Narnia goes to Britain

IGN.com - Britain's renowned Pinewood Studios will reportedly be the main production site for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Andy Bird, the president of Walt Disney International, made the announcement at a gathering of television executives, adding that filming would begin in February.

The news signals a change for the high-profile fantasy series, which had chosen New Zealand as the site of its first film, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It was thought that Prince Caspian might either film in New Zealand again, or in Ireland. The decision to shoot in England is linked to the introduction of tax relief in the country for movie productions. The British government hopes to lure the lucrative industry back to the island, as their formerly high taxation levels were driving production companies to cheaper locales — like New Zealand and Eastern Europe.

Given the news of a British production, fans and news sites began to speculate that New Zealand, which lent its beautiful scenic vistas to Narnia in the previous film, would be forgone altogether. That now appears not to be the case, however. As noted at Stuff.co.nz, a lot of pre-production work for Prince Caspian has already taken place at Weta Workshop and Walden Media's facilities in New Zealand. And according to Newswire.co.nz, some portion of the fantasy film will almost certainly be filmed in that country.

Given New Zealand's newfound reputation as a hotspot for fantasy filmmaking, the fact that director Andrew Adamson is a Kiwi, and Walden Media's heavy investment in the country, abandonment of New Zealand is unlikely. Details as to how large a role the country will play in Prince Caspian are expected in the coming weeks.