At Comic Con the folks behind the Narnia films told fans to expect a new Narnia based film each May for the next six years, but since Voyage of the Dawn Treader has already been moved to 2010 that was a short-lived promise. However, Walden Media isn’t slowing down production on the Narnia films altogether.
Prince Caspian hits theaters on May 16, 2008 and then Voyage of the Dawn Treader is looking at a May 7, 2010 release. That said, Walden co-founder and president Cary Granat gave Variety an update on what direction the films will be taking over the next few years, promising not as many as six in six years, but perhaps four or five.
Here is how it was laid out:
Hopes are highest for Prince Caspian, which will cost at least $100 million. Granat promises that the battle-filled sequel is easily distinguishable from its predecessor and the third pic on the sked, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
Walden and Disney recently shifted the release date for Dawn Treader from 2009 to 2010 due to the schedules of the young actors. The shift will also avoid a conflict of having to promote the second film and shoot the third at the same time.
Producers had announced at Comic-Con in July that auds could expect one Narnia installment each May for the next few years. Granat is committing publicly to only four or five, saying that “Silver Chair” might be the best bet for the fourth, followed by “Magician’s Nephew,” but he admits that there are a multitude of possibilities.
“There are a lot of stories to be taken from the seven books,” he notes.
Considering The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe pulled in almost $300 million domestically it just didn’t feel like it was that big of a hit. It certainly was though and I can only wonder if the sequels will follow suit.
