Director Joe Johnston revealed at the Paris Comic Con that "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair" will begin filming in late 2018. The announcement was a prelude to his breaking news — it will be his last film.
Johnston said they are hoping to start pre-production next summer, film by winter, and release the movie by 2019. The tentative location is South Island, New Zealand.
"The Silver Chair" is the fourth novel in the C.S. Lewis seven-part "Narnia" series, which was published in the years 1950 to 1956. The book is set decades after its prequel "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" in the world of Narnia, and a year later in England. King Caspian is now an old man and his son, Prince Rilian, is missing. Aslan will send two children — Eustace Scrubb and his classmate Jill Pole — from England to Narnia to solve this mystery.
No news yet on how Johnston plans to do the movie adaptation. He did note at the Comic Con, however, that he plans on "starting a whole new thing" with this installment and will not reference the other films.
The 67-year-old director added that by the time the film finishes in 2019, he will be ready to do something else. "I have a lot of dogs, and they demand long walks every day, in the country," he told the crowd.
The fourth installment of the iconic series is the perfect end to Johnston's colorful career. It was 1977 when Johnston started film production as illustrator and designer for "Star Wars: New Hope." In 1984, he was the art director for "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom." In 1989, he made his film directing debut with "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids," which was followed by "Jumanji," "Jurassic Park III" and "Captain America: The First Avenger," among many others.
"The Silver Chair" will follow a very successful movie franchise. "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (2005), "Prince Caspian" (2008) and "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" (2010) received positive response from viewers and garnered a total of $1.6 billion worldwide.
