Meryl Streep in Talks to Play Aslan
Earlier this week, Nexus Point News reported that Meryl Streep was being considered for the role of Aslan in Greta Gerwig’s upcoming adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ The Magician’s Nephew, C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia prequel. Given the significance (and timing) of this claim, the NarniaWeb news team decided to conduct its own investigation before publishing anything. We checked with several sources, including Netflix which declined to comment.
This morning, Deadline corroborated the story, adding that their sources did not confirm whether or not Aslan would be female in the adaptation. In other words, it is possible a female actor will be playing a male character. It would not be the first time for Streep; she played a rabbi in Angels in America in 2003.
Streep also worked with Director Greta Gerwig’s 2019 adaptation of Little Women. The 75-year-old American has received more Academy Award nominations than anyone in history (21).
How significant is Aslan’s mane to the story? Discuss here.
This feels like a gut punch…
Uh, wow.
I’ve been excited and hopeful about this new adaptation. I’ve thought all the complaining and fears about Gerwig were unfounded. Her interviews are charming. Her previous work is creative and fresh. Her comments on Lewis as a writer and thinker, and her references to his work outside of Narnia…it was all very encouraging and intriguing. But this is such a senseless departure from the series. I no longer feel excited. At the risk of sounding dramatic, I feel fairly cold and unsettled. This isn’t one of those things that can be rationalized or excused as keeping with “the spirit of the books” or improving on something unfilmable or underdeveloped. It’s a total, arbitrary, unnecessary contravention to this character. I don’t pretend to guess the reasoning behind it, and it hardly matters to me. This is one of those lines where, if crossed, it’s just not the same story anymore.
I’ve been on the NarniaWeb news team for eight years.
I never thought that news about a Narnia movie would make me cry.
Doesn’t it matter that people all over the world dearly love this character exactly the way he is?
My problem isn’t the gender of a fictional talking lion
I’m vehemently against the notion of contorting a story that has been claimed by a community whose work is hardly represented in mainstream film
For good reason works with strong religious connections is not mainstream, because it’s more niche
But to go out your way to find that material and make such radical changes knowing fully well it’ll upset that community and turn that property into a political football, is CRUEL. How many films are made for that group per yr ???Even the small patches of grass they feel entitled.
She is my favorite director and think her films are utter perfection but I draw the line at playing around with this property in any way, she knew the restrictions that would come with adapting a beloved Christian text and though I’m personally all for radical adaptations even of books you can’t do that with THIS SERIES or Any series with ties to any faith or religion.
There’s still a chance Streep will be voicing a male character.
I always try to be open-minded. Often times, you need the full context of the final vision to appreciate a creative decision. But sitting here right now, as a die-hard fan of these books, I confess I feel very deflated. The imagery is Aslan’s mane is so important. And the idea of a lion being the king of beasts.
The timing of this news drop, when it was April 1 in parts of the world, adds a lot to the gut punch.
I’m not angry, only disappointed. Why would they do that? They can’t expect that Narnia fans get all excited about that, can they? Now I understand why Greta got nightmares, I’d get them too in her place 🙁
Unfortunately, this leads me to believe they don’t understand the story and why it’s so great.
Well this is certainly ‘bigger and bolder than they thought’, but sadly it WILL ‘be counter to how the audience … imagined those worlds’.
When the initial rumour surfaced, like most people I dismissed it. And yet the more I thought about it, the more worried I got that it wasn’t totally beyond the realm of possibility.
I can’t see how she’d voice a male lion. And if that’s the case – there’s no getting around the fact – the whole story is flipped on it’s head.
Gerwig may have a good reason for this, but right now I can’t think of one.
I would not see this movie if Aslan was played by a female.
I’ve spent the last 3 days in dread and anticipation hoping this would turn out to be just a rumor. I couldn’t stop refreshing Narniaweb hoping this would all turn out good. I was super excited for this movie. Now I feel nothing for it. Why even make this movie in the first place if you’re going to change it like that. I love Greta’s work, but this crosses a line. I thought Dawn Treader would be the most unfaithful adaptation we would ever see, but this might just surpass it. A lot of the issues from past adaptations look small compared to this.
