Disney is slowly ramping up the marketing pitch for Prince Caspian, the second of three Narnia films (more on that in a second) and the outlook (within the movie, at least) is looking more grim. The studio is given over to selling this as a darker movie full of creatures and warfare. You know, one that sells toys and DVDs to 15-year olds. That demo apparently has all sorts of discretionary income. The cuddly Jesus lion is still here, but the trailer (hosted by MySpace) sidelines him in favor of odder beasts, the Teen Beat-ready Caspian and people going ‘Aaarrrgh!’
Will that help? Disney doesn’t seem sure; word out of the NY Comic Con this weekend was that the studio is ready to make only one more film after Caspian. Outrageously good numbers on Narnia 2 and 3 could always push more movies into production, but it now appears that Disney is no longer convinced they can crush Narnia into a Harry Potter-shaped mold. If the film’s final effects and tone are as flat and uninspired as this trailer, that’s probably a good thing.
And in tangental news, Variety reports that the upcoming polygonal advert, or ‘video game’, for Caspian will feature two all-new scenes directed by Andrew Adamson and starring Ben Barnes (Caspian) and Vincent Grass (Dr. Cornelius). The scenes help tie this story to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. No doubt they’ll be on the movie’s DVD in the fall, too.