Disney dweebs the world over are still chattering about the bombshell that Al Lutz dropped over on Miceage on Tuesday morning. About how Walt Disney Pictures is reportedly toying with the idea of producing a second trio of "Pirates of the Caribbean" films. With the first installment of this next trilogy possibly debuting in theaters as soon as 2010.
But according to my sources at Disney Studios, this is just the tip of the miceberg … er … iceberg. I mean, how about those three new "Narnia" films that the Mouse is planning on making with Walden Media? Or that follow-up to "Enchanted" that Disney Feature Animation is allegedly already knocking around story ideas for. And even though "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" won't begin shooting 'til early next month, people in Burbank are already looking ahead toward "National Treasure 3" and "National Treasure 4."
These days, folks, the magic word on the Disney lot is "franchise." And to be honest, Mouse House managers don't like greenlighting any new projects for the studio unless these potential productions naturally lend themselves to a series of follow-up films.
This is why Walt Disney Pictures — in conjunction with Jerry Bruckheimer Films — is now gearing up to put a "Prince of Persia" movie into production. Because it's thought that a film based on this hugely popular series of Ubisoft Entertainment games (Which — in theory — will be Disney's big action-adventure release for the Summer of 2008) could then lead to a new hit series of movies for the studio.
This is also the thinking behind Disney's recent re-acquisition of the movie rights to Edgar Rice Burrough's "John Carter of Mars" series. With the hope that — if this project is properly developed for the screen — the 11 books in this series could then lend themselves to a hugely popular set of motion pictures.
And it's not just the people at Walt Disney Pictures who are thinking this way. These days, it seems like everyone at the Mouse House has gone franchise-crazy.
Take — for example — how the folks at the Disney Channel plan on building on & then extending their already wildly popular "High School Musical" franchise. Using footage that was shot during the recently completed HSM concert tour, Buena Vista Home Entertainment will release a DVD version of "High School Musical: The Concert" later this summer. With one of the main selling points of this disc being that it will contain an exclusive preview for "High School Musical 2." Which will begin airing on the Disney Channel in August.
Then — in December — the DVD version of "High School Musical 2" will be released to stores. And this disc will not only feature a brand-new musical number (Which will deliberately not be shown whenever this new TV movie airs on the Disney Channel), but it will also include a special preview for Walt Disney Pictures' recently announced October 2008 theatrical release, "Haunted High School Musical."
And let's not forget about the "High School Musical on Ice" arena show that Feld Entertainment hopes to have touring the U.S. by late this Fall. Or the second edition of "High School Musical: The Concert" (Which would once again feature original members of the cast of the then-two HSM TV movies) that the Walt Disney Company wants to send out on another 40-city tour next winter.
Mind you, not everyone at the Mouse House is enthusiastically embracing this wave of franchise frenzy. Take — for example — Zac Efron, the original Troy from "High School Musical" (The TV Movie). Efron opted out of appearing in the concert version of HSM mostly because he was still working on the movie version of "Hairspray: The Musical." And while Zac is already signed to appear in "High School Musical 2," he doesn't sound all that enthusiastic about "Haunted High School Musical."
In fact, in a recent interview with TV Guide, Efron was quoted as saying:
"I highly doubt I would be involved in that. There's so much Disney stuff being made right now, I would rather pick something more challenging."
Copyright 2007 Disney Enterprises, Inc. / Jerry Bruckheimer Films
And even as "Pirates" screenwriters Terry Rossio & Ted Elliot are finishing up polishing the screenplay for "National Treasure 2," Rossio has expressed some reservations about Disney going forward with a second trio of "Pirates" pictures. In a February 12 interview with Moviehole, when Terry was asked about a fourth "Pirates of the Caribbean" film, Rossio replied:
"It's like the fourth Indiana Jones picture. There are forces in play to make it happen, and forces in play to make it not happen. I think (that Ted & I) will try to write a screenplay. I can't say if we'll be able to solve the challenge of making a good fourth film, or if our screenplay will be enough to get a film made."
And let's not forget about John Lasseter & Ed Catmull, the new Big Cheeses at WDFA. Even though these two have allowed Pixar to put "Toy Story 3" into production, John & Ed are still quite vocal when it comes to the subject of sequels, film franchises and brand building. With Lasseter reportedly borrowing Roy E. Disney's famous quote: That "… brands are for cattle."
Still, that hasn't stopped senior managers at the studio from talking about how " … 'National Treasure' could be our Indiana Jones." Or signing British actor Ben Barnes to a three picture deal so that he can then be locked in to play Prince Caspian in the next three "Narnia" films. With "Caspian" being released to theaters in May of 2008 and the film version of "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" already being penciled as Disney's big holiday season release for 2009.
But will all of this talk of tentpoles & new film franchises actually ever translate into something solid for Walt Disney Studios? Let's remember that — back during the Summer of 2001, while "Country Bears" was still production — the Mouse was so positive that it had a hit on its hands that the studio hired Paul Rugg to write a "Country Bears" sequel. But that project was quickly abandoned once this Peter Hastings film came out in July of 2002 and proved to be a box office disappointment.
Still, these days, Disney officials seem anxious to build on each & every success the company has. Which is why even a seemingly throwaway project like "Air Buddies" (I.E. The most recent direct-to-video sequel to Walt Disney Pictures' 1997 release, "Air Bud") is now receiving the franchise treatment. Because that Buena Vista Home Entertainment moved so many discs during the 2006 holiday season, "Snow Buddies" is now in pre-production. Look for that video premiere — which sends those Golden Lab pups off on an Alaskan adventure — to turn up on store shelves just before Christmas of 2007.
So what do you folks think about the Walt Disney Company getting aggressive when it comes to franchises? Is this the right thing for the Mouse to do? Or is Mickey's new plan (pardon my French here) a little f'd up?
Your thoughts?