I don’t share Nick’s hate of all things Narnia: I found the first film passable, and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens with the sequel, Prince Caspian. That film is being directed by Andrew Adamson, who directed the first film, but like Chris Colombus, two is all Adamson has in him. It’s been announced that the third film, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, would have a new director; now Aint It Cool News thinks they know who it is.
The site is reporting that Michael Apted, known variously for the classic Up documentary series, a terrible James Bond (The World Is Not Enough) and some other pretty darn good movies (Coal Miner’s Daughter, Gorky Park, Gorillas In The Mist), is taking over with that movie.
It’s a big change from Adamson, who made his live action debut with The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, since Apted’s been directing for decades. This is, discounting TWINE, Apted’s first foray into fantasy, so it will be interesting to see how he handles it. I don’t know if this is good news, though. Apted showed his willingness to be a schlocky director for hire with Bond, and I don’t think he’s had a really, really good movie in quite some time (not counting 49 Up, since I don’t think he’ll do Narnia in a doc style). Still, it’s better to have a real director on board instead of some FX guy who graduated to the big chair or something.