Despite the last stab at an adaptation of C.S. Lewis' Narnia books (The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader in 2010) appearing be the last, producer Mark Gordon has been spearheading a new chapter in the franchise since 2013 with The Silver Chair. And he's just landed Captain America: The First Avenger's Joe Johnston to call the shots.
All the elements in front of and behind the scenes will be new, so this counts as a reboot. That said, given the relatively slight crossover with other novels, it could still stand as part of the movie universe established by Disney for The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe and Prince Caspian and continued by Fox for Dawn Treader. Chair finds Eustace (brought to life in Treader by Will Poulter) and classmate Jill Pole called to Narnia by Aslan in order to help search for Prince Rilian, Caspian's son, who disappeared on a quest to avenge his mother's death. It's set 50 years after the events of the last story, which means Caspian is an old man while Eustace has not aged. David Magee has written the script, with Sony's TriStar arm and Entertainment One aboard to back and distribute the resulting movie.
And Gordon thinks he's found the right man in Johnston to jump-start things back to life. "Joe is a wonderful storyteller who is equally at home in the biggest franchises and the most intimate character pieces," Gordon said in a statement carried by Variety. "Because C.S. Lewis’ story is iconic and epic, but also tender, personal, and emotional, he’s the perfect choice to bring The Silver Chair to the screen." No release date has been given yet – hardly a surprise with the movie still at this formative stage – but expect some real progress now a director is aboard.