Acclaimed British director Michael Apted is set to tackle the next movie instalment of The Chronicles of Narnia, the classic children's fantasy series.

Apted, 66, will direct The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, scheduled to hit theatres in 2009, Disney Pictures and Walden Media announced this week.

In 2005, a lavish film version of first Narnia story, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, became a box office hit. Work on a follow-up — The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian — began soon afterwards. That second film is set for release in 2008.

The films are based on the seven bestselling fantasy novels penned by British author C.S. Lewis, which follow several children who meet adventure and danger in the magical realm of Narnia, ruled by the lion Aslan.

An acclaimed veteran of both television and film, Apted is known both for his feature films — including  Coal Miner's Daughter, Gorillas in the Mist, The World is Not Enough and Amazing Grace — and for his documentaries.

One of his best known projects is the famous Up! television documentary series, which began as a profile of the lives of 14 seven-year-olds in 1964 but has continued by revisiting the participants every seven years. The last instalment was 49 Up!, released in 2005.

Apted has also held the title of president of the Directors Guild of America since 2003.

With files from the Associated Press