Who knows, maybe it’ll be a good thing and the film turns out amazing. However, that’s very hard for me to believe right now. This is gonna take some time to process…
Seriously? This was obviously an April Fools joke that Dealine mistakenly took seriously.
Gerwig said she was terrified by the responsibility of adapting Narnia. Now we know she was right to be afraid.
I tried to be open minded about this,
allowing that perhaps some distortion of
the voice might lend a non-human quality to the character. At the same time, this
feels much more like a deliberate attempt to trample on and pervert a beloved story.
Wouldn’t be the first time this has
happened.
I wanted to root for Gerwig. I was genuinely excited for this to happen. But if
this is a sign of things to come, I won’t be
watching this travesty unfold, and I highly doubt I’m alone in that choice.
And the worst part? She KNOWS the storm she’s about to unleash. She KNOWS the political tensions she’s about overshadow this project with. There is no way she’s ignorant of this, or of the damage this will do. The fact that she’s doing it anyway has practically erased my faith in her.
This is exactly the kind of thing Douglas Gresham pulled out of the Silver Chair over. Out of the frying pan into the fire.
If this happens, and sets the tone for the films as a whole, there is no question in my mind that all loyal Narnians must boycott this.
I expected this movie to be awful. I didn’t expect such open hostility. It’s possible that Aslan will remain male, but I fear the intention has been made clear. This is incredibly sad.
This news leak feels so interesting. With modern-day adaptions, there is always a potential that DEI castings will be implemented. Although I feel there is space for that in some space/places, I do not see Aslan as one of them.
I, along with many, am suspecting that this is not the whole story. So, I am remaining consistently optimistic that Gerwig and her team have something good in store.
Espero que al final no sea cierto. Aslan es *EL* no *ella*. No entiendo porque tienen que desviar las cosas. No tiene sentido ese tipo de cambios. No me agrada esta noticia, por muy excelente actriz que sea Meryl, la voz de Aslan debe ser masculina.
Narnia is about to receive the same treatment and disrespect Amazon gave to LOTR and the work of Tolkien.
It’s so sad to give so much power over the work of Lewis to people that clearly don’t understand the core material and the meaning behind every single aspect in Narnia, it’s even worse to twist such a piece of Christian literature.
Shame on you Gerwig.
I am utterly devastated if this is true. After all of Greta’s talk about approaching the project with fear and reverence, and wanting to handle this story appropriately, this would be a slap in the face to millions of viewers.
How could they be so foolish after Disney’s Snow White debacle?
There’s always a possibility for a recast. Liam Neeson got the role after it had been Brian Cox.
The books were based off themes of Christianity, now whether you’re Christian or not Aslan was always supposed to be a male character. This would completely ruin the fan numbers.
Meryl Streep would make a great Jade Witch. Maybe that’s the character and they created the lie to generate publicity.
I’m still holding onto hope that this won’t happen. Surely, Greta’s not this dumb.
Aslan is a male lion. It’s an allegory that represents Jesus. Come on.
It really doesn’t make sense, either making Aslan female or having Meryl Streep voice a male lion, which would be dumber. Aslan’s voice is always described as deep and powerful, and then there are the obvious theological problems.
It’s a ridiculous and unnecessary change with no good justification.
Not only Aslan, the talking lion, is often interpreted as a representation of Jesus Christ.. Aslan is not merely an allegory, but rather a suppositional incarnation of Christ in the world of Narnia. And Jesus himself wasn’t a female. Above all god himself is the three trinity in one. But would be a good point by having Liam to come back.
Nope. I’m out. [REMOVED BY MODERATOR] I’m horrified but not surprised and I do not wish this project well. I hope the public responds to it the same way they just responded to the new Snow White.
Shame on Greta Gerwig if this pans out to be true.
