The Walt Disney Co. will not contribute to the production and financing of the next “The Chronicles of Narnia” film, which now remains in the hands of Denver entrepreneur Phil Anschutz’s Walden Media LLC film company, Disney announced on December 24, citing “budgetary and logistical reasons.”

 

The third “Chronicles of Narnia” picture, “Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” has been in preproduction for some time now and was scheduled to begin production in spring 2009 with an estimated $200 million budget. The movie will reportedly be directed by Michael Apted (“Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “Gorillas in the Mist,” while stars from the second movie in the franchise, “Prince Caspian,” are said to reprise their roles. The cast list includes names like Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley and William Moseley.

 

In addition, the movie was programmed for a 2010 release.

 

All Walden Media LLC has to do now is find a new collaborator, which might be 20^th Century Fox, as the two companies have already teamed up for movies such as “Because of Winn-Dixie” and “Bridge to Terabithia.”

 

Walden has also worked with Paramount Pictures, which co-produced its 2004 version of “Around the World in 80 Days,” starring Jackie Chan.

 

The first movie of the “Narnia” series, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” took in approximately $745 million worldwide back in 2005 and was one of the top-grossing productions of the year. “Prince Caspian,” nevertheless, earned only $419 million in ticket sales this year.