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Ben Barnes (Caspian) has been cast in “The Seventh Son,” Warner Bros’ upcoming adaptation of the first book in the Wardstone Chronicles by Joseph Delaney. He will be playing “the young farmhand who discovers he has an aptitude for perceiving the supernatural.” He joins Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore. The film will be directed by Sergey Bodrov, and is currently set for a 2013 release. Read more.

If you see Disney/Pixar’s Cars 2, which opened today, keep an ear out for Eddie Izzard (voice of Reepicheep in Prince Caspian) as the voice of Sir Miles Axlerod.

Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger does not hit theaters until July 22, but Narnia screenwriter Stephen McFeely is already working on the script for the sequel. Read more.

We have been contacted by someone close to the production who claims that Walden Media has pulled out of making any further Narnia movies.

We are trying to confirm this news as quickly as possible. And should this indeed be the case, we have no idea what will become of the series from this point on.

UPDATE: There are a number of conflicting stories about what’s going on. We’re hearing different things from different people, so until things start to settle down we really don’t know anything for sure. What we can say for sure is that the future of the franchise at present is rather murky. Negotiations may or may not be ongoing, or may have ground to a halt for a while. We’re going to just have to wait and see what shakes out. -Tirian

UPDATE 2: I did have a chance to speak with officials from Walden Media today. Walden stated emphatically that they are still pursing another Narnia film and that they are continuing discussions with the C.S. Lewis Estate to make that a reality. At the present time nothing has been confirmed. But there has not yet been a final yes, or a final no. If Walden does another Narnia film, it will almost certainly be The Magician’s Nephew.

I think it is clear that some negotiations are still taking place, though perhaps as I suggested earlier, they are stalled. It is likely that Walden’s option on the film will last for several more years so it could be quite some time before we know for sure one way or the other.

Andrew Adamson is producing a computer-animated feature film based on the Dark Horse Comics title, “Beasts of Burden.” Both the film and four-issue mini-series are “set in a community called Burden Hill where a series of supernatural events occur, causing a gang of dogs (and one cat) to team up in order to keep their owners and the town’s residents safe.” Read more. Back in June 2007 while filming Prince Caspian, Adamson told NarniaWeb: “[Computer animation] is definitely something I still want to keep involved in because it’s an art form that I really like and I think it allows you to do very different things than you can’t necessarily do in this medium.”

Blu-ray.com has posted a review for the 3D Blu-ray Disc release of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which released on May 24. Their overall score was 3 out of 5. Here is a clip:

“As 3D Blu-ray releases go, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader boasts fairly convincing depth, albeit in a flat, digital image. The encode itself is certainly sound, but the film — bright and bleached as it is — just doesn’t lend itself to a dazzling 3D presentation.”

The reviewer also comments on the difference in color between the Blu-ray release and the trailer:

“Second, there has been some confusion surrounding the color palette featured in the film’s trailers and TV spots. But the sun-bleached appearance of the high definition transfer represents director Michael Apted’s intentions. In other words, don’t be alarmed by how washed out colors appear. There’s no need to adjust your display.”

In other words, the trailer is oversaturated. The Blu-ray Disc is more faithful to how the film appeared (or should have appeared given a proper projection) in theaters.

Read the full review

Running time: 33:17
After an extended news blackout, Micheal Flaherty (Walden Media president) has revealed that no script exists for a fourth Narnia film, and no agreement has been reached on which book should be adapted next. He also talks about the darkness in Prince Caspian and The Silver Chair, and Dawn Treader‘s box office. Rilian and GlumPuddle share their thoughts. Read/listen to the interview here.
 

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20th Century Fox’s X-Men: First Class hit theaters on Friday and grossed $56m in the United States in its opening weekend. The film features James McAvoy (Tumnus) as a young Professor Xavier, who was played by Patrick Stewart in the previous films. Most reviewers have praised McAvoy’s performance. Entertainment Weekly writes: “McAvoy and Fassbender are a casting triumph. These two have, yes, real star magnetism, both individually and together.” Watch a clip.