Third NARNIA Film Picked Up By Fox 2000
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was dropped by Disney in December.
Fox 2000 will develop the third installment of Walden's Chronicles of Narnia franchise, with an eye toward releasing the movie in the holiday season of 2010.
Many of the key players are expected to stay with the project, including director Michael Apted and actor Ben Barnes, though a new writer might come aboard.
Because of the epic scope -- and accompanying production costs -- of the books, Walden partnered with Disney to produce and co-finance the adaptations. Disney backed out of Dawn Treader after failing to come to an agreement with Walden over budgets and release-date issues. Although the first installment, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, was an unabashed hit, the second, Prince Caspian, ran over budget and performed below the studio's expectations.
Despite a couple of suitors, including Columbia, Walden only had eyes for Fox, with whom it partnered to market and distribute its fare under the Fox Walden banner after the first Narnia film.
The third film faces creative as well as budgetary challenges. Although the C.S. Lewis book has quests, dragons and sea monsters galore, the story also has been criticized for lacking a clear antagonist.