"VDT" to be financed by Fox

January 28, 2009 11:46PM
Fox Picks Up Next Narnia Film
One month after Disney bailed out of the franchise, Fox agrees to co-finance 'Voyage of the Dawn Treader'
Mark Moring

When Disney announced on Christmas Eve that it would no longer fund the Chronicles of Narnia movies, some wondered if the franchise was dead as Walden Media was left holding a very expensive ball--essentially all dressed up with no place to go (and not enough money to spend). Various stories have circulated about exactly why Disney bailed--everything from economic reasons to disagreements with Walden founder/funder Phil Anschutz--but the big question still remained: Would any major studio pick up the ball? Because Walden didn't have the money to move forward without any help.

That question was answered Wednesday when several publications--Variety, the LA Times, and the Hollywood Reporter--all ran stories saying that 20th Century Fox will pick up the tab to co-finance the third Narnia film, Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Variety reports that Fox and Walden "are still working out budget and script issues, but the hope is to shoot the film at the end of summer for a holiday 2010 release through the Fox Walden label." (Fox and Walden have partnered on most of Walden's other releases; only the Narnia films--The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and Prince Caspian--were released through Disney.)

The Variety article also notes that while Caspian didn't earn nearly as much money as LWW, Caspian is also "considered the least commercially appealing of the seven C.S. Lewis Narnia novels" but nonetheless "ranked No. 10 in global box office performance last year. Dawn Treader is considered to be a more family film-friendly book, and the goal is to get back to the magical aspects present in the first Narnia pic but mostly absent from Prince Caspian."

David Arnold to score "VDT"

From M16.co.uk: David will also be scoring the third Narnia film, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" for Disney/Walden and directed by Michael Apted , with whom David has scored three films ("The World is Not Enough", "Enough" and "Amazing Grace").

David Arnold has been nominated for many awards and has won a Grammy Award for his work on "Independence Day" and, more recently, a BMI Film Music Award for his work on "Casino Royale."

You can visit his website here.

VDT's release date delayed to 2010

According to BoxOfficeMojo.com, the release date for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader has just been pushed back to May 7, 2010. Whether this is the result of the impending strike next year or not, we don't know yet (read more about the strike here). Also, this date has not yet been confirmed by Disney or Walden. As soon as we get more official news on this development, we will let you know.

UPDATE: ComingSoon.net is also reporting that the Dawn Treader release date has been changed to May 7, 2010.

UPDATE 2: We have received a confirmation e-mail from Disney.

UPDATE 3: Disney has sent us their official statement: In consideration of the challenging schedules for our young actors, Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media have chosen to delay the start of production for "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" until summer 2008. The new release date for this highly anticipated third entry in the "Narnia" series will now be May 7, 2010.

Locations for "VDT" Named

In a new blog entry, KNB EFX guru Howard Berger mentions that work on Prince Caspian is now complete and he will be taking a short break before beginning work on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Filming on Dawn Treader will begin in late January. First up in the locations this time will be the island nation of Malta, as expected, followed by Prague and Iceland. Previous reports suggested that filming in Antarctica might be on the cards, but it now seems that Iceland will be used instead.

Dawn Treader's Release date: May 1, 2009

Movie Updates: 'Narnia' Production and 'Watchmen' Casting
By Melissa Wilson
Published 06/9/2007
Movies Rating: Unrated

Narnia Films to Go One After the Other Every Year
Disney will be doubling up on the Narnia films to get them out, and Gerard Butler may not be out of "Watchmen." According to IGN, Disney has already set a release date for "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" -- May 1, 2009 -- which is just under a year after the May 19, 2008 release of Prince Caspian. To achieve this, The Mouse is keeping the casts the same but having different production teams working on each. If it works, expect to see "The Silver Chair" come May 2010.(Buy your tickets early and save!)

New Director for "VDT"

Director Chosen for Third Narnia Film
Posted By: Goon / Source
Related News : Family Movie News , Fantasy Films

According to AICN, Director Michael Apted has been chosen to direct the third Narnia film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The first film did amazing well and was directed by Andrew Adamson who is currently directing the sequel Prince Caspian which will bow in theaters on May 18, 2008. Word is that Apted is a huge fan of the series and was only eight years old when the books were published. So he would have been the target age for them growing up.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader follows Lucy and Edmund, with their dreadful cousin Eustace. Together they get magically pulled into a painting of a ship at sea. That ship is the Dawn Treader, and on board is Caspian, King of Narnia. He and his companions, including Reepicheep, the valiant warrior mouse, are searching for seven lost lords of Narnia, and their voyage will take them to the edge of the world. Their adventures include being captured by slave traders, a much-too-close encounter with a dragon, and visits to many enchanted islands, including the place where dreams come true.

Current speculation is that the fourth film will be based on the book The Silver Chair. We will keep you up to date on casting and everything else as it is announced.