‘Narnia’ Finds a New Home at Fox

It’s just been one month since Disney pulled out of co-financing for the third installment of the ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ series, ‘Voyage of the Dawn Trader’. Â  According to Variety, Walden Media has found a new partner in 20th Century Fox. Â  Fox had first crack at the film after Disney dropped out due to the shared Fox Walden marketing and distribution label. Â  The two sides 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.

The film will be spearheaded by Fox 2000. Â  The company has been looking for a family/adventure franchise to tackle for years. Â  2006’s ‘Eragon’ proved to be a huge disappointment critically and financially.

Fox and Walden will split production and P&A costs for ‘Dawn Treader’. Â  The film’s projected budget is at $140 million, considerably less than the roughly $215 million spent on ‘Prince Caspian’. Â  That film made $419 million worldwide compared to the $745 million the first film made worldwide.

Michael Apted is set to direct, but finding a writer for the film could prove to be more difficult. Â  Richard LaGravanese wrote the most recent draft that Fox and Walden were happy with, but his availability for the new project is in question.

Ben Barnes, Skander Keynes, and Georgie Henley are all set to reprise their respective roles.

Source: Variety