Introducing … Prince Caspian

REEL NEWS
Introducing … Prince Caspian
Title role for Prince Caspian is cast, as are Dr. Cornelius and the dwarves Trumpkin and Nikabrik. Plus: Toy Story 3 coming in '09; churches to celebrate Amazing Grace; updates on The Flash and Wonder Woman; and more.
by Josh Hurst | posted 02/12/07

After the smashing success of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Walden Media and Walt Disney Pictures are moving full speed ahead with the second film in the Narnia series—Prince Caspian, coming to theaters in May 2008.

The title role of the 13-year-old prince will be filled by an actor almost twice Caspian's age—25-year-old Ben Barnes, who reportedly walked out on a commitment to a London stage production to take the job. According to the The Times of London, The National Theater has threatened to sue Barnes for abandoning the production, where he was playing the part of a "roguish and sexually manipulative schoolboy."

Director Andrew Adamson says Barnes "is a very accomplished young man. … He just blew us away. He's going to be a great addition to the cast. I think he'll really fit in well with the other kids."

Barnes said he was offered a three-film deal for Caspian and the next two Narnia movies—including Voyage of the Dawn Treader and, presumably, The Silver Chair. Walden Media's Bob Beltz told Infuze that Dawn Treader has been greelit, and will appear in theaters only one year after Caspian—compared to the two-and-a-half-year wait between LWW and Caspian.

Meanwhile, Peter Dinklage (Elf, The Station Agent) has been cast as Trumpkin the dwarf; Belgian actor Vincent Grass will play Dr. Cornelius; and Warwick Davis (Willow, Harry Potter) will appear as Nikabrik the dwarf.

Meanwhile, Adamson says he probably won't direct any more Narnia films after

Capian, which he says will have a slightly darker tone than LWW. And he gives an update on the four young actors who played the Pevensie kids.