Disney drops "Voyage of the Dawn Treader"

GlennAdams · Post by **GlennAdams** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 9:41 am

Aww. That's too bad. You need a 3rd one. It's not a trilogy if there are only 2. LoL.

Trent DeWhite · Post by **Trent DeWhite** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 10:23 am

GlennAdams wrote:Aww. That's too bad. You need a 3rd one. It's not a trilogy if there are only 2. LoL.

Except for the fact that Narnia isn't a trilogy.

darcie · Post by **darcie** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 10:42 am

It's a Heptalogy. Yay, that's now the word of the day. $\:D/$

Laura Ingalls · Post by **Laura Ingalls** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 1:54 pm

For those of you who haven't seen this on NarniaWeb already:

According to Variety, Walden Media is still committed to the Narnia movie franchise despite Walt Disney Pictures dropping out. The article sheds light on some of the disagreements between the two studios that led to Disney deciding not to be involved with the third film.

But sources close to the franchise say Disney and Walden's relationship actually soured over release date issues. Walden blamed Disney for slotting "Prince Caspian" in the shark-infested waters of May rather than a holiday-season berth and was looking to avoid the same scenario for follow-up pic "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader."

"Disney didn't like having a pushy partner like Walden and the C.S. Lewis estate," says one "Narnia" insider. "Disney doesn't really work with partners, and they don't like ones who dictate release dates and marketing campaigns."

But "Narnia" producer Mark Johnson says "Prince Caspian" is simply the least commercially viable story in the seven-title series.

"We may have made a mistake in doing 'Prince Caspian' as the second one," he says. "Unfortunately, 'Prince Caspian' is one of the lesser-liked books. We also made a slightly more adult, darker story, and we shouldn't have."

The good news for Walden: The series' third book, "Dawn Treader," is perhaps the most beloved of the "Narnia" books.

Furthermore, the most important fan is still enamored of the franchise. Walden insiders insist that the reclusive Anschutz, who almost never gives interviews, is still very much committed to "Narnia," as well as the rest of Walden's slate.
Read the article here

Walden Media is currently looking for another studio to distribute 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.'

GlennAdams · Post by **GlennAdams** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 4:57 pm

Trent DeWhite wrote:
GlennAdams wrote:Aww. That's too bad. You need a 3rd one. It's not a trilogy if there are only 2. LoL.
Except for the fact that Narnia isn't a trilogy.

True, true. Nonetheless, all great movie series should go for a 3rd time. $\:D/$

Although there are great movies with only one sequel. Nevertheless, Hollywood has spoken and can not come up with very many great ideas so they expand on what sells, which is a great economic philosophy... I believe I'm rambling on and on, so I will end this post.

Shad Lexer · Post by **Shad Lexer** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 6:51 pm

I don't really care whether Disney does it or not, I just want them to make it!

KODY 105 · Post by **KODY 105** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 7:21 pm

Ziff wrote:I don't really care whether Disney does it or not, I just want them to make it!

I express similar sentiments to those posted by the user above me. Bring on the rest of the movies!

Chandler · Post by **Chandler** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 3:42 pm

Trent DeWhite wrote:
GlennAdams wrote:Aww. That's too bad. You need a 3rd one. It's not a trilogy if there are only 2. LoL.
Except for the fact that Narnia isn't a trilogy.

Actually, I read somewhere that C. S. Lewis wrote Voyage of the Dawn Treader as the final book of the series, intending it to end as a trilogy. If you think about the ending of the book, it makes sense...

Trent DeWhite · Post by **Trent DeWhite** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 4:07 pm

Yeah, it does make sense - but I'm glad Lewis didn't stop at three!

Chandler · Post by **Chandler** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 4:14 pm

Trent DeWhite wrote:Yeah, it does make sense - but I'm glad Lewis didn't stop at three!

Me too!

KODY 105 · Post by **KODY 105** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 5:44 pm

Chandler wrote:
Trent DeWhite wrote:Yeah, it does make sense - but I'm glad Lewis didn't stop at three!
Me too!

I express similar sentiments to those posted by the user above me. I concur.

connies#1fan · Post by **connies#1fan** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 9:58 pm

I think that Disney shouldn't have dropped Narnia. Like it was said somewhere before, Prince Caspian is one of the least like books, so Disney shouldn't expect it to do as amazing as LLW did. I really do hope that Walden will be able to find someone who is able to see the potential with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I think that this one would be amazing to see as a movie. It isn't personally my favorite, but I do certainly like it.

I would also be very disappointed if they didn't finish the series. It just wouldn't seem right to stop after only two of them were made. I really hope that Walden is able to get a partener and soon. I really want to see all of the movies made, especially The Horse and His Boy. And since that one has the Kings and Queens as adults, I'm guessing that it will be one of the last to be filmed. So the sooner they get a partern for VDT, the better.

