Narnia’s Perfect Prequel Setup Still Deserves the Movie It Never Got

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As a huge fan of the books, I was blown away when The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe hit theaters in 2005. It’s rare to see a movie adaptation get everything right, but this one really nailed the spirit of the story. What I especially loved was how it wasn’t just faithful to this book, but cleverly hinted at things to come in the series – there was a pretty big Easter egg that felt like a setup for something really cool down the line.

The series seemed to lose steam after the first three films, with a noticeable decline in both quality and audience interest, although they were still enjoyable. Ultimately, this led Greta Gerwig to explore the story again. It’s become apparent that focusing on the earlier stories hinted at in the films could have allowed the franchise to expand and thrive.

The Magician’s Nephew Could’ve Been a Perfect Narnia Prequel

Many people who only know the Narnia films think The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was the first book in the series. However, the books actually present The Magician’s Nephew as happening earlier. C.S. Lewis, a deeply religious man, frequently drew connections between his Narnia stories and the Bible, and The Magician’s Nephew functions as a kind of creation story for the world of Narnia.

This story follows young Digory Kirke and his friend Polly Plummer as they discover the magical land of Narnia, years before the adventures of the Pevensie children. It explains how the famous wardrobe came to be and establishes Digory as an important figure in the overall history of Narnia.

In the 2005 movie, the character acts just as he does in the book. However, at the film’s conclusion, his conversation with Lucy hints that he understood everything that happened beyond the wardrobe—a subtle detail most viewers probably missed. This moment cleverly foreshadowed a potential prequel story.

Narnia is a surprisingly connected world, similar to others, though perhaps not as dramatic. However, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was the most successful film in the series so far, and a prequel could have maintained audience interest by exploring the mysteries of the wardrobe and the world of Narnia before the White Witch took control.

When prequels were popular – like those for Star Wars and later The Hobbit – it was a missed chance not to make a movie based on The Magician’s Nephew. Considering how the other sequels turned out, that missed opportunity feels even more disappointing.

Narnia’s Movies Deserved Much More Than Three Movies

The story of Narnia continued with Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. While Prince Caspian received a typical Disney sequel launch with plenty of promotion, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader didn’t get much attention. This was partly because only two of the Pevensie siblings appeared in that story, which might have confused viewers who remembered all four children together in the earlier novels.

The Narnia movies unfortunately ended on a disappointing note, largely because they didn’t take enough risks. They lacked the excitement of Pirates of the Caribbean and the grand scale of The Lord of the Rings, and while they had some success, they never quite captured the same level of public interest.

Despite this, the films had potential, and filming The Magician’s Nephew before Prince Caspian could have been a smart move. It would have allowed the actors to continue playing their roles without aging significantly and would have expanded the rich world of Narnia. More than The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, a strong prequel like The Magician’s Nephew would have been ideal, because while Narnia seems straightforward, it has a deep and complex history.

The Narnia films are often remembered as a franchise that didn’t quite live up to its potential, despite having a dedicated fanbase. Competing with popular fantasy series like Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings made it difficult for Narnia to truly succeed with audiences. Now that the story is being revisited as a TV series, many wonder what might have been if a Narnia prequel had been made for the big screen and how it could have changed the course of the films.

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2025-12-04 03:36