Despite the disappointing box-office tally of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Walden Media is looking to produce the fourth film in the franchise based on C.S. Lewis’ beloved children’s fantasy novels.
“We are starting to talk to (20th Century Fox) and the C.S. Lewis estate now about The Magician’s Nephew being our next film,” Michael Flaherty, co-founder and president of Walden Media, told The Christian Post. “If we can all agree to move forward, then what we would do is find someone to write the script. So, it could still be a couple of years.”
With a production budget of $155 million, the third film in the “Narnia” film franchise took in $104 million at the domestic box office following its December release, significantly less than theater receipts for the 2005 release of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ($291.7 million) and the 2008 release of Prince Caspian ($141.6 million), according to BoxOfficeMojo.com. However, Dawn Treader has earned $300 million in foreign receipts—surpassing Prince Caspian’s overseas gross.
The sixth book in Lewis’ seven-title series, The Magician’s Nephew is a prequel to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, telling the story of the creation of Narnia and how evil entered into the newly formed magical land.
Flaherty told The Christian Post that The Magician’s Nephew has the potential to be a blockbuster movie like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe because it is the second most popular book in the “Narnia” series.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader will be released April 8 on DVD by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, and distributed to Christian stores by Provident-Integrity Distribution.
