Disney Fires "Narnia"

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Disney will not make The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, originally set to be the third movie based on the C. S. Lewis book series.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian was released in a crowded summer movie season in 2008 with disappointing box office results. This put the future of the Narnia book series as a movie franchise in jeopardy.

Disney recently officially parted ways with the Narnia property and will not fund or co-produce The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Dawn Treader cannot be made unless another studio picks up the property to fund the film. Disney was skittish after Prince Caspian and decided not to finance the third movie.

There is chatter that 20th Century Fox, who has been having a bad year in 2008 as far as tentpole releases go, will pick up Narnia and make Dawn Treader. Now that the making of a third Narnia movie is delayed, this causes problems in using the actors from the previous two Narnia films in another movie. The other issue involves whether Fox or any other studio would be willing to give a third Narnia movie as big of a budget as the previous two movies, both budgeted at over $150 million.