Lion witch and wardrobe ok what happened to magicians nephew?

[happily lost]

Granted it is a rather shoddy prequel but technically it is the first of the seiries
are they going to even do all of them

[Cloud Buster]

You said it yourself. It's a prequel. It should NOT be done first, if at all. C.S. Lewis did say that the starting point in the series should be LWW. However, American publishing companies now number and sell the books in the story's chronological order, not the order Lewis wrote them or is said he preferred.

Additionally, TMN is to Narnia what the Silmarillion is to LOTR. It wouldn't have made sense to do the Silmarillion first -- in fact it wouldn't make sense to do it at all. TMN is easier to do, but I don't think there's any point in making a film out of it in the near future.

[happily lost]

Yeah but as far as the story goes MN happened first

[Cloud Buster]

Yeah but as far as the story goes MN happened first

Like I said, so did "Silmarillion", but that doesn't mean it makes sense to make a Silmarillion movie before LOTR.

Also as I said before, CS Lewis said that LWW is where the journey should begin. TMN should be read / viewed later as a prequel.

Prequels often draw on elements from previous elements that may take place earlier in the storyline to help paint their overall picture (for example, the SW prequels). Just because something takes place chronologically earlier, doesn't necessarily mean it should be experienced earlier (hence the title "prequel").

[happily lost]

ooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[The Red Avenger]

Exactly LWW will always be first in the series because this is where Narnia is opened up to us and if we had TMN first then all the wonderment is gone, how the wardrobe got to be made, why is there a lampost in the middle of nowhere and of course why is Narnia covered in a permanent frost? All these are answered in TMN (and more) and as LWW was written and published first then it makes sense to do it first.

You wouldn't want to watch all 6 Star Wars movies from episode 1, for the first time. (despite the fact you might give up after TPM as its complete rubbish) because all the surprises are totally lost. Who Luke and Leia are, who Vader is, why Yoda is exiled, why Ben is exiled. It would just be the wrong way to watch it.

Do you see my point?
...
RA

[Fanible]

I'm glad they're not doing the Magician's Nephew first. That would be dumb. Besides not being nearly as good a story, but the LWW is most commonly referred to as the first and is the book most read first. If the movies do well enough, sure, they could go back and do the MN later on, but for now, it's wise that they're doing it the way they're doing.

[happily lost]

Yodas in exile? theres a Ben?

I like LW&W better than magicians nephew but chronologically MN comes first so I was wondering why they didnt try that first i want to see Horse and his boy and dawn treader thoose were my favorites

[Jaeliyah]

For those of you who have the books, check your copyright dates. LWW is the first book. They're going in the original order that the books were published. LWW came first, followed by Prince Caspian, which is being adapted to script. Chronologically, Magician's Nephew came first, and until a roughly a decade ago on the 50th anniversary (I think) the books were numbered in the order of publication: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; Silver Chair; The Horse and His Boy; The Magician's Nephew; and The Last Battle. Plus, it makes more sense from a movie maker's point of view to do it this way because of the characters involved. They don't have to worry as much about the kids aging with movies in between. They've got the Pevensies for the first two movies. Then subtract Peter and Susan and add Eustace for the third. Then subtract Edmund and Lucy for the fourth and add Jill. Then the fifth and sixth use completely different characters. Then the seventh brings everybody back having aged. So even though Magician's Nephew takes place first, it's not the first book and works less smoothly as the first movie.

[heney]

Wow, I can't believe most of you don't think Magicians Nephew should be turned into a movie. I love that story, and would love to see a filmakers vision of Aslan singing the world into existense or the world between worlds. I sincerely hope they turn it into a movie.

[Fanible]

No one was really saying it shouldn't be done at all. We're simply saying it shouldn't be done first.

[KingMizfit]

Do any of you guys remember the films from PBS? I saw them when I was a kid...and I thought they were O.K.

[Cloud Buster]

Yeah, I saw them a long time ago. I barely remember them but I thought they were okay at the time.

[FVD]

For those of you who have the books, check your copyright dates. LWW is the first book. They're going in the original order that the books were published. LWW came first, followed by Prince Caspian, which is being adapted to script. Chronologically, Magician's Nephew came first, and until a roughly a decade ago on the 50th anniversary (I think) the books were numbered in the order of publication: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; Silver Chair; The Horse and His Boy; The Magician's Nephew; and The Last Battle. Plus, it makes more sense from a movie maker's point of view to do it this way because of the characters involved. They don't have to worry as much about the kids aging with movies in between. They've got the Pevensies for the first two movies. Then subtract Peter and Susan and add Eustace for the third. Then subtract Edmund and Lucy for the fourth and add Jill. Then the fifth and sixth use completely different characters. Then the seventh brings everybody back having aged. So even though Magician's Nephew takes place first, it's not the first book and works less smoothly as the first movie.

As I recall Susan never appeared in the Last Battle did she not?

