FX Team talks about Prince Caspian

IGN has been keeping track of the "Prince Caspian" news....the Effects designers for the first movie look like they will be back--quickly--for the second:

The two FX wizards also discussed their Oscar-nominated work on the film and their preparation for work on Prince Caspian now that the sequel has been announced. While LWW was an undeniably large undertaking, Prince Caspian promises to one-up the stakes."Dean Wright comments on Caspian: "No one here has actually gotten the script since it's not written. (Laughs) I did read the book just a couple of weeks ago…""Andrew [Adamson] (director of LWW) just actually signed on to do Prince Caspian just about two weeks ago. And [he] literally took off on the next plane to New Zealand just to get out of L.A. just to recharge his batteries, recharge his creative energy, because it was a marathon. I did read the book and more of the creatures that you saw - and there's new ones - are back. There's new hero creatures... There's huge battle sequences. I know from talking to Andrew before he left, he wants to make this bigger and better than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, so I can only imagine what's in store. Any of us that are lucky enough to be involved. We all love working with Andrew. I can say that on behalf of everyone here, and would enjoy working on all seven books if we could."

As far as the character of Aslan, Caspian promises some interesting evolutions in the look of the character who, according to the original writings of C.S. Lewis, more than doubles in size for this tale. Bill Westenhofer comments on the evolution of Aslan's physical look: "Reading the books, there are some evolutions. One of the challenges is that it is described in the text that he does increase in size. At one point, he's referenced as the size of an elephant. So I think that's where interpretations of the filmmakers are going to come into play and how to pull that off. In this film, he changes size slightly, but I doubt anyone would notice. He's actually five percent bigger after he comes back to life, but even to start with, he was at the top end of the scale of average lion sizes… So, he is a big lion, even at the start. But yeah, I think that's going to be one of the challenges... What creative licenses you carry and how believable that is to have that big a character…"

(more from the LA Times) “Narnia” director Andrew Adamson has just signed on to direct “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” and while no contracts are signed, his creative team will probably regroup. Fast.

“They haven’t announced yet how many films they’ll do,” said Wright. “I think they’d love to do them all. At least six or seven is the goal. All the kids will come back for 'Caspian' and two of them, the two youngest, will return for 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.' Right now, Andrew is taking time off in New Zealand and then he’ll write treatments, we’ll get the script and dive right into it. I imagine we will start production based on the kids’ schedules, but it’s all going to happen relatively soon.”
Which is great news for “Narnia” fans.

Prince Caspian Given Go-Ahead: Official

Here is another article (click here for the full text) which discusses that "Prince Caspian" has already started preproduction, with a planned December 2007 release:

BURBANK, Calif., Feb. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media, in collaboration with Academy Award(R)-nominated director Andrew Adamson, have begun pre-production on "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," the next big screen installment of the "Narnia" Chronicles, and the follow-up to the international blockbuster, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe," it was announced today (2/2).

"The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," will reunite most of the principal cast and creative team responsible for "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe." Andrew Adamson ("Shrek," "Shrek 2") will reprise his role as director, in addition to serving as a producer, and co-writer (in collaboration with Christopher Markus and Steve McFeeley). Production is set to begin later this year for a Christmas 2007 release. "Prince Caspian" finds the Pevensie siblings pulled back into the land of Narnia, where a thousand years have passed since they left. The children are once again enlisted to join the colorful creatures of Narnia in combating an evil villain who prevents the rightful Prince from ruling the land. "Prince Caspian" was first published in 1951, and is the second book in the seven-book series written by Lewis. It was intended as a continuation of "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe."

Adamson said, "Making ’The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’ couldn’t have been a more rewarding experience, not just in terms of creative achievement and audience response, but also because of the family we formed during production. ’Prince Caspian’ not only gives me an opportunity to challenge my imagination with another classic story, it also allows me to work alongside the many talented artists who contributed to the first film, and of course to collaborate again with ’The Pevensies,’ Georgie, Skandar, Anna, and William."

Andrew Adamson is attached as Director of Prince Caspian!

According to these article tips from NarniaWeb and ReelNews, according to Hollywood Reporter, Andrew Adamson has been slated to direct "Prince Caspian," especially since his helming of "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" was such a success. Many of the other crew will be working on "Prince Caspian," and the four actors who play the Pevensie children will be back, since they are also in this book. Though it is a year later in Earth time, they are transported back to Narnia 1000 years after they left it.

Adamson Back On Board

Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media are big believers in the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." It was announced last week that the studios would be taking no risks with a new director for the Chronicles of Narnia series, hiring Andrew Adamson, director of the first film, to return to helm Prince Caspian.

Pre-production has already begun on the new film, with most of the principle cast and crew members returning. Adamson, in addition to directing, will also be co-writing and co-producing Caspian. The film is slated to release around Christmas 2007, says the Hollywood Reporter.

Dick Cook, chairman of Walt Disney Studios, responded enthusiastically to Adamson's return. "We're thrilled to be working with such a great director as Andrew, and our friends at Walden Media, in bringing the next chapter of the Narnia chronicles to the big screen," Cook said in a press release. "Moviegoers around the world were unanimous in their love and enthusiasm for The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, and Prince Caspian offers lots of new thrills and adventures in this magical land. The C. S. Lewis books are a rich source of inspiration for great storytelling, and this book spotlights some wonderful new heroes, and villains, along with many of the characters we came to love so much in the first film."

"PC" in Variety

Next 'Narnia' shaping up
Adamson to direct 'Prince Caspian'
By MICHAEL FLEMING, CHRIS GARDNER
'The Chronicles of Narnia' has taken in $638 mil worldwide so far.

Andrew Adamson has signed to direct "Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," the sequel to the Walt Disney Pictures/Walden Media holiday hit "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." The sequel was made official Wednesday by Walt Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook and Walden Media CEO Cary Granat.

Sources said Adamson will be paid an eight-figure salary against gross participation, putting him in league with a handful of the highest-paid directors in Hollywood. Adamson was paid a seven-figure sum to make his live-action debut on the first "Narnia," a deal made before he did "Shrek 2." Adamson, whose deal was made by UTA, didn't get paid gross on the first installment, but got box office bonuses. He becomes a bonafide gross player with the sequel.

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" has so far tallied $637.8 million worldwide.

The sequel dealmaking is coming together quickly: Mark Johnson, who produced the original, is also in talks to return.

Adamson, who will also produce, will write the sequel script with Christopher Markus and Steve McFeeley, two of the original's writers. The studio and Walden hope to begin production late this year for a Christmas 2007 release. As with new installments of the Harry Potter franchise, there is extra pressure in ramping up sequels before the young stars get too old for the parts.

Writing has begun and the first sketching has begun in production design, but Adamson said his priority is to make sure the sequel does the 1951 book justice. "The next story involves the same children and their return to Narnia," Adamson said. "It's 400 years later in Narnia, but for our children a little over a year has passed. It is a very emotional story, because by the end the two oldest have to acknowledge that they are too old to come back. They are saying farewell to their childhood."

While it remains to be seen whether or not the White Witch is brought back (she was convincingly killed in the original), the children find conflict as they help Prince Caspian, the heir to the throne, in his battle against his uncle Miraz, who has plotted to rule the kingdom himself. The children bring back the mythical creatures of Narnia, including the lion Aslan.

Adamson will remain involved creatively if the "Narnia" franchise goes beyond a second film. He said he was unsure whether he would direct a third installment. "I imagine I'd like to work on more than just two different franchises in my lifetime," Adamson said.