Even an actor like Andrew Garfield was rejected once. The Amazing Spider-Man actor was rejected by Disney from The Chronicles of Narnia franchise. According to the actor, he wholeheartedly wanted to play Prince Caspian on screen but the House of the Mouse didn’t let him do so on the grounds of not being so handsome.
The Chronicles of Narnia is a book series written by C.S. Lewis consisting of seven titles that were further adapted into a film series. Reportedly Andrew Garfield wanted to be a part of the second part of the franchise titled The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Caspian is described as the King of Narnia and the role was played by Ben Barnes in the movies.
Andrew Garfield was rejected for his looks
The Hacksaw Ridge star loved the series of Narnia and was very keen to join the world of fantasy. Garfield auditioned for the role of Prince Caspian but unfortunately couldn’t get the role, which was later grabbed by Ben Barnes.
The Chronicles of Narnia is widely popular for its beautifully woven world of fantasy, filled with fascinating elements of its own. The plot revolves around four children who discover a magical kingdom inside their cupboard and then further they fight alongside a talking lion Aslan to defend the kingdom of Narnia from the White Witch, played by Tilda Swinton.
It is revealed by Andrew Garfield that he was obsessed with the mythos of Narnia and desperately wanted the role of Caspian before it was snatched by The Westworld actor.
“I remember I was so desperate. I auditioned for Prince Caspian in The Chronicles of Narnia and I thought, ‘This could be it, this could be it,’. And that handsome, brilliant actor Ben Barnes ended up getting the role. I think it was down to me and him, and I remember I was obsessed.”
The Breathe star further elaborated the story that when he repeatedly nagged his agent to say the grounds for his rejection, she said that the makers didn’t think he was handsome enough for the role.
“Why not me? She eventually just broke under my incessant nagging and she was like, ‘It’s because they don’t think you’re handsome enough, Andrew,’”
It is really sad how even a heartthrob like Andrew Garfield got rejected at a point in his life, that too for his looks. But following that, the actor did some critically acclaimed movies such as The Social Network, tick, tick… Boom and Hacksaw Ridge. The actor has gained widespread popularity for his portrayal of Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man movies. If the rumors are to be believed then the Andrew Garfield version of Spider-Man might soon return to the MCU and we might get another No Way Home moment soon.
What about the future of The Chronicles of Narnia franchise?
The Narnia series had three movies titled The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, then Prince Caspian, and lastly The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. It is important to mention that although it was widely popular, the box office figures pointed to a steady decline in the reception with each movie. Even after having the potential, the series never reached the heights of other fantasy fiction franchises like Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings.
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The movie The Silver Chair was announced by the studio as the next installment as well as a reboot of the franchise. But here the streaming giant Netflix entered the game, taking over the job of rebooting the franchise for its platform, and then got the project shelved. Now the updates about the Netflix version are significantly scarce and it has even led some of the fans to think that the project might never happen. As of now, we can do nothing but wait for an official update.
The Chronicles of Narnia films can be streamed on Disney+.
Source: Variety
