Meryl Streep’s Casting as Aslan Sparks Debate Over Gerwig’s Narnia Film

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 4 (TodayViralUSA) — A casting choice for Greta Gerwig’s forthcoming Chronicles of Narnia film has ignited a public debate weeks before audiences see a single frame: Oscar-winning actor Meryl Streep will voice Aslan the lion in Netflix’s “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew,” the Associated Press reported.

Aslan, created by British author C.S. Lewis in the 1950s, is widely read by Christian audiences as a Christ figure and is depicted in the books as a male lion. Some conservative Christian commentators argue that casting a woman to voice the role risks reframing a sacred symbol, even though filmmakers have not said Aslan will be portrayed as female on screen.

Gerwig has not directly addressed the gender controversy. She said she sought a voice that was “profound but not pretentious,” with “gravitas but not morose self-seriousness,” and someone older than 70 who could convey both wisdom and childlike wonder. Streep, she said, was among the few actors who met that standard.

Critics, scholars and the Lewis estate

Columnist Seth Udinsky, writing in the Christian Post, called the casting part of a broader cultural fight over Christian symbols and objected to promotional imagery showing the lion with rainbow-tinted whiskers. Ted Baehr of Movieguide said having a woman portray Aslan challenges Christian teaching on the nature of God and warned that strong box-office performance could heighten parental concern.

Other Lewis readers urged restraint. Author Christin Ditchfield Lazo noted a difference between a woman voicing a male character and changing the character’s gender, and said judgment should wait until the film is seen. Scholar Kat Coffin said she has questions about the casting but was more troubled by “violently opposed” reactions to any feminine hint in depictions of the divine; she pointed to Lewis’s own portrayal of Aslan as a lamb with a “sweet milky voice.”

Gerwig is resetting “The Magician’s Nephew” from around 1900 to the 1950s and, according to Empire magazine reporting cited by the AP, drew visual inspiration from David Bowie’s gender-fluid persona for aspects of the lion’s look. She previously directed feminist-inflected adaptations of “Barbie” and “Little Women.”

The family of Lewis’s late wife, Joy Davidman Gresham, praised Gerwig’s “sincere passion” after visiting the London set, according to a statement provided by Netflix. The C.S. Lewis Company, which holds rights and is producing, said Gerwig has infused the project with “joy, heart, and genuine love for the story.”

Earlier 2000s Narnia films featured Liam Neeson’s deep masculine voice as Aslan. The new Netflix production is scheduled for theatrical release in February. Narnia books have sold an estimated 120 million copies worldwide since the first volume appeared 75 years ago this month.