Narnia Loses Its Magic with Disney

Disney, in a very unusual move for a studio, has decided to part ways with producer Walden Media in making the third installment of "The Chronicles of Narnia" series.

The third movie, titled The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, was planned to be released in May 2010 and was set to start shooting this spring. The project had already lined up the main characters of the second movie, Prince Caspian. Reuters reported that Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, William Moseley, and Anna Popplewell were returning for the making of Treader.

In a statement on Tuesday, Disney said that they had decided to not co-produce and co-finance the third film, due to budgetary and logistical reasons.

It seems like a reasonable move after Prince Caspian only brought in $419 million, an amount that can't match the original movie. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe brought in $745 million and cost $180 million, $20 million less than its successor.

Walden Media is now in the process of finding a new partner for the third movie of the series, based on the books by C. S. Lewis. The most suited candidate to replace Disney is Fox, which already has a close business relationship with Walden.