This Dawn will be breaking a lot later than expected.
Disney had promised to unspool a new installment in the Chronicles of Narnia franchise every May through 2013, until all seven of C.S. Lewis' books had been adapted. But the reality of actually making the effects-heavy, production-intensive movies has forced the Mouse House and partner Walden Media to push back the release of third installment, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, from May 9, 2009 to May 7, 2010.
Reps for both companies were unavailable for comment Thursday. However, a spokesman told the Hollywood Reporter that the reason for the bump had to do with "the challenging schedules for our young actors."
With the exception of Warner Bros.' Harry Potter movies, which have been hitting the multiplex at the rate of one every 18 months, most Hollywood franchises take about two years between sequels—a pattern that Narnia will now embrace.
The much-anticipated second entry, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, was originally due out in December. But after Sony set a Christmas Day release for another fantasy-themed flick from Walden, The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, Disney opted to bump Caspian to May 16, 2008.
Andrew Adamson, who helmed 2005's The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, again handles the reins on the follow-up.
The Narnia shakeup means filming on Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which director Michael Apted was due to get rolling in January 2008, won't kick off until the summer at the earliest.
But it's possible that tentative start date could get fouled up if the Screen Actors Guild, Directors Guild of America and possibly the Writers Guild don't resolve their issues with producers and go on strike when their contracts expire Oct. 31.
The labor mess has already led to one casualty. Oscar-winning filmmaker Roman Polanski has dropped out of the European-financed epic Pompeii after expressing concerns that he might not be able to start the 18-month shoot in time to beat a potential strike. Other films that could be temporarily derailed include the next James Bond and Harry Potter films.
In any case, with the Dawn Treader not expected to set sail in theaters until 2010, Disney will now fill the void by scheduling another tentpole, the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced G-Force, for May 1, 2009.
A combination of live-action and CGI, G-Force follows a crack team of super-intelligent animal commandos sent by a government agency on a dangerous mission to stop an evil billionaire from taking over the world.
Finally, in other film-scheduling news, Universal has announced it has delayed the release of its remake of 1941's The Wolf Man, starring Benicio Del Toro as the hirsute horror icon, from Nov. 12, 2008 until sometime the following spring or summer.