Walt Disney Pictures’ follow-up to Andrew Adamson’s blockbuster The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe has been pushed back from December 14, 2007 to summer 2008.
Disney has moved its “Narnia” sequel off the Christmas 2007 release schedule to summer 2008 to avoid competition with the similarly themed fantasy fable “The Water Horse.”
Tuesday’s move of “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” came hours after Columbia Pictures staked a claim on December 8, 2007 for “The Water Horse.” “Prince Caspian” had been slated for December 14, 2007.
Both epics are produced by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz’s Walden Media and likely would have cannibalized one another. The perceived threat to its family audience during the lucrative holiday period was enough to make Disney blink.
“We’re going to movie ‘Prince Caspian’ to summer of ’08,” said Dennis Rice, sr vp publicity at Walt Disney Studios. “Sony and Walden wanted to announce ‘Water Horse’ and the best we can do is move into summer which will open up the holiday frame that Walden wanted.”
Rice said the studio has yet to determine a solid date, but the date change gives director Andrew Adamson and his team of filmmakers more breathing room.
Adamson also directed the first film, “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” which earned about $740 million at the worldwide box office.
In the second film installment of the fantasy epic written by C.S. Lewis, the Pevensey siblings find themselves on an island at a time when Narnia is ruled by the Wicked King Mirax. The Pevenseys ally themselves with the young Prince Caspian, and the mighty lion Aslan, in an effort to revive Narnia’s past and overthrow the evil king.
“The Water Horse” is the story of a young lonely Scottish boy who discovers a mysterious egg on the shore of a loch. The egg hatches and a mysterious creature – the mythical water horse, the sea monster of Scottish legend – emerges. As the monster grows, the boy has his hands full trying to hide the monster from people who don’t understand it and want to hurt it. Weta Digital and Weta Workshop will be creating the effects for the film. Based on the novel by Dick King Smith, it is directed by Jay Russell (“Ladder 49”).