Kairi · Post by **Kairi** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 10:12 pm

There's actually a rumor going around that Disney is renegotiating their contract with Walden Media. So VODT might open with the Disney opening sequence in front of it.

KODY 105 · Post by **KODY 105** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 6:12 am

Jenari Redev wrote:There's actually a rumor going around that Disney is renegotiating their contract with Walden Media. So VODT might open with the Disney opening sequence in front of it.

Really?! That would be great! I just hope they finish the negotiations quickly. As has been said before, the actors aren't getting any younger...

Kairi · Post by **Kairi** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:05 pm

Unfortunately, it's not true. It started as an add to Narnia's wikipedia article. The information had been deleted, so it's probably just a hoax.

Thursday Next · Post by **Thursday Next** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 2:17 pm

Actually according to the LA times one of Walden Media's biggest shareholders was not happy with Disney.

.

But what really derailed Disney's involvement with "Narnia" was a nasty feud between the studio and Phil Anschutz, the real estate baron and supporter of Christian conservative causes who seems to own half of America. Anschutz has a stake in or outright ownership of Regal Entertainment Group (the nation's biggest movie theater chain), Staples Center, the Kodak Theatre, the Los Angeles Galaxy, the L.A. Kings, London's Millennium Dome, a string of U.S. newspapers (including the San Francisco Examiner) and Walden Media, which has produced such films as "Journey to the Center of the Earth," "Nim's Island" and "Because of Winn-Dixie." So when Anschutz gets into an ugly dispute with Disney, we're talking about a true battle of the titans.

What happened? Keep reading:

According to multiple sources, the once-close relationship between Disney and Walden began to unravel when, after the first "Narnia" film cleaned up at the box office, Anschutz essentially put a gun to Disney's head and demanded that the studio renegotiate its deal with Walden. Anschutz insisted that Disney either gave back a sizable chunk of the studio's lucrative distribution fee or Anschutz would distribute the "Narnia" series on his own. Believing the franchise was too good to give up, Disney reluctantly changed the terms of its Walden deal, but the renegotiation poisoned relations between the two behemoths. When the second film faltered, there was so little good will left over that Disney had far less qualms about cutting its ties with the franchise.

To be fair, Walden wasn't all that happy with the way Disney handled the film. The first movie had been released at Christmas, which seemed a logical slot for a family-oriented picture. But when Disney saw that "Prince Caspian" was an edgier, more youth-oriented film, it decided to go after teenagers as well as family filmgoers. That decision led to what, in hindsight, appears to be a huge blunder, releasing "Prince Caspian" in May, at the start of summer. Sandwiched between "Iron Man" and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," "Prince Caspian" not only failed to attract many teenagers, but it lost a large piece of its family following, who were turned off by the edgier, not especially well-focused marketing materials.

However hope is not lost. Walden is reportedly going ahead to make the Voyage of the Dawntreader. They are in talks with 20th Century Fox who originally wanted the rights to the series anyway. It is said that Fox would be better because they have a better marketing department than Disney. If not Fox than Sony and WB are interested.

Post by **Catspaw** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 11:30 am

I just read some good news on the IMDB news feed - I'm sure that better information will be available soon on other sites! $\:D/$ A 2010 release sounds soon - I'm wondering if that will end up being pushed back. I'm just glad that they're making the movie!

Studio Takes On Next Narnia Movie

29 January 2009 4:10 AM, PST

The third installment in The Chronicles Of Narnia series is set to hit the big screen - after Twentieth Century Fox stepped in to co-finance the project. Disney decided to back out of co-financing the third movie in Walden Media's fantasy series, despite the first two films garnering huge revenues at the box office.

The franchise's first outing, The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, raked in more than $745 million (£532 million), while follow-up Prince Caspian took in $419 million (£299 million) worldwide.

And Fox bosses have now rescued plans for the third installment in C. S. Lewis' classic series - Voyage Of The Dawn Treader - and have already started work on a script.

The film, directed by Gorillas In The Mist moviemaker Michael Apted, is slated for release in November 2010 and will star Prince Caspian lead Ben Barnes.

Laura Ingalls · Post by **Laura Ingalls** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 12:59 pm

Yay! I saw that this morning on Narnia Web and was overjoyed at the news! $\:D/$

KODY 105 · Post by **KODY 105** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 1:04 pm

Huzzah and Wooton! Voyage of the Dawn Treader, here we come!

Say, Miss Ingalls, do you visit Narnia Web often?

Laura Ingalls · Post by **Laura Ingalls** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 1:09 pm

I don't log on to the forum very often, but I keep up with the news with my feed reader. $\:D/$