MUMBAI: One month after Disney decided to pull its hands off from co-financing the third part of the Chronicles of Narnia series, 20th Century Fox has announced its plans to join forces with Walden Media to co-produce the latest franchise.

Titled The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the film will be directed by Brit Michael Apted and will begin production sometime late summer after receiving the News Corp-owned studio's formal approval on the script and budget.

Fox and Walden, which plan to release the third Narnia movie in late 2010, will share the cost for the film that is estimated to be approximately $140 million.

Earlier last month, Disney had cited budgetary issues as the key reason behind bowing out of co-financing the franchise.

In 2005, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first in the Narnia series, had raked in $745 million at the worldwide box office, while Prince Caspian, the second in the series, garnered $420 million last year.