Empire Magazine has their 2010 preview issue on store shelves, and one of the articles is about the Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The text from the article is really interesting, with some new information from different members of the production.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
LOCATIONS: Queensland, Australia; Baja, Mexico
TALENT: Michael Apted (director), Ben Barnes, Will Poulter
RELEASED: December 10A great deal has changed in Narnia. After Disney dumped the franchise, the series looked all but washed up until 20th Century Fox came to the rescue.
“It was a bit of a blow,” says producer Mark Johnson, speaking on the Brisbane set, hours after it’s been hit by the worst sandstorm in Australian history. “But everybody came after us once we weren’t with Disney. Everyone…”
Did Disney jump ship too soon? Regarded as the best of the series, Dawn Treader picks up several years after Prince Caspian; Edmund (Skandar Keynes), Lucy (Georgie Henley) and brattish cousin Eustace (Son of Rambow’s Will Poulter) arrive in Narnia aboard the titular Dawn Treader, captained by King Caspian (Ben Barnes), questing to find the seven lost lords of Narnia. Where the previous films had talking beavers and angry trees, this has battles at sea, monsters of the deep and a great big dragon.
“The potential is thrilling,” says helmer Michael Apted. “It’s a wonderful adventure mixed with fantasy.” For the sake of the remaining four books, Fox will be hoping that potential (creative and business) is fulfilled.
I love it that literally everyone came out of the woodwork for the Narnia series. Disney saw potential and wanted to capitalize on that, but the simple fact is that the series does not fit the current Disney long term film slate. It was a last ditch effort for Michael Eisner to try to save his position at Disney, and as you may know, Robert Iger is now in the lead position there.
There have been many more shake-ups at Disney since then, as well as the purchase of both Pixar and Marvel.
Anyway, the potential for the series to actually be finished in a motion picture format for the first time is actually feasible.
Big thanks to my friend Teddy for the article. He found it along side an article for The Last Airbender.
i CAN’T WAIT UNTIL THE LAST AIRBENDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hehe, sorry, but I’m a fan of that as well.
I’m pumped for The Last Airbender as well! 🙂
YAY!!!! Another fan!!!!! 😀
Yep! And my buddy Teddy runs the website I linked, the one that sent the article. He created it as a spin-off of my website MNightFans.com
Did you notice the locations? They include Baja, Mexico. I don’t think there was any filming done for the movie there.
You’re right, they didn’t do any filming there. Though we’ll have to wait for an official document with regard to second unit photography.
I LOVE THE LAST AIRBENDER!!!
2010 is going to be the best movie year of my life!
I find it very interesting that Disney backed out of making the Narnia series. I just hope that the prediction of the article is true: that all seven books will eventually be put on the silver screen! Sail on!
I like it……
I’m hoping to see six books on the big screen, but I’m hesitant as to whether I want to see anyone try their hand at The Last Battle… it’s spiritually the most intense and the most delicate of the series, as it deals heavily with the afterlife and with the world’s end, and there was something towards the close of it that Lewis only hinted at… something beautiful that they saw. How do you bring that to the big screen without dumbing it down?
I’ll direct it! 🙂
Ha ha ha! If you did direct it, you’d have lots of advice. Ha ha. 😀
Oh believe me, it’s my favorite of the books. I have had the film version in my head for many years. I even know the changes that I would make. 😀
Publicity! That’s what this movie needs!
I totally agree lots and lots of Publicity and Disney sucked in when this movie does really well haha!
Unfortunately, they’re likely to want someone who has prior high-profile movie-directing experience…
Most unfortunately, indeed. Despite my laughing, I think Paul Martin knows his Narnia well enough to do a tremendous job on any one of the books. If not a directer, maybe he could apply to write the screenplay… 🙂
Um, that last comment was for Mr. Paul.
I LOOOOOOOVE AVATR!{the last airbender}SHOW WAS AWSOME! THE SERIES END WAS FANTASTIC! ANG WAS SOOOOOOOOOOOO BAD! MOVIE SHOULD BE GOOD M NIGHTS CHILD WOULD PROBABLY KILL IF HE MESSED IT UP. SOO HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can’t wait till VDS comes out! The movie I think they’ll have the hardest time with is the Magician’s Nephew. The music in that one is going to be really hard.