1) C.S.Lewis would never have a female voice for a male character. Are they going to try to turn Aslan into a lioness now?
2) Religiously – and this story is explicitly known as a Christian allegory – God is always male and never female in theology (although certain feminists have tried to spin it otherwise). So this would be deeply problematic to the very foundations of the Narnian tale.
3) To take this route knowing the fan base of the Narnian world shows a brutal lack of care about fans, a disgusting dishonesty about Gerwig and team’s actual knowledge or nostalgia of the series, or a blatant case of incompetent marketing and storytelling strategy in one of the most well known series in the world.
4) Even if it was just for “Aslan’s singing voice”, there are multiple issues. Meryl Streep doesn’t even have that good of a voice for an ethereal dawn of time scene – if you’re going that far, pick someone along the lines of Enya or Morisette. Secondly, a woman’s voice defeats the purpose of the whole dawn of Narnia story where the deep voice of Aslan starts in the darkness and all the other voices build on it until you get to the more feminine voices of stars and feminine creatures and plants and beings like dryads.
This is a very disappointing start to Gerwig being out at the helm. But after her track record of terrible period film accuracy (Little Women) and plot altering of classics, I can’t say I’m overly surprised. Just very disappointed because she talked so much about loving the series as a child. Did she read it? Or is she mixing it with the Golden Compass and other rip offs?
I just can’t anymore. So brokenhearted about this. Even if this casting is changed i have lost hope about this. Greta clearly doesn’t understand the source material. I wanted to hope about this so bad. I was so looking forward to the Mag Nephew (my 2nd favorite) UGH
I’d like to state that I think Meryl Streep has a great voice for voice acting. And people may not believe this given what else I’ve indicated about my politics, but I understand wanting to see why some people, like women, want to be more represented in fiction. It’s nice to feel like you’re not alone.
But…I don’t’ know any women who want to be represented by the voice of Aslan! And I don’t know any men who have felt represented by him being voiced by male actors in the past. He’s just not a character to whom we’re supposed to relate. He’s supposed to be otherworldly.
Thinking along those lines…is it possible they could have multiple actors voicing Aslan? Like they could combine all their voices digitally to make him sound neither male nor female? I think it would just sound weird and distracting but it might be the best-case scenario under these circumstances.
I hope is not true. If it is, than I will stick to the old version of movies. I like Meryl’s Streep but she is not the right choice for Aslan.
This makes me sad and frustrated. Aslan is obviously a male due to his mane.. how can you take such a pivotal emblem out of Narnia. It just isn’t right. Aslan’s mane plays a significant role throughout the Chronicles of Narnia. And I just don’t see how it would be doing justice to one of the most important characters to have a female actor voice a male lion, if that is just what they are doing and not doing the worse thing of gender swapping Aslan. There are so many good male voice actors out there. Why alienate an entire fan group by choosing a female actor. It makes no sense and they really need to rethink this decision.
I feel like this is an April fools joke.
We will skip these movies altogether if this happens, regardless of whether Aslan will be characterized as female or not. The casting and the intention and messaging expressed in that matters greatly to me for the part of Aslan. As a series based on the Christian faith, a decision like this would be seen as a mockery. Unbelievable.
I hope this doesn’t actually happen. Not that I don’t think she is an amazing actress, it defeats the Christian symbolism in the stories that Lewis intended. Aslan represents Jesus Christ. As a Catholic myself I was looking forward to this.
” In your world I go by another name you must know to learn me by it. By knowing me here a little you would know me better there.”
I share most of everyone concerns regarding the casting choice of possibly bringing Meryl Streep into the mix, but I have a theory of the choice:
Often Aslan, as many people mentioned, is portrayed as male with connecting to Jesus so usually people would think of a grand, magnetic male voice, but what if you know cause Jesus(God and the Holy Spirit) often referred to as one of the same kind , if that makes sense so what If Streep is one of the several actors/actresses to play Aslan meaning Aslan will be voice by many, not just one because usually Jesus (God and the Holy Spirit) represent many things and this idea of hearing the voices of many that combine to make one create this sense of inner self, which create this sense of inner connections to Jesus (God and the Holy Spirit) as he represents what you love, whether that be loved ones or so forth.
