Why The Chronicles of Narnia Franchise Ended Prematurely

In the early-2000s, as the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings films elevated the fantasy genre to new heights on screen, the Walt Disney Company was eager to get in on the action. Thus, Disney partnered with Walden Media, who owned the film rights to C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia books. Together, the two studios planned to adapt the beloved young-adult fantasy series into movies. The source material totaled seven books, and after Disney and Walden made over $745 million on their inaugural adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, it seemed promising that the entire series would come to life on-screen and become a bankable franchise for both companies. However, as the subsequent films earned less and less at the box office, and the books became increasingly challenging to adapt, The Chronicles of Narnia movies seemingly came to a premature end, with only three of the seven books ever making it to the screen.