'Chronicles Of Narnia' Reboot 'The Silver Chair' Finds A Home At Sony's TriStar

The Chronicles of Narnia franchise went on a rapid decline. The first installment in the series, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, was a massive success. Disney's adaptation of C.S. Lewis' novel made close to $800M worldwide — a figure the sequels didn't come close to matching. The two sequels that followed weren't as embraced by critics, fans, or filmgoers. The last sequel we saw, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, performed well overseas but made barely over $100M in the states. After two underwhelming sequels, it was decided to hit the reset button and give audiences a reboot.

Below, learn more about the Narnia reboot.

It's been almost six years since the last time we saw Narnia. After plenty of rumors and development updates, producer Mark Gordon revealed earlier this year the next sequel is a reboot following new characters, starring new actors, and will be made by a new team. Leading that new team is Sony's TriStar Pictures.

According to Deadline, TriStar will co-finance The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair with The Mark Gordon Company and eOne. TriStar and eOne will distribute the film, which The C.S. Lews Company will remain involved with. The first two films in the series were distributed by Disney, while Fox 2000 handled the last sequel we saw.

In a statement, Gordon had this to say about the deal:

Developing this project with The C.S. Lewis Company has been immensely exciting and a real joy. We are so pleased to team up with our good friends at TriStar and our partners at eOne to introduce this new, magical chapter of the Narnia franchise to fans around the world, both old and new.

The head of TriStar, Hannah Minghella, added the sequel fits into their plans for making TriStar a "home for filmmaker-driven literary and commercial movies":

Reading The Chronicles of Narnia was one of the formative experiences of my childhood, just as it has been for children around the world for generations. To have the opportunity to bring new life to the Narnia films with a new creative team is a career highlight. Our mission is to build TriStar Pictures as a home for filmmaker-driven literary and commercial movies, and this film represents a huge step forward for us. We're thrilled to be working with Mark, Doug, Melvin, Vincent, and David as we adapt The Silver Chair.

The next three films coming from TriStar are Ang Lee's Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, Danny Boyle's T2: Trainspotting, and Edgar Wright's Babydriver, so Minghella saying TriStar is focused on filmmaker-driven projects doesn't come across as just a nice thing to say in a press release. As for The Silver Chair, no filmmaker or actors are attached to the reboot. David Magee, who adapted Finding Neverland and Life of Pi, is writing the script.