Another wack possibility is that this is a red hearing since with little press or coverage in the past but with the hostilie after Gerwig came out of Barbie, it might be used to distract people by PR by clickbait rage basically feeding into those who react fears just to distract from the actual script of the movie.
Or the most outthere possibility, they just get Streep to read the line and they Ai/ edit the voice to sound male.
Either way that the possibilities I can come up with. Either Netflix will reveal more on Tudum on May 31, 2025, which is basically their version of comic-con or just leave at is to make people go inside-out.
Narnia was ruined before it even began
Is it possible that she will only be voicing him for the singing parts? This is the magician’s nephew, and it could be that there will be multiple people who voice him in some way. She is a singer as well.
Aslan is a male. He is the representation of the Lion of Judah. He is not a woman. There should never have even been “talks” with a woman regarding Aslan.
So I searched on Google for general understanding (which anyone with more details can come in and add on) and it said:
“Yes, in Christian theology, Jesus is often understood as being one with God and the Holy Spirit, forming the concept of the Holy Trinity, which is the belief that God exists as one being in three co-equal persons: God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit”
“While Jesus is often seen as a model of universal love and compassion, the idea that he represents everyone and what they love most is a simplification. His teachings emphasize love for God and neighbor, but also a call to action and self-sacrifice, not necessarily mirroring individual preferences. ”
Sorry if my reply seems long, I just more of someone who want to rationalize the actions before taking action type of thinker.
I feel betrayed.
At this point in time, I am just going have to wait and see cause stressing about something without full context would do no good for health reasons. Like harbinger, only time will tell.
Anyway, y’all stay safe and get some rest cause the road will be long.
Buh-bye Gerwig & Netflix. It’s been real.
I’m going to stand by the play world. I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia. So, thanking you kindly for our supper, if these two gentlemen and the young lady are ready, we’re leaving your court at once and setting out in the dark to spend our lives looking for Overland. Not that our lives will be very long, I should think; but that’s a small loss if the world’s as dull a place as you say.
I can’t stand this! I had hoped so badly that it would be an April Fool’s joke. I am not sure if I read the article correctly, but it sounded like even if Aslan remains a lion (NOT a lioness) there is still a chance he will have a female voice. I can’t bear it! It has no purpose whatsoever, unless you count pulling the audience out of the film. If the Lion is obviously male, there is absolutely no point in making Him sound like a woman because the lion is male anyway. The only thing you will do is make viewers confused and fans angry because of the blatant misrepresentation.
Please, Netflix, if this is your plan, stop immediately. Very few people are going to watch the movie if you carry through with it! And if they do watch it, they are going to have SO MANY negative criticisms. This really won’t work, even if you’re trying to support women. Narnia already has so many strong female characters: Queen Susan, Queen Lucy, Aravis, Jill Pole, Ramandu’s Daughter, Caspian’s nurse, etc., etc. You don’t need to tear down the most beloved character in the books in order to show support for women!
When I heard the news I thought it was an April fools prank. Because it’s something that I have never thought would even be an option or even an idea put forth. I respect Meryl Streep but Aslan is a male lion. It just doesn’t make any sense. I understand that they may be trying to have these new adaptations stand out from the previous ones but this is not the way. I had been very hopeful to heard Greta Gerwig was directing. She is someone I have a lot of respect for but this possible casting has me feeling blindsided and utterly confused. I don’t want to doubt Greta but this is baffling and a slap in the face to not only fans of the series but to the source material itself.
I cannot imagine Aslan being played by a woman because He is a male lion, the King. Gender swapping such a beloved character feels like you are just trying to be different and there is no conceivable good reason for it. Or even if she voices him and he is still a male character, that still does not make sense. I plead with the makers to listen to the fans. This is not the right choice.
You could have gotten Pee-wee Herman to do the voice of Aslan and I would have been more fine with it than this.
