No Dawn Treading for Disney, Mouse House Dumps Narnia

It looks like the less than spectacular box office showing of the last “Chronicles of Narnia” movie, “Prince Caspian” has made the Mouse House (aka Disney) rethink their investment strategy when it comes to the magical land of Narnia. Namely, they ain’t doing none of it. In a somewhat surprising movie, Disney has announced that they will not be shelling out the $200 or so bucks it’ll take to make the third part in the fantasy trilogy, “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”, which would continue the story started in “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe” and followed up with last year’s “Prince Caspian”. This, notes THR, is a first for a major studio and a planned trilogy, especially one that isn’t actually losing money.

THR has your sad Narnia news:

The third entry in the series, based on the classic books by C.S. Lewis, was in preproduction and set for a spring shoot for a planned May 2010 release. The development puts the participation of the talent attached in doubt. Michael Apted was on board to direct a script by Steven Knight. The key players of the second installment, “Prince Caspian” — Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, William Moseley and Anna Popplewell — were to return for the third film.

Walden has a strong relationship with the Lewis estate and will shop “Treader” in hopes of finding a new partner. The most likely candidate at this stage is Fox, which markets and distributes Walden fare under the Fox Walden banner.

Any partnership on a “Narnia” movie will require a substantial investment. “Caspian,” which filmed in the Czech Republic, Mexico and New Zealand, cost $200 million. The first film, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” was shot mostly in New Zealand for $180 million.

But don’t be sad, Narnia fans. Just because Disney isn’t willing to pony up the dough to make the movie, that doesn’t mean other studios won’t. Of course, the chances are pretty slim that you’ll get the same big-budget epic as the first two, since the budget for the third one (considering the box office returns of the last installment, as well as this bad hoodoo with Disney pulling out hovering over its head) may be noticeably smaller, so maybe less talking lion in action and maybe just a lot of talking lion sitting around?

Here’s a brief rundown of the plot for “Voyage of the Dawn Treader” via Amazon:

Lucy and Edmund, with their dreadful cousin Eustace, 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.

Doesn’t sound nearly as epic as the previous two, but I’m sure they’ll squeeze in a gigantic land battle filled with talking squirrels and what have you in there somewhere.

Below: When approached for comment about Disney’s move, “Narnia” extras were less than pleased.