No More Narnia?

Several entertainment web sites including Digital Spy are reporting that Disney may end its The Chronicles of Narnia franchise after the third film, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, is released.

Prince Caspian, the second film in the series of seven books, is scheduled for release this summer, with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader expected in 2010.

Rumours of the plan circulated some weeks ago but were denied by Disney but now First Showing.net reports that producer Mark Johnson made an appearance at the New York Comic Con this weekend alongside Prince Caspian stars Ben Barnes, William Moseley, and Peter Dinklage.

Johnson specifically stated that they have "no plans" at the moment to continue on past Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

The Christian themes of the books -- not perhaps evident to the casual viewer -- may well be one reason for a reticence in producing all seven films, with the final book, The Last Battle, perhaps the most obvious in terms of religious symbolism. But many cinema goers are totally unaware of the books' subtext, so commercial and financial considerations are more likely to be the reasons for concentrating on a trilogy.

FirstShowing.net reporter Alex Billington indicates that any final decision will of course be dependent on the success of both Prince Caspian and Voyage of the Dawn Treader and box office is expected to be strong for both films.

Disney and Pixar are reportedly planning to replace the Narnia franchise with a trilogy of films based on the John Carter of Mars books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Plans for such a series have been in the offing for several years.