After everything positive Greta Gerwig has said about being careful and respectful and cautious, this just feels like an utter betrayal.
A pointless, needless, slap in the face to the fans. Utterly devastating.
The heads of this film know fully well that Narnia at its core is centered on God. God is not a woman. God created Male and Female and saw that it was good. God understands both female and Male.This is not a woke issue this is a lack of respect to people who believe in God and what he has done. Who Are we to say God is a woman he is God and God alone, God’s references his majesty constantly and the word reefers to him as a man before he would come to our would as a man. He came as a sinless man, none as the matchless name Jesus to die for all of mankind to pay for our transgressions so that we may have life again in him if we confess our sins and follow him and keep his word in our hearts. Aslan has a mane; it is core attribute of his character. The ending of the series reveals he is Jesus in this entire story of what if God created another universe and right at its beginning evil corrupted it as well and was also allowed by Man to enter it. Narnia doesn’t disrespect God, it just puts the word into a perspective. Aslan’s mane is a parallel to the symbolism of Christ, with the mane representing the power and majesty of God. “When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death, and when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.” That quote tells you fully that he is a strong male Lion. You can’t say what If he wasn’t or it’s not essential to his character because the entire series always confirms this. I am in tears writing this, I am a Christian and [REMOVED BY MODERATOR] this film will not bear fruit if this is the direction they take. [REMOVED BY MODERATOR] I don’t think you have to be christian to have respect for the source material and what the source material is bring to lite this be the Bible.
No. No. No. A thousand times no. No in every world. No in the Wood Between the Worlds.
End the “talks.” Now. Or else lose the chance of a truly fantastic Narnia cinematic rebirth.
It’s an April Fool’s joke! More like Aunt Letitia. Although this is Netflix so who knows.
There are several directions this could go…
1) Aslan is blasphemously gender-swapped [REMOVED BY MODERATOR] that’s so out of touch with the world and their audiences that it’ll make Snow White look like a holy masterpiece.
2) Streep will voice a male lion, with possibly some kind of digital editing to lower the pitch (this still feels weird to me, and tbh I get a little queasy imagining a female voice during the Stone Table scenes down the road).
3) She’s voicing something else and we don’t have the full details. Maybe they’re wanting to do something really creative with Aslan’s song as he creates the world.
4) It’s baseless and everyone is just so on edge about this film that an internet rumor turned into a whole thing, even with Deadline.
5) It goes the way of Sonic, and the fan outrage forces them to retract their plans.
6) It’s some op to try and sabotage the movie and alienate it from the fan excitment. Or, vice versa, it’s an op to lower our expectations so we don’t complain about other issues. (Admittedly, this is the most conspiratorial of options.)
I keep clinging to the hope that Douglas Gresham would never allow something so blasphemous, considering how much he fought with Disney/Walden over the previous ones and the biblical elements in those. Plus, out of all the mega studios, Netflix is one of the more self-aware ones (as opposed to Disney, who literally just can’t get with the program these days). Netflix is ~better at considering finance and business consequences, so they’d have to know a change this big would sink the entire franchise out of the gate. And if Gretta really does get nightmares from the stress of adapting such a beloved story, you’d think she wouldn’t do something she knows would bring the full wrath of the community down on her.
There’s literally got to be more to this. We’re missing something.
in my humble opinion, anyone who opposes this is simply not grasping the vision. Aslan can still be voiced by Meryl even if still a male lion. Meryl is a great actress and is held in very high prestige everywhere. it could go so right!
This makes the Caspian-Susan kiss controversy feel tame by comparison.
Maybe it’s a good thing filming for my Narniaweb documentary has been delayed. This might be something else I’ll need to cover in its runtime.
@Jen, I’ve been thinking about your sixth possibility or, rather, your seventh: that it’s some kind of publicity stunt on Netflix’s part to draw attention to the project. But, as you say, it’s hard to imagine them failing to read the room so badly. We’re past the days of “controversy sells” and “no publicity is bad publicity.” People want something non-controversial right now.
