The fate of the third Chronicles of Narnia film hangs precariously balanced. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the next movie planned in the series, will not be happening under a Disney/Walden Media partnership. Disney has abandoned plans to continue with the franchise, leaving Walden Media with a project not even in the production phase.

Walden Media could partner with another company and produce the film, though that would require finding another major company willing to take on the project. At this point, the most likely candidate is Twentieth Century Fox.

The Hollywood Reporter has the full details.

Any partnership on a “Narnia” movie will require a substantial investment. “Caspian,” which filmed in the Czech Republic, Mexico and New Zealand, cost $200 million. The first film, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” was shot mostly in New Zealand for $180 million.

It is rare for a studio to pull out of a planned trilogy in midstream, but the number-crunching showed a franchise on a downward trend. “Lion” roared to $292 million domestically and another $453 million internationally in 2005. This year, “Prince Caspian” grossed a healthy $141 million in North America and another $278 million internationally, but that was well off the “Lion” take.

The movie was originally slated for a 2010 release, though it is uncertain whether it will be possible to complete it in time, or if the film is to be made at all. Walden Media and the C. S. Lewis estate are working to see the third part of the planned film trilogy become a reality.