Michael Apted To Direct The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader

Neil Burger (The Illusionist) won't be directing the third installment of the Chronicles of Narnia series after all. That turned out to be just a rumor. AICN breaks the big news: Michael Apted (The World is Not Enough) has been hired to helm the project.

Apted's filmography also includes: Amazing Grace, Enough, Enigma, Extreme Measures, Nell, Thunderheart, Class Action, and Gorillas in the Mist.

Andrew Adamson, who directed the first two films, won't be able to return because of the shortened release schedule. He will still be attached as a producer.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was originally published in 1952. It's the third book in the series but the fifth in chronological order. The book follows Lucy, Edmund, and their dreadful cousin Eustace on a magical sea journey aboard the Dawn Trader. The children are pulled into a painting of a ship at sea. On board is Caspian, King of Narnia and his companions, who are in search for seven lost lords of Narnia. The voyage will take them to the edge of the world (sound familiar? Yeah, Pirates stole this idea).

Dawn Treader is currently in preproduction, and is scheduled for release in 2009/2010.