aboard since then. In a separate interview at Paris Comic Con, the director reiterated the production schedule, while teasing that it would be darker than the other Narnia movies.
“It’s the fourth film in the series. It’s a totally new, different studio. It’s Sony and Mark Gordon Company. We are planning to shoot it in New Zealand next winter, so we’d probably start prep maybe in July and then shoot in the South Island of New Zealand. It’s a little bit darker than the other Narnia films. I thinkThe Silver Chair was the darkest of the books. It’s classic literature, really. I think the work of C.S. Lewis is amazing, even though they were written for children, it’s classic literature, and I just thought that this would be fun. I love New Zealand, too.”
Producer Mark Gordon confirmed last January thatThe Silver Chairwillreboot the Narnia franchise, with Joe Johnston reiterating that he not only doesn’t want his movie to “look like the other films,” but he doesn’t even want to reference them, adding that, “It’s like starting a whole new thing.. Take a look at two video interviews from Paris Comic Con, courtesy ofNarnia Web. You can skip to 6:30 mark of the first video, and 7:03 of second video for all of his applicabeNarniacomments.
