Nowadays, Netflix holds the rights to C.S. Lewis’ classic fantasy novel series The Chronicles of Narnia. But before Netflix took the reigns, a previous trilogy of films was produced, adapting three of the seven Narnia novels. If you want to catch up on (or rewatch) those films before Netflix’s upcoming adaptations (two of which will be helmed by Little Women and Barbie director Greta Gerwig, as The New Yorker recently revealed), here’s our guide to watching the previous Narnia movies in order.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005)
The first movie in the trilogy, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, adapts the story of the earliest published Narnia novel by C.S. Lewis. After being sent to the English countryside to escape the horrors of World War II-era London, the Pevensie siblings—Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and Lucy (Georgie Henley)—find a portal to a magical world called Narnia in the back of an old wardrobe. As they begin to accept their destinies as the prophesied Kings and Queens of Narnia, the Pevensie siblings must learn to trust each other and help the mythical lion Aslan (Liam Neeson) to subdue the White Witch (Tilda Swinton) and restore Narnia’s natural balance.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)
In Prince Caspian, the Pevensie siblings visit Narnia a second time, transported by a portal in an underground Tube station in London. But the Narnia they arrive in is not what they remember; though it’s only been a year for the siblings since they left Narnia, 1300 years have passed in the other world. Magic and talking creatures are in hiding, humans have invaded, and Aslan’s legacy has passed into myth. However, when the siblings run into a fleeing Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes), heir to the throne and fugitive of his uncle’s wrath, they all work together to bring peace to Narnia and return magic to the realm.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)
Though Peter and Susan have outgrown the need for Narnia in Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Edmund and Lucy are taken on one last adventure to Aslan’s world—three (Narnian) years after the events of Prince Caspian. Joined this time by their unsuspecting cousin Eustace Scrubb (Will Poulter), they are pulled into Narnia through a painting of a sailing ship. Once in Narnia, they are reunited with Caspian—now King—who is on a quest to find the Seven Lost Lords of Narnia, and the heroes embark on a dangerous and epic ocean voyage in a ship specially commissioned by King Caspian for the journey: the Dawn Treader.
Voyage of the Dawn Treader was the first and only Chronicles of Narnia film to be made by 20th Century Fox as opposed to Disney. However, since Disney acquired the studio, all three Narnia movies are now available to watch on Disney+.
(featured image: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution)
