TLC Forum

So I was watching VDT on TV last night and my dad was quite disappointed after we told him that Caspian married Ramandu's daughter, that we didn't get to see his wedding (or at least some acknowledgement that it was going to happen) at the end of the film. He asked if it would be in the next film.

Which got me thinking. Technically it's to late, because Rilian is already grown up and Caspian old by the time of the Silver Chair. But what's to stop them having a bit of back story at the beginning that starts with Caspian's wedding and then Rilian being born and then going on to the bit with the serpent killing RD and Rilian's response?

I'm not entirely sure how I want those scenes to be done either, so what are your thoughts? Should they be shown in the intro or in flashback, or simply told of-stage as in the book? In the BBC Silver Chair, they had a problem because they'd shown Rilian at the beginning. And since we knew how he looked, they gave him that bizarre mask so we wouldn't recognise him. What do you think they should do in the new film?

This was what I liked with the BBC Silver Chair. The owls did the Rilian backstory at their council. I think that was a good idea.

I really like the idea of not seeing Rilian until Jill, Puddleglum and Eustace meet him. Maybe they could show him as a child, though?

Here's an idea: What if they show Rilian, when his mother is killed by the serpent, etc., but they never show you his face. That way he wouldn't be recognizable, and he would probably be younger than how he looks when Jill, Eustace, and Puddleglum rescue him.

More thoughts: LWW started with the bombing raids in England. PC started with the birth of Miraz's son in Narnia. VDT started with Edmund trying to enlist in England. See the pattern? England, Narnia, England. Perhaps then SC should start in Narnia. If so, what about something like this...

Trumpkin is speaking before Caspian and his council. Caspian is staring off into the distance, not paying attention. He's having brief flashbacks of his wedding, the birth of Rilian, and the serpent killing his wife, and Rilian following the green lady. Trumpkin brings him out of it, saying, "You must chose an heir." Or something like that. Caspian responds by standing up, and announcing, "I will seek out Aslan and ask his advice." Then show the ship and the people lining the streets and Caspian heading out. The Narnia logo and SC title appear and the cheering crowd noises morph into the shouts of Them at the Experiment House. Something along those lines.

I was thinking like you, Engee, on the idea of showing the backstory without directly showing Rilian's face, or at least not in whole (so that'd leave room for shots of his eyes). Though, if they wanted to do it that way, I wonder if they'd announce who they'd cast as Rilian....

Ooooh! There's a twist! I'd like that and I wouldn't like that.

They could have a fancy oil painting on the wall in the great hall, or somewhere else in the castle that will be seen in the movie, of Caspian and Ramandu's Daughter's wedding. My question about the wedding is: Did Ramandu come to Narnia for the wedding?

Or, instead of not showing the Rillian's face, they could have LotGK enchant him to look different - but that would defeat the purpose of him wearing complete suits of armor. However, that would make the audience just as shocked as Puddleglum, Eustace, and Jill becuase the audience who had already seen Rillian, would be thinking "That's not Rillian." And then suddenly it is him, and he goes back to looking like Rillian like Theoden did in The Two Towers. (We really need a silly-scary idea thread for this movie too.)

That was my favorite thing about the BBC SC: the mask. It looked very cool. (Although it also looked very plastic...) If I hadn't read the book before I'd watched the movie I would not have expected that to be Rilian.

Interesting ideas, all of you.

That's a good point about whether they would announce who was cast as Rilian. In fact it's technically a problem whether they show him at the beginning or not. On the other hand, I'd guess that for the most part, people who are following the casting closely, are probably those like us that have read the book, so it wouldn't really be an issue.

I don't think I like the idea of the LotGK changing Rilian's appearance any more than I do of him wearing a mask. If they could show him without us seeing his face (in a way that it wasn't too obvious that they were hiding him) it could work well.

It does, however, bring up a question I think we've had before about the book, and that's how Puddleglum didn't recognise him. We also have that description in the book of there being "something wrong with his face" to complicate matters.

Another potential way of working it, is they could have him younger with short hair and shaven at the start and then he could have grown a beard and have longer hair by the time the children find him. (I mean, how would he have been able to shave, tied to that chair all the time? ) Another disguise could be to have his eyes turned green while he's under the LotGK's power, and revert to a blue or brown when he's freed.

(sorry that ended up being a bunch of random, disordered thoughts)

I really didn't like the BBC mask (aside from the plasticness of it). I do like the idea of having him younger and older, especially considering that he was down there for ten years. Even if I've never once imagined Rilian with a beard.
Ooh, and yes, I like the eye colour dealie. It's hardly an adequate "disguise", but it could definitely be a useful tool.
I think I'd still prefer him vaguely seen and/or partially seen - like seeing him from behind, wide shots from the side, close-up on his eyes, etc. I just now thought of the whole thing being pov-shot, but I don't think that much pov-shooting would work well.