“Captain America” helmer to direct “Narnia: The Silver Chair”

PanARMENIAN.Net - “Captain America: The First Avenger” helmer Joe Johnston will journey to “Narnia: The Silver Chair”, a revival of C.S. Lewis’ “Chronicles of Narnia” series, Variety said.

TriStar Pictures will partner with the Mark Gordon Company, the C.S. Lewis Company, and Entertainment One on the project with Mark Gordon, Lewis’ stepson Douglas Gresham, Vincent Sieber, and Melvin Adams producing the pic. “Life of Pi” scribe David Magee adapted the script.

“Joe is a wonderful storyteller who is equally at home in the biggest franchises and the most intimate character pieces,” Gordon said. “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.”

The “Narnia” franchise’s three films — “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” “Prince Caspian,” and “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” — have hauled nearly $1.6 billion at the worldwide box office. Disney distributed the first two films, with Fox releasing “Voyage of the Dawn Treader.”

While previous installments followed the Pevensie children, this edition centers around their cousin Eustace Scrubb, who travels to Narnia to save the kidnapped child of Prince Caspian.

The series of seven novels, published in more than 50 languages, has sold 100 million-plus copies worldwide.

Johnston is no stranger to both kick-starting and reviving franchises. He is best known for directing “Jumanji,” starring Robin Williams, and stepping in for Steven Spielberg on “Jurassic Park 3.” He also directed “Captain America: The First Avenger.”