The planned sequels to The Golden Compass were put on indefinite hold in October 2008, following the global financial crisis of 2007-08, AKA the "credit crunch", that affected Hollywood and its upcoming productions.īy that time, New Line had been merged with Warner Bros and having spent $180 million on The Golden Compass, but only grossing $72 million domestically, it's likely that a sequel would have been seen as a financial risk. Instead, the reason behind The Subtle Knife's cancellation could well have come down to bad timing, more than anything.
#Golden compass 2 banned series#
That seems unlikely though given that plenty of long-running series have run into criticism on religious grounds, such as the Twilight and Harry Potter series, and that never stopped them from releasing multiple reasons.
#Golden compass 2 banned movie#
Sam Elliott – who played Lee Scoresby in the movie – even went as far to blame the Catholic Church for the lack of a sequel, alleging that the criticism "scared New Line off" from continuing the series. The Golden Compass toned down the religious aspects of the book, angering fans, but it wasn't enough to stop the movie being called "atheism for kids" by the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. In some ways, it's a miracle that the first movie got made due to behind-the-scenes challenges, including numerous changes of directors and controversy over its anti-religion message. I believe there are enough people who see what a viable and successful franchise we have."ĭespite Forte's best attempts, those movies never transpired. "I will make The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. We have to make the second and the third movie," Forte told Variety. This was a success as a family movie in most countries, it's a very strong family franchise, it won an Academy Award. The Golden Compass, which starred Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, was the first of author. "If the movie really wasn't up to snuff, it wouldn't have done $300 million. The two planned sequels to hit movie The Golden Compass have become Hollywood's first major victims of the current economic crisis - production on the movies has been put on hold indefinitely. With an Oscar for Best Visual Effects under its belt, The Golden Compass still looked set to warrant a sequel as producer Deborah Forte defended its performance in March 2008. "The jury is still very much out on the movie, and while it's performed very strong overseas we'll look at it early next year and see where we're going with ," New Line co-head Michael Lynne told The Wall Street Journal. The movie's overall gross of $372.2 million made it the 13th biggest movie of 2007 and could well have led to a sequel, despite its costly budget of $180 million.īack in January 2007, Hossein Amini had been hired to write the script for The Subtle Knife and later that year, after The Golden Compass's release, the sequel was still a possibility for New Line. The Golden Compass is a 2007 fantasy adventure film based on the 1995 book Northern Lights (which is titled The Golden Compass in North America), the first novel in Philip Pullmans trilogy His Dark Materials.Written and directed by Chris Weitz, it stars Nicole Kidman, Dakota Blue Richards, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott, Eva Green and Ian McKellen. While The Golden Compass did underperform in the US with only $70.1 million, it performed strongly overseas with $302.1 million. It has grossed more than $370 million (GBP213.8 million) worldwide since its December 2007 release.You might think that just because the first movie was a bit rubbish, it didn't make enough money and that's why The Subtle Knife never happened, but that's not quite the story here.
Eva Green, who was cast by director Chris Weitz as witch-queen Serafina, says, "At the moment it's quite dead." The Golden Compass had a budget of $180 million (GBP104 million) - making it one of New Line studio's most expensive projects to date. The second part of a book about a little girl who goes off to help her uncle dad with an armored bear to stop her evil mom monkey lady from going to heaven. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman Part 2. Two further films based on Pullman's novels - The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass - were due to be made following the box office success of The Golden Compass - but plans have stalled as a result of the present downturn in the international economy. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman Part 2. The Golden Compass, which starred Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, was the first of author Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials fantasy trilogy to be adapted for the big screen. The two planned sequels to hit movie The Golden Compass have become Hollywood's first major victims of the current economic crisis - production on the movies has been put on hold indefinitely.