Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader

[Geekyfanboy]

http://www.sliceofscifi.com/2008/12/01/third-narnia-film-in-trouble/

Third "Narnia" Film in Trouble?
December 1, 2008 by Michael Hickerson   || Category: Film

The release of "Prince Caspian" to DVD and Blu-Ray tomorrow has set off a flurry of speculation on whether or not there will be a third installment in the "Chronicles of Narnia" franchise.

Last summer, we reported that Disney was considering cutting short the proposed big-screen adaptation of C.S. Lewis' popular novels at three movies instead of the originally announced seven.   Disney was waiting to see how "Caspian" fared at the box-office before making a final decision.

While "Caspian" was a modest success at the box-office, it may not have been enough to give the green light for the full Narnia series.  And now it looks like it the modest box-office could put the third installment of the series in jeopordy.

While pre-production on the third installment is moving forward, Disney has not given an official green light to "Voyage of the Dawn Trader."   According to reports, Disney and Walden Media, who shared production costs on the the first two Narnia movies believe that "Trader" will take in less at the box office than "Caspian" did, leading to a potential scaling back of the production.   The film was originally scheduled to have extensive location shooting done in Malta, Iceland and Prague.  Those plans have been nixed and the movie will shoot on the soundstages in Mexico the housed the production of "Titantic."

It also appears that Disney and Walden are at odds on how much each side will finance of "Trader."  Reports by Jim Hill Media say Walden Media wants Disney to fund half of a $140 million production.  But given that Disney is contractually obligated to cover the costs of all prints and advertising on the Narnia movies, Disney is supposedly pushing for a $100 million version instead. It's also likely that a release date will be pushed back to 2011.

"Trader" was scheduled to begin production in late January.  No word yet on if or how these current considerations may affect that start date.

[KingIsaacLinksr]

I think the 2nd one was just a little too much like the first one to be really popular.  But the 3rd might draw a bigger crowd.  I hope they don't cancel. :(

King

[Feathers]

Haven't seen the second yet. When we went to the Cinema I lost the toss so my wife took our eldest to see Prince Caspian while I had to take the other kids to see Kung-Fu Panda.

The DVD is on our Christmas list, however.

I hope they don't cancel - I always enjoyed these books.

[celestialteapot]

I was disappointed with the first film; I grew up watching the amazing BBC adaptations of the stories and nothing can top them... haven't seen the second one but my favourite of the books is 'The Voyage of the Dawn Trader' (and favourite of the BBC adaptations). Hopefully they'll do it :)

[Feathers]

Odd, I don't remember the BBC stuff at all.

[wraith1701]

I enjoyed the first two films immensely, and I love the book series.  I must have read them 20 or 30 times when I was a kid.  I really hope they don't give up on the franchise; there are some really cool twists and turns that I'd like to see brought to film.

[Rico]

I agree.  Although I thought the second film was a bit weaker than number one.  Maybe that's just due to the material or the newness the first movie had going for it.  I hope they do at least one more.

[Geekyfanboy]

Walden Media Looks for New Narnia Partner

If the next Chronicles of Narnia movie "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" does finally step up it will do so without Disney.

The famed movie company has backed out of its deal with Walden Media to co-produce and co-finance the third film in the franchise citing the ever increasing production costs as the reason for getting off the ship even before it set sail.

Currently Walden Media still is planning on a May 2010 release date however, that could change if it is unable to secure another financial backer for the project.

[Ktrek]

This whole story makes no sense! Disney and Walden have made a crap load of money off Prince Caspian. Granted the theatrical release did not make as much as Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe but still a whole lot of money and they have made even more sales of DVDs on Caspian than they did on Wardrobe. It makes no sense to me. Just how many mega millions does Disney have to make to be satisfied?

Kevin

[Geekyfanboy]

Teaser poster was just released.

[Rico]

Cool.  I thought this wasn't even going to happen for awhile there.

[Feathers]

I really thought this had been canned!

[Geekyfanboy]

Yeah Disney dropped the movie over budget issues with Walden Media (who's making it). But luckily 20th Century Fox picked it up and finished it.

[cassious]

Oh, I'm excited! This was one of my favourite books, I really hope they do this one well and not like 'Caspian'. That one just kind of glossed over most of the content and just geared itself towards the battles.

I really hope they make 'The Magician's Nephew', that was my all-time favourite!

[ElfManDan]

I'm glad they're continuing to make the series, then there is definitely hope of the "Silver Chair" getting made. I really love the Dawn Treader, but Silver Chair was my favorite of the books.