By Lillie Jaenchen
Oscar winner Meryl Streep is in talks to play Aslan in Netflix’s and Greta Gerwig’s Chronicles of Narnia adaptation, but gender-swapping the beloved lion would be a mistake.
While rumors surrounding Streep’s possible casting for the role circulated in recent weeks, Deadline confirmed the news on April 3, saying, “Nexus Point News was first with the Streep talks and also reported that the film will adapt the sixth novel in the Narnia series, The Magician’s Nephew, which chronologically takes place first in the series.”
But casting Streep as Aslan would certainly spell disaster for the project. In the books, Aslan is clearly male and — fundamentally to the story — is an allegorical representation of Christ. Changing his gender clearly reveals that Netflix and Gerwig do not understand Lewis’ message symbolized by Aslan.
SIGN OUR PETITION TELLING NETFLIX TO HONOR C.S. LEWIS’ LEGACY
“…to change the gender of The Lion, of The King, of the Incarnate Son of the Emperor Across the Sea who symbolically represents the deity of Christ within Lewis’s imaginary world is to completely alter the structure and meaning of Lewis’s sacramental cosmos,” wrote cultural apologist and teacher Annie Crawford.
Devoted Narnia fans have also voiced their frustration with the potential casting. A poll from NarniaWeb on X found that 65.7% of respondents now feel “extremely concerned” about the project following the news.
Fans even started a petition, urging Netflix to drop talks about the role with Streep.
“This casting choice completely undermines any faithfulness to the original stories, and must not stand,” the petition’s author states. “In today’s world — where so many influencers and prominent figures portray a toxic and false of view of masculinity — Aslan provides a meaningful picture of true healthy masculinity: Aslan is kind, gentle, compassionate, and selfless. He is also wild, fierce, brave and strong.”
Gerwig previously spoke about her “reverence” for Lewis’ Narnia and the role the books played in her life as a child.
“I’m slightly in the place of terror because I really do have such reverence for Narnia,” she admitted in January 2024. “I loved Narnia so much as a child, [and] as an adult, C.S. Lewis as a thinker and a writer. I’m intimidated by doing this.”
The director’s intimidation by the project is warranted. Lewis’ series remains “among the best-selling fantasy book series for grade-schoolers,” and the early 2000s film franchise boasted over $1.5 billion at the global box office, according to What’s on Netflix.
But the fact that Streep is even in talks to play Aslan calls Gerwig’s “reverence” for the source material and Lewis’ writing into question.
“Even in the 1940s and 50s, prior to various cultural revolutions, Lewis was viewed as a traditionalist — on Christian doctrine, on social ethics, and certainly on marriage and sexuality,” Josh Shepherd wrote for What’s on Netflix.
“Today, many cultural observers may view such ideas as archaic,” he continued. “Yet the characters, conflicts, aesthetics, and substance of The Chronicles of Narnia derive not only from Lewis’ fanciful take on folklore and fairy stories, but on his theology and sociology.”
Lewis once wrote of Jesus:
The great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not. It is not wearied by our sins, or our indifference; and, therefore, it is quite relentless in its determination that we shall be cured of those sins, at whatever cost to us, at whatever cost to Him.
Throughout the Narnia books, readers discover along with the characters that though their desire to follow Aslan wholeheartedly sometimes wanes — such as in Prince Caspian when Lucy chooses to stay with her siblings and Trumpkin instead of following the lion — none of their mistakes will cause Aslan love them less or result in him abandoning them.
Rather he lovingly shows them his better way or, in the case of Edmund in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, sacrificially dies in the place of the boy who mocked him.
The same is true of Christ, who is called the Lion of the Tribe of Judah in Revelation 5.
Related: Greta Gerwig Calls NARNIA Project ‘Worthy Thing To Be Intimidated By’
Gerwig’s quest to modernize the story by casting Streep as Aslan shows that she has missed the fundamental allegory that gives the Narnia Chronicles life — namely that no one is too far gone for Christ’s love.
Netflix has the opportunity to create potentially one of the most successful franchises in history, as the movie will release in theaters and on streaming — but only if the streamer and Gerwig follow through on their commitment to staying faithful to the books and characters in them.
You as a Christian moviegoer hold incredible power over whether or not Netflix casts Streep.
As Movieguide®’s 2025 Report to the Entertainment Industry states, “119.45 million or more Christians in the United States and Canada” go to movies each year, making up a massive portion of ticket sales.
“Hollywood can’t afford to ignore the faith and values of these millions of Christians, including the faith and values of millions of Christian children and teenagers who see movies,” Movieguide®’s report reads. “Nor can Christians ignore the fact that millions of their brethren, including their children and grandchildren, regularly go see movies.”
Currently, Streep’s casting hasn’t yet reached the offer stage, according to Deadline, so Christians and Narnia lovers can still sway Netflix and Gerwig away from casting her as Aslan.
You can reach out to Netflix executive chairman Reed Hasting and co-CEOs Ted Sardanos and Greg Peters to tell them that sacrificing a story that represents important Christian truths for the sake of a politically correct win will result in a box office bomb:
Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, Co-CEOs, and Reed Hastings, Chairman, Netflix
Hannah Minghella, Head of Animation and Live-Action Family Film
100 Winchester Circle
Los Gatos, CA 95032
Phone: (408) 540-3700
Website: www.netflix.com; Email: info@netflix.com
Alternatively, if they elevate Lewis’ Bible-based themes and hold true to his vision for Narnia, they will see astonishing success.
Read Next: Greta Gerwig Wants to Honor C.S. Lewis with Narnia Adaptation: ‘Shaped Me’
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