Just DON’T
She’s a legend as an actress and that is a fact, however
Aslan literally represents Jesus in the books, this is totally disrespectful not only for Lewis’s faith but the books as well.
I knew that for some reason this adaptation was not going to fulfill my expectations and this announcement it’s just the start.
As followers of Lewis, we DO NOT want Aslan’s voice to be from a woman, period!
I am not so sure to be honest
I love Meryl Streep. She’s such a talent… But this news guts me. This series means so much to me, and my favorite books are the ones that haven’t been made into movies yet. Does that mean Aslan won’t have his big mane anymore? Will it be a female lion? If they CGI her voice to sound like a big scary lion, it could work, but it is devastating to the world C.S Lewis built if they gender-swap Aslan. 🙁
This is awful. I was holding on to all hope [REMOVED BY MODERATOR]. Narnia was a huge part of my childhood, and I’ve always wanted a cinematic version of it. But Hollywood is to far gone. I don’t want it anymore.
Oh boy. I haven’t logged into NarniaWeb for a long time but this couldn’t be ignored.
I… I don’t even know what to think. I’ve been cautiously optimistic about Netflix Narnia, I’ve defended Greta when people have taken her completely and unfairly out of context, I’ve been looking forward to seeing Magician’s Nephew finally get adapted; things have generally looked okay, though of course I was always cautious.
But this? I mean, it’s SO insane that I have a hard time believing that it will go through (though I know I shouldn’t be surprised), and I would like to believe that enough backlash could halt them in their tracks, or that Douglas Gresham or someone else from the estate could put their foot down, or that there’s just something we’re not understanding about all this to begin with. But, taking a step back from that optimism that I so need and just looking at it on its face… holy cow. HOLY COW.
It does not get more blasphemous than this, really. Even if you’re not Christian, this is still outrageous and completely against the spirit of Narnia. I can’t fathom them even considering such a thing and there’s a horrible growing dread in my stomach thinking about them actually doing it. I can only imagine Jack is absolutely rolling in his grave.
I’m truly at a loss for words for how horrifying and offensive this is. This is NOT a piece of media that you can reinvent however you want. When you’re taking on an openly Christian work with a large Christian fanbase, you treat that with respect. Aslan is not just a leader, just any authority figure, just any lion — Aslan is THE Lion (even my phone knows it, because it autocorrected to a capitalized Lion when I wrote it the first time!). He’s not just an allegory, he’s literally supposed to be the ACTUAL Jesus, in-universe. If the dialogue in VotDT about coming to know him by another name in our world wasn’t clear enough, Last Battle EXTREMELY BLATANTLY describes him no longer appearing like a lion and switches to a capitalized He. This isn’t just disrespecting a figure that people ascribe Christlike attributes and themes to, this is disrespecting Jack’s representation of the real, actual Savior. You do NOT play with that lightly.
Aslan is male. Christ is male. I’ve seen people make arguments that God could be anything and so they choose to call Him a she or a they just to defy the idea of Him being a man, but He came down to this world as a man and calls Himself male. There’s literally nothing further to discuss. He has the final word on what He is, and as far as I’m concerned, that final word was had long before human life was even on this earth. We don’t get to decide what we want Him to be. Even if you’re not Christian and therefore don’t believe that you’re disrespecting a real God, it’s nevertheless disrespectful to believers everywhere and that alone should give one pause before committing to something like this.
I’m just blown out of the water by this. An absolute slap in the face and then some to fans of Narnia. This would be literally and metaphorically shaving Aslan’s mane before he even hits the table.
It’s a little late for April Fools there, guys!
NarniaWeb, you are wise to not allow image-posting in your comment threads. Because on other platforms I’ll bet there’s about to be a huge deluge of AI-generated “Aslan Streep” troll art! :))))
I’m very heartbroken about this.
Maybe as fans we need to start a petition or something. I made a post about it in the forum, if anyone wants to share their thoughts there.