So, you want to dive back into the wardrobe. It’s a common urge. C.S. Lewis had this uncanny ability to make a dusty old spare room feel like the edge of a universe, and for a few years in the mid-2000s, Walden Media and Disney actually made us believe it was real. But if you’re looking for the order of Narnia movies, things get a little bit messy. It isn't just a straight line.
There’s the way they came out in theaters, the way the books were written, and then there’s the "internal chronology" that Narnia purists argue about on Reddit until their keyboards break.
Most people just want to know what to watch tonight.
Honestly, the film franchise is a bit of a tragic story in Hollywood. It started with a massive bang—The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was a genuine cultural phenomenon—and then it sort of trickled out into a legal and budgetary mess. We only ever got three movies. That’s it. Seven books, but only three films. If you're looking for the definitive way to experience the stories on screen, you have to work with what actually exists.
The Release Order of Narnia Movies
If you want to watch them exactly how the rest of the world saw them, you’re looking at the theatrical release order. This is generally the best way for a first-timer because the special effects and the aging of the actors actually make sense this way.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) This is the big one. Directed by Andrew Adamson, who previously did Shrek, it captures that wintry, magical "something is coming" feeling perfectly. Tilda Swinton as the White Witch is still terrifying. It introduces the Pevensie siblings—Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy—escaping the London Blitz only to find a world frozen in eternal winter.
Prince Caspian (2008) The tone shifts here. It’s darker. Grittier. The Pevensies return to Narnia roughly 1,300 years after they left (even though only a year passed in England). The magic is fading, the Telmarines have taken over, and the talking beasts are in hiding. It was a bit of a shock for audiences who wanted more Christmas-y magic, but it’s a solid fantasy war movie.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010) This one moved from Disney to 20th Century Fox. It feels different. It’s more episodic, following Lucy, Edmund, and their annoying cousin Eustace (played brilliantly by a young Will Poulter) as they sail across the ocean to find the seven lost lords of Narnia. It’s bright, seafaring, and a bit more whimsical than Caspian.
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Why the Order of Narnia Movies is Different from the Books
Here’s where it gets annoying for the completionists. C.S. Lewis didn’t write the books in the order they happen chronologically. He wrote The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe first, but later wrote a prequel called The Magician’s Nephew which explains how Narnia was actually created and where the lamp-post came from.
If you go to a bookstore today, the HarperCollins editions are usually numbered 1 through 7 starting with The Magician’s Nephew.
But the movies followed the publication order. Why? Because The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a better hook. It’s iconic. Trying to start a multi-million dollar movie franchise with a prequel about two kids in Victorian London jumping into puddles (the plot of The Magician's Nephew) would have been a massive financial risk. Hollywood plays it safe.
The Missing Pieces: What Happened to the Rest?
You might be wondering why we never got The Silver Chair or The Last Battle.
It’s a mix of box office returns and rights issues. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe made over $745 million. Huge. Prince Caspian dropped to $419 million. Still a lot of money, but it cost a fortune to make. By the time Voyage of the Dawn Treader rolled around, the momentum was stalling.
For years, there was talk about Greta Gerwig (yes, the Barbie director) taking over the franchise for Netflix. This is still the "holy grail" for Narnia fans. Netflix bought the rights to all seven books in 2018, which was a historic deal because the C.S. Lewis Company had never sold the rights to all seven books to a single entity before.
But even with Greta Gerwig attached, we haven't seen a frame of footage. The order of Narnia movies in the future will likely be a total reboot. Don't expect the 2005 cast to show up. They're all grown up now. William Moseley and Anna Popplewell are well into their 30s.
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Is There a "Secret" Chronological Order?
Technically, if you want to be a super-fan, you could try to weave in the old BBC miniseries from the late 80s. They aren't high-budget—the Aslan animatronic looks like a moth-eaten rug—but they covered stories the movies never touched.
- The Magician's Nephew (Never filmed as a major movie, but there are audiobooks narrated by Kenneth Branagh).
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005 Movie).
- The Horse and His Boy (Takes place during the reign of the Pevensies as adults, never filmed).
- Prince Caspian (2008 Movie).
- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010 Movie).
- The Silver Chair (1990 BBC Miniseries).
- The Last Battle (Never filmed).
It’s a fragmented experience. You’re jumping from 2000s CGI to 1980s practical effects and then into the void of "books only." It’s sort of heartbreaking that we never got to see the end of the world in The Last Battle with a modern budget.
The Eustace Scrubb Factor
If you’re watching the movies back-to-back, pay close attention to the character of Eustace in Dawn Treader. Will Poulter’s performance is basically the glue that keeps the third movie together. In the books, Eustace is the protagonist of the next story, The Silver Chair.
The producers actually had a script ready for The Silver Chair for years. Joe Johnston, who directed Captain America: The First Avenger, was even attached to direct it at one point. It was supposed to be a "reboot" of sorts, moving away from the Pevensie family and focusing on Eustace and his classmate Jill Pole. But the production kept hitting walls. Legal walls. Money walls. Boredom walls.
Eventually, the rights expired, and that’s how Netflix swooped in.
Watching Tips for the Best Experience
Don't overthink it.
Start with the 2005 film. It’s the purest distillation of what Lewis was trying to do. If you have kids, they’ll probably find Prince Caspian a bit slow—it’s very heavy on political maneuvering and castle sieges. But Voyage of the Dawn Treader usually wins them back because of the dragon. (Spoilers, I guess, but the book is 70 years old).
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Keep an eye out for the cameos. Liam Neeson provides the voice of Aslan, and he brings a certain "lion-ish" gravity to the role that nobody else could have. And if you’re a fan of Game of Thrones, look for a very young Peter Dinklage playing Trumpkin the Dwarf in Prince Caspian.
The Wrap Up on Narnia
The order of Narnia movies is a short list: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
It’s a trilogy that isn't really a trilogy. It’s more like the first three chapters of a book that got ripped in half. But even if the story is incomplete, those three films represent a high-water mark for mid-2000s fantasy. They were trying to be the "wholesome" alternative to Lord of the Rings, and in many ways, they succeeded.
The next step is simple. Stop scrolling and find a copy of the 2005 film. Put it on. Watch the snow hit the fur coats in the wardrobe. It still holds up. Once you finish the three movies, if you're still craving more, your only real option is to pick up the books. Start with The Magician's Nephew if you want the backstory, or jump straight into The Silver Chair to see what happens after the boat docks at the end of the third movie.
Just don't wait for the Netflix version to start your journey; we might be waiting a while longer for that wardrobe to open again.
Actionable Next Steps
- Watch the 2005 Original: If you haven't seen it in a decade, the VFX on Aslan is surprisingly resilient compared to other films of that era.
- Read "The Silver Chair": Since the movies stop right before this story, reading the book is the only way to find out what happened to Eustace Scrubb and the quest for the lost prince.
- Track Netflix Updates: Keep an eye on trade publications like Variety or The Hollywood Reporter for "Greta Gerwig" and "Narnia" to see when the reboot finally goes into production.