The eagerly-awaited Narnia movie sequel from the series of children’s books written by Belfast-born author CS Lewis is set to be one of the blockbuster’s of the summer.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is due for release in the US next month where cinemas are already planning early screenings from midnight on Friday, May 16, to meet the expected demand.
The multi-million pound film — the follow-up to The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe — is scheduled for release in the UK in June.
The movie, featuring Ulster actor Liam Neeson as the voice of the godlike Aslan, is expected to be the box office smash of the summer, even out-stripping The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, which took an estimated $393m worldwide in 2005.
In the second of CS Lewis’ fantasy books to be made into a film, the four Pervensie children — Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy — return to Narnia to aid the young Prince Caspian in his struggle for the throne against his corrupt uncle King Miraz.
Caspian uses Susan’s magic horn that was left in Narnia to summon the four Pevensies to help him and a small army of Old Narnians reclaim his rightful throne.
Work on the script began before The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe was released, so filming could begin before the actors grew too old for their parts.
Shooting began in February last year in New Zealand, but the majority of filming took place in Eastern Europe.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian was originally scheduled for release in December last year but was postponed to allow special effects to be completed.
Michael McAdam, of Movie House Cinemas, said: “We are really looking forward to the new Narnia movie. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe was hugely popular in Northern Ireland when it came out at Christmas in 2005 and many children saw it not just once, but two and three times.
“Prince Caspian looks equally as good and of course, our own Liam Neeson provides the voice of Aslan.
“It’s brilliant to see some family films coming into the cinema for early as it has been a really quiet April for kids’ films.
“We kick off the busy season with the fourth Indiana Jones movie on May 22, then Narnia is out on June 26. But the summer families can also look forward to King Fu Panda, Disney’s WALL-E, the new Batman movie The Dark Knight and the Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon. It looks like a great summer at the cinema.”