“Life of Pi” writer David Magee has signed on to write the fourth “Chronicles of Narnia” film.
The hiring of Magee comes two months after Mark Gordon reached a deal with the C.S. Lewis Co. to jointly develop and produce “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair.” The three “Narnia” films have grossed a combined $1.6 billion worldwide.
Magee received an Oscar nomination for the his “LIfe of Pi” adaptation and for his 2004 “Finding Neverland” screenplay.
“I have always loved ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ and I endlessly imagined myself finding my own passage into Narnia someday,” he said. “All these years later, I’m getting to fulfill that wish just a little bit by writing the film adaptation of ‘The Silver Chair’ and could not be more excited about it.”
Producers are Gordon and Douglas Gresham along with Vincent Sieber of The C.S. Lewis Company. Michele Wolkoff and Sara Smith will oversee for The Mark Gordon Company.
“The Chronicles of Narnia” began with the publication of “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” in 1950, followed by the prequel, “The Magician’s Nephew,” and the sequels, “The Horse and His Boy,” “Prince Caspian,” “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” “The Silver Chair” and “The Last Battle.”
Disney produced and released the first two “Narnia” films starting with “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” in 2005 and “Prince Caspian” in 2008. Fox handled “Dawn Treader” in 2011.
The first “Narnia” was a surprise success with $745 million in worldwide box office. “Prince Caspian” took in $420 million and “Dawn Treader” grossed $415 million.