[happily lost]

No Susan. Decided it was only a game . She was too busy being a 'grown-up'
I thought the original order was LWW, MN, H&HB, PC,DT,SC and LB

int he full version I have theres a preface that says 'Lewis wanted them to be read chronologically'

Which I rather agree with cause I read LW&W first and the whole time I was wondering who the cool,creepy old man was

[FVD]

Funny enough when I bought the boxset a couple years ago I read them in chronological order. Still I haven't finished Silver Chair and haven't started Last Battle yet. What the heck am I waiting for????

[happily lost]

Last battle is good

[darthspielberg]

Silver Chair is awesome. It is my favorite book in the series and my favorite book by Lewis period (yeah, take that Screwtape Letters.)

[happily lost]

I think my favorite is Dawn Treader

[FVD]

Yeah Dawn Treader is perhaps the movie I want to see above all.

[JBond]

I haven't read them since I was 9. I'm sure my tastes have changed since then, but I remember liking the one that had two rings...I'm not even sure which one that was now. Perhaps Magician's Nephew?

[happily lost]

Magician's Nephew Had the rings and theyre mentioned in Last battle

I actually really want to see A Horse and his Boy

[Boods]

so chronological order and lewis' prefered order is this:

1. magician's nephew
2. lion, witch and wardrobe
3. horse and his boy
4. prince caspian
5. voyage of the dawn treader
6. silver chair
7. the last battle


which is the next they will make? prince caspian no?

i haven't read the last battle..is everyone back (peter, edmund, lucy, eustace, jill) except susan??

[Necross]

^ Is that the actual order they go in? Just wanna be sure because I wanna buy them in order, obviously.

[Sock-Man]

^ Is that the actual order they go in? Just wanna be sure because I wanna buy them in order, obviously.

I have the box set sat next to me so I can tell you that yep, that's the right order.

[Fanible]

But like already said previously, if you want to read them as they originally were, read the Magician's Nephew later on. If you read the beginning of the thread, for some reason if you get the box set now, they have it chronologically ordered, so MN is placed as "#1". LWW really is, and should be the first book. The wonder and magic of it all is slightly left in mystery, as is Aslan. MN is good to read later on which talks about how Narnia was formed.

[Necross]

Oh I know, I've told the person who I already know is getting them for me, not to get the Magician's Nephew, I'll prolly just be getting like 2 or 3 of them and I know to read that one last. :P

[Cloud Buster]

This question of orders seems to get brought up a lot. Allow me to repost what I posted a while back in another thread on this topic:

Published order:

1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950)
2. Prince Caspian (1951)
3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)
4. The Silver Chair (1953)
5. The Horse and His Boy (1954)
6. The Magician's Nephew (1955)
7. The Last Battle (1956)

Chronological order (now sold in this fashion):

1. The Magician's Nephew (1955)
2. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950)
3. The Horse and His Boy (1954)
4. Prince Caspian (1951)
5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)
6. The Silver Chair (1953)
7. The Last Battle (1956)

CSL fans can go back and forth till the end of time as to which is better, definitive, or "preferred".

The common starting point for new CSL readers is, however, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". Some have implied that based on Aslan's introduction, he would have preferred this also. "The Magician's Nephew" is to Narnia (in a MUCH reduced fashion) what "The Silmarillion" is to Lord of the Rings. It is backstory, a creation story, which explains the origins of some of the characters, locations, and more in depth discusses the "magic" involved in travelling to places like Narnia.

As an addendum, here is a quote from C.S. Lewis himself regarding the position of "The Magician's Nephew", when asked if the books' internal chronological order (not the publised order) is preferred:

I think I agree with your order (i.e. chronological) for reading the books more than with your mother's. The series was not planned beforehand as she thinks. When I wrote The Lion I did not know I was going to write any more. Then I wrote P. Caspian as a sequel and still didn't think there would be any more, and when I had done The Voyage I felt quite sure it would be the last. But I found as I was wrong. So perhaps it does not matter very much in which order anyone read them. I'm not even sure that all the others were written in the same order in which they were published.

Referenced from:
Dorsett, Lyle & Mead, Marjorie (1996), C. S. Lewis' Letters to Children, Scribner, ISBN 0-6848-2372-1

(I personally disagree and think TMN should be read LATER).

Check out the external links & references in the Wikipedia article for more.

The books are always sold in the chronological order now (when bundled in a box, at least).

Sorry if some of you feel me posting this is redundant, I just feel like this question gets re-asked a lot.

[sgr818]

Sometimes learning the background of a story before you get into it, makes you miss parts of the story itself. You begin to look at the surface level of the story and look past the symbolism and the meaning. Get into LWW before you learn about the details of Narnia's creation. It can make you appreciate both stories more. LWW does have a more interesting story than MN and is more popular. So it seems fitting that the first film made would be based on it. If the popularity continues, MN will be made and I hope it does it would be interesting to see how the director shows the White Witch, creation of Narnia through Aslan and the forest with all the portals.

[happily lost]

I see
Thank you
you have all been helpful