Disney says goodnight to 'Dawn Treader'

[ALIASd]

Disney jumps ship on next 'Narnia'

Studio won't exercise option for 'Dawn Treader'

By Borys Kit
The Hollywood Reporter
Dec 24, 2008, 12:00 AM ET


"The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian"

"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" will have to sail without Disney.

While declining to elaborate, Disney and Walden Media confirmed Tuesday that for budgetary and logistical reasons the Burbank-based studio is not exercising its option to co-produce and co-finance the next "Narnia" movie with Walden.

The third entry in the series, based on the classic books by C.S. Lewis, was in preproduction and set for a spring shoot for a planned May 2010 release. The development puts the participation of the talent attached in doubt. Michael Apted was on board to direct a script by Steven Knight. The key players of the second installment, "Prince Caspian" -- Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, William Moseley and Anna Popplewell -- were to return for the third film.

Walden has a strong relationship with the Lewis estate and will shop "Treader" in hopes of finding a new partner. The most likely candidate at this stage is Fox, which markets and distributes Walden fare under the Fox Walden banner.

Any partnership on a "Narnia" movie will require a substantial investment. "Caspian," which filmed in the Czech Republic, Mexico and New Zealand, cost $200 million. The first film, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," was shot mostly in New Zealand for $180 million.

Disney jumps ship on next 'Narnia'

[stitchon]

Wow, this was unexpected...

I guess this means Disney's going to have to find another way to get their own Harry Potter.

[Melonballer]

No big loss. While I enjoyed the first film, the second was disappointing. Disney is better off spending the money on their own films and in their parks.

[BC_DisneyGeek]

I suspect the number of people who have read the entire series are quite a bit less than those who have read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. I'm not too surprised there was a lot less interest in the sequel.

$200 million is a lot to invest in a movie series where the sequel underperformed the original by a significant margin. Not a big shock here.

[twobluestripes]

Originally Posted by BC_DisneyGeek

I suspect the number of people who have read the entire series are quite a bit less than those who have read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. I'm not too surprised there was a lot less interest in the sequel.

$200 million is a lot to invest in a movie series where the sequel underperformed the original by a significant margin. Not a big shock here.

I agree with this. I think they should have done the first (published, not first chronologically) only, or committed to all seven. This way it looks kind of half-a**ed.

I think these books can be made into films on smaller budgets. They seem to be pouring a lot of money into them, and i'm really not sure where it all goes. There must be cheaper locations to shoot, special effects that can be cut. The books have always felt very intimate to me, and I think the movies would be better reviewed and more successful with the book lovers (adults generally) if they had that feeling too. Fantasy films can me made for a LOT cheaper and still look great. For example, Pan's Labyrinth cost only 19 million.

[Mr. Yeti]

This is really surprising. I'm disappointed hearing this. Disney could have really grown this brand (especially in its theme parks. I really wanted to see a ride).

I wonder why this happened all of a sudden. Could it be they want to concentrate more money on Pirates 4, National Treasure 3 and The Lone Ranger?

[knittingknerd]

I just saw Caspian and while I liked it I kinda' felt like I should have read the books to really grasp it. I think that movie was a little too adult and almost political for kids to get. But it left me wanting to see the 3rd (and it left me crying.).

[Barbossa]

I'm really disappointed in this decision. You should read some of the comments over at the UD board. Lots of people disappointed there as well.

Stupid idea Disney . Maybe they'll give us more crud like Space Buddies, rather than a well written fairy tale.

[Koutesu]

They should have done what the BBC did in the '80s and just combine the 2nd and 3rd installments. The BBC version is a series of mini-series and they're on DVD (my family has the box set). Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader occupies disc 2 as a single story.

Disc1 is Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe and Disc3 is The Silver Chair.

[Alpoe001]

Originally Posted by twobluestripes

I agree with this. I think they should have done the first (published, not first chronologically) only, or committed to all seven. This way it looks kind of half-a**ed.

I think these books can be made into films on smaller budgets. They seem to be pouring a lot of money into them, and i'm really not sure where it all goes. There must be cheaper locations to shoot, special effects that can be cut. The books have always felt very intimate to me, and I think the movies would be better reviewed and more successful with the book lovers (adults generally) if they had that feeling too. Fantasy films can me made for a LOT cheaper and still look great. For example, Pan's Labyrinth cost only 19 million.

I agree these stories can be done on a smaller budget... has anyone ever seen the BBC versions? they are great! all they need are a little more special effects. I mean Tinker Bell and Cinderella 3 didnt have big budgets but those were really good... heck even Return to Neverland I thought was really good.

[toonaspie]

Man what a bummer move by Disney to dissappoint Narnia fans like that. No, I aint big on the Narnia series, but I still thought Prince Caspian was a good movie.

Originally Posted by Mr. Yeti

This is really surprising. I'm disappointed hearing this. Disney could have really grown this brand (especially in its theme parks. I really wanted to see a ride).

I wonder why this happened all of a sudden. Could it be they want to concentrate more money on Pirates 4, National Treasure 3 and The Lone Ranger?

Most likely. I want my National Treasure 3 but I'm half tempted to write to Disney to tell them to please kill their Pirates franchise already! The 2nd and 3rd films were just plain bad, IMO. They need to stop sucking the life out of it before it goes the way of the Shrek films.

[Rayangelo]

Awwww.

[richchris1980]

Originally Posted by Melonballer

No big loss. While I enjoyed the first film, the second was disappointing. Disney is better off spending the money on their own films and in their parks.

same review from my side...and they have to.....

[DisneyIPresume]

Stupid Disney.

The only reason Prince Caspian didn't do so well because the rocket scientists who run the company somehow thought it would be a blockbuster sandwiched inbetween Iron Man and Indy 4.

If they used their heads and realized that this is a movie that would do well without a lot of competition they would have released it during Christmas, like they did with the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.

[stitchon]

Originally Posted by DisneyIPresume

Stupid Disney.

The only reason Prince Caspian didn't do so well because the rocket scientists who run the company somehow thought it would be a blockbuster sandwiched inbetween Iron Man and Indy 4.

If they used their heads and realized that this is a movie that would do well without a lot of competition they would have released it during Christmas, like they did with the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Kind of like how Bolt was placed next to Harry Potter (which, lucky for them, got moved) and then Twilight. If they were smart, HSM3 (which could of easily held it's ground against Twilight) would have switched with Bolt so Bolt could have has a cushy October spot and HSM, with a much smaller production price, could have easily recouped it's funds and would probably have done just as well as it did in October.