REEL NEWS
Is the Narnia Franchise Dead?
Disney opts out of Dawn Treader, leaving the franchise, Walden Media with shaky futures. Plus: Critics honor Waltz With Bashir as 2008's best; Ben Stein plans a second documentary; Year One boasts biblical cameos; Kevin Max makes a movie; and more.
Josh Hurst | posted 1/05/2009
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Fans of the Narnia movies had the wind taken out of their sails over the holidays when it was announced that Disney has taken leave of the franchise, opting out of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Though Disney helped finance and distribute the first two films in the series, the third movie will have to move forward without their involvement. Walden Media, the company that made the first two movies, had planned to begin filming Dawn Treader this spring for a May 2010 release, but is now shopping for a new business partner—possibly Fox, with whom it partners for all its other films.
According to the UK's Independent, Disney cited budgetary concerns as chief among their reasons for withdrawing from the film, leading to further speculation about the future of big-budget fantasy films amidst the receding economy—including, possibly, the Harry Potter franchise.
Dawn Treader, like Prince Caspian, was slated for an estimated $200 million budget—which makes Walden's task of finding a new distributor difficult. The Los Angeles Times, however, reports that the film would likely have come in well under the $200 million mark, and quotes an anonymous source who says that Disney and Walden experienced "creative differences" and a disagreement over when to release the film. Meanwhile, Jim Hill lists a third possible motivation: Slow DVD sales for Caspian.
Some industry insiders don't quite see Disney's logic. LA Times Critic Mary McNamara says Disney is jumping ship too soon, dismissing the entire franchise because of Caspian's disappointing sales; she argues that Caspian is generally regarded as a weak link in the series anyway, and says the fact that the film did as well as it did is a miracle, while Dawn Treader is a much more cinematic and appealing story to begin with. Naomi Creason, meanwhile, says Disney is just being practical, and senses little future for Dawn Treader.
Variety
reports that this is bad news for Walden, coming at the end of a year that found the company enduring shake-ups with its executives, a highly publicized flop with City of Ember, and a reduced output that includes only two films set to open in 2009.
In other movie news:
National Society of Film Critics lauds Waltz With Bashir (MCN
Also honor Happy-Go-Lucky, Milk's Sean Penn
Christian producer of Expelled makes "no apologies" (Vancouver Sun
Says he and Ben Stein are plotting documentary about the economy
Year One features biblical cameos (Entertainment Weekly
Stone Age comedy includes appearances by Abraham, Cain and Abel
Kevin Max fronts new Christian movie The Imposter (official site
Ex-DC Talk star's film now available for church screenings
Travolta's son, 16, dies unexpectedly; autopsy planned (AFP
Actor, wife say Jett was "wonderful son," they're "heartbroken"
Stephen Chow drops out of Green Hornet (Associated Press
Leaves DC superhero movie to make different film with Jack Black
Film tells story of Pearl Harbor bomber who turned to Christ (ENI
From Pearl Harbor to Golgotha based on real-life Japanese evangelist
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