Walden, Narnia, and Screwtape.

More ominous news has come out of Walden Media. First, co-founder Cary Granat has left the company. Second, in reporting on his departure, the Hollywood Reporter says Granat will stay as a “creative consultant” on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which the company is “close to greenlighting”.

Wait a minute, the film hasn’t been greenlit yet?

It gets better: The official press release from Walden uses even more cautious language, saying that “the company hopes to greenlight [the movie] soon.”

Only “hopes to”?

A bit of background: Back in February, Disney said Dawn Treader would be going into production in the summer. Then, in April, producer Mark Johnson said they were planning to start shooting in October. Then, in October, one of the actors stated publicly that shooting was now set to begin in April of next year.

So between their habit of putting off the start date, on the one hand, and the ongoing administrative upheavals at Walden Media, on the other hand, who can say whether this film will ever be made?

Ah well, either way, you will apparently soon be able to get a taste of how certain scenes in Dawn Treader are supposed to look, at least. NarniaWeb.com reports that the DVD and Blu-Ray of Prince Caspian coming out next month will include “brief glimpses” of the pre-visualization work that has been done on two of Dawn Treader‘s special-effects sequences.

Meanwhile, in related news, I am told that a certain Hollywood writer was approached about writing the script for Walden’s adaptation of The Screwtape Letters — which, like the Narnia books, was written by C.S. Lewis — but then the writer in question found out that Walden wants to turn the book into a broad comedy “in the vein of MR. BEAN a la Richard Curtis.”

I like Mr. Bean well enough, myself, but I am wondering how a mute character — a silent, physical comedian, in effect — can provide any sort of template for a story that is, in its own way, rather didactic.

Given Walden’s mixed-at-best track record with its other literary adaptations, this latest news does not bode well, I think.

NOV 16 UPDATE: Jim Hill says Disney is waiting to see what the first-week sales for the Prince Caspian DVD are like before they commit to a production budget for Dawn Treader.