The Chronicles of Narnia has been a fan-favorite franchise for decades, with the mid-2000s movies proving incredibly popular (even as they had mixed reception), as were, of course, the original novels before them. Now, Netflix and Greta Gerwig are entering this magical world as well with the upcoming 2027 movie Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew—based, somewhat loosely it seems, on C.S. Lewis’s novel of the same name.
Although this movie won’t be released until February 12, 2027, there have already been several peeks at the upcoming film, from an action-packed trailer to first look images and more. Along with those reveals have also come some surprises, including a number of changes to key characters and story details. Among the most significant changes to the original story is the shift forward in time, setting it in the 1950s rather than the early 1900s. More controversial, however, were the changes to the heroic, beloved character Aslan.
Specifically, two significant updates to Aslan were revealed when first looks and other teasers were debuting. The less substantial change, seemingly, was Aslan’s eye color, with the lion now having one brown eye and one blue one. Yet, there was much more substantial pushback to the second major Aslan reveal, which is that Meryl Streep will be voicing this character. That’s an obvious change, particularly in terms of gender, from the 2000s movies’ Liam Neeson casting, and fans were concerned that this meant Aslan would be a female lion. However, fans no longer need to worry about that.
Aslan Is Confirmed To Be A Male Lion In Greta Gerwig’s Narnia
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A significant aspect of the backlash to Gerwig’s Narnia movie was the idea that Streep’s casting would mean Aslan is a female lion in the movie. There was a range of reasons for fan frustrations in response to this possibility, from those who simply don’t want to see women in such roles to the more legitimate claims that this undercuts Aslan’s role as a Jesus Christ figure (although that’s nuanced and complicated in its own ways). Of course, there’s also simply the issue that this would be a major change from the books, which is always going to prove controversial.
However, fans’ fears can officially be assuaged, at least when it comes to the possibility that Aslan won’t be a male lion in The Magician’s Nephew, as it has been confirmed that Aslan’s original gender will remain consistent in the movie. Specifically, throughout the trailer and other looks and teasers, it’s clear that Aslan has kept his iconic mane. This detail alone means that he is still going to be a male lion—he will simply be a male lion voiced by Streep.
Aslan Being Male Is Important In Narnia (But Meryl Streep’s Casting Isn’t A Problem)
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There will undoubtedly be those who are still unhappy with Streep voicing Aslan, even with the confirmation that Aslan is not a female lion. However, it seems The Magician’s Nephew has already addressed the thorniest potential issues with this decision. There were levels of validity to the intense response to this casting news, but it’s true that Aslan’s connection to Jesus as a biblical figure as well as his iconic look (namely, with his mane) are key components of his character that would have become, at the very least, complicated by a significant change like making the character female.
With that concern put to rest, though, there’s little reason to think that there will be any problem with Streep voicing Aslan. For one, she is an incredibly talented actor who has the acting chops required for the part. For another, though, audiences still don’t even know what this will really look and sound like in the movie. Just given her talent, it’s entirely possible that Streep can pull off the booming, wise voice that Narnia fans are expecting. Luckily, there will only be a few more months of speculation, as Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew is being released this February.
Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew
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