‘Narnia’ opens today

“People are looking at us,” says 12-year-old Georgie Henley, perched on a stone ledge of the New York Public Library for a photo shoot.

“Get used to it,” whispers Skandar Keynes, 16, posing behind her.

The pair, along with William Moseley, 21, and Anna Popplewell, 19, are the stars of Disney’s “The Chronicles of Narnia” films.

They’re back for the second installment, “Prince Caspian,” opening nationwide today.

The British actors were thrust into the spotlight in 2005 after being cast as the Pevensie children in Disney’s first “Narnia” film, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” adapted from C.S. Lewis’ classic series.

It opened with $65.6 million, the second-largest December debut ever and went on to collect $291.7 million in the United States and Canada.

This time, the Pevensie children are summoned back to the mystical land of Narnia to help Prince Caspian claim his throne.

And expectations are even higher. In a summer that so far has had a runaway hit (“Iron Man”) and a major flop (“Speed Racer”), analysts are betting “Narnia” goes in the hit column.

“I think it’s going to do some monster business,” says Gitesh Pandya, editor of boxofficeguru.com.

“The first film had legs at the box office; it wasn’t just a one-weekend wonder. When you have that, it usually means the sequel will open even bigger.”

It will have to make a stand quickly. “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” follows less than a week later, opening Thursday.

“It’s so scary, this summer, with all these big movies,” says “Narnia” producer Mark Johnson.

“I believe, like with the last one, we’ll just continue to be strong day after day after day. We’ll have a very good opening, and the following weekend will belong to Indiana Jones. Hopefully we’ll just stay up there.”

Releasing the new film in summer, instead of winter like its predecessor, seemed like a natural, says director Andrew Adamson.

“The first one kind of needed to be a Christmas film, what with Father Christmas and the snowy white winter,” he says. “This one just really felt like a summer film.”

It’s less fairy-tale whimsy, more action adventure. Johnson describes it as “older, more mature and a little rougher, darker.”

The children face off against Caspian’s evil uncle, Lord Miraz, and the Telmarines, who have conquered Narnia – unsure whether Aslan the great lion will appear to help them.

“There’s so many new characters and so many more plot spreads, and more CGI (computer-generated imagery) and more action,” Popplewell says.

The story centers on two big action scenes: a large-scale battle showdown, and a duel between Moseley and another character.

He and a stunt coordinator “worked on that one fight for two weeks, trying so many different things,” he says. “It was so cool.”

Even the youngsters get into the action. Georgie, whose character carried a special dagger in the first film, gets to wield it.

“I was so happy!” she gushes.

It’s all, of course, on behalf of Caspian, the newest member of Narnian royalty. British actor Ben Barnes, 26, brings a dash of eye candy to the film.

Among the storylines not originally in Lewis’ book: an ongoing flirtation between Popplewell and Barnes’ characters.

Another new key character is the curmudgeonly Trumpkin, played by Peter Dinklage (“Elf” “The Station Agent”).

The red dwarf shepherds the Pevensies and keeps an eye out for them. “The nanny from hell,” jokes Dinklage.

One “Narnia” constant: controversy over possible Christian symbolism.

Groups such as Americans United for Separation of Church and State have criticized the tales, calling them just a retelling of the story of Christ, but the filmmakers see universal themes.

“I really believe you see whatever you want to see in the film,” producer Johnson says. “It’s about faith, whatever kind of faith you have.

“The first movie was about finding faith, and this is the loss of faith and regaining of it. And that faith is whatever you want to make of it.

“That’s one of the things that pleased me about the first film, that it was successful everywhere – even in Muslim countries.”

The films’ four young stars are oblivious to such concerns, focused only on their upcoming premiere and promotional duties – and the freebies that come with being famous.

“Did they give you that?” Moseley asks when Skandar produces a cell phone. (It turns out to be a loaner from his hotel.)

They have many tales from their time together on set. During a weekend spent surfing in New Zealand, where much of the film was shot, Skandar unwittingly made filming more difficult for himself. The fair-skinned actor neglected to coat the back of his legs with sunblock and got a nasty burn.

Like a real brother, Moseley wasn’t about to let that go by without further torture.

“Will would run up behind me and smack the back of my legs,” Skandar says.

But Moseley has a sentimental side, too. He was disappointed to find out there were no plans for a wrap party, so he took matters into his own hands and organized one.

“It’s probably the only thing he has ever organized in his life,” Popplewell teases. “Will is not the most organized person.”

All of the excitement surrounding the film’s opening is a bit bittersweet for the foursome, however.

They know only the younger actors, Georgie and Skandar, will return for the next installment, “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” which begins filming in November for May 2010 release.

Georgie says she’ll miss having Popplewell and Moseley around for comfort and reassurance.

“I don’t think Skandar’s the cuddliest!” she says.

The third “Narnia” will take them to the high seas on a voyage of discovery and encounters with magical creatures.

“That’s going to be a fun shoot, on a ship in the middle of nowhere,” teases Moseley.

“I think Will and I are going to have to come and visit,” Popplewell says. “We can be centaurs.”