NarniaWeb Investigates: Will Aslan be a Lioness?
Ever since an unconfirmed report surfaced that Aslan will be reimagined as female in Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Narnia movie, the NarniaWeb news team has been tirelessly investigating.
While the results of our inquiry are far from conclusive, we have reason to doubt that Aslan will be portrayed as a lioness (even if a female actor provides the voice).
Initial Report
- In March, Nexus Point News reported that Meryl Streep was in talks to voice Aslan in Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of The Magician’s Nephew and that the character would be portrayed as female.
- Days later, Deadline corroborated that Streep was indeed in talks to voice Aslan. But they could not confirm Gerwig’s plans for the character’s gender.
Netflix declined our request for comment and has remained silent on the matter. In recent months, Streep’s name has continued to be linked to Aslan by outlets including Variety, Deadline, and The Hollywood Reporter. No other actors have been publicly connected to the role.
Our Findings
- Shortly after the story broke, an individual well-connected to the project told NarniaWeb that they hadn’t seen any evidence confirming a gender-swapped Aslan.
- More recently, another source close to the production independently indicated to us that Aslan will not be a lioness.
- Several crew members have shared images of maned lions in their professional portfolios for Narnia, and at least two art pieces depicting male lions were spotted on the first day of filming.
- Writer/Director Greta Gerwig was recently spotted wearing a lion necklace on set.
Conclusions
Taking all this into account, the consensus of the NarniaWeb news team is that the evidence suggests Aslan will probably retain his mane even if Meryl Streep voices the character. Exactly how those two realities may come together in terms of voice, tone, and characterization remains to be seen.
It’s obviously quite hard to say anything for certain about the production from the outside, especially given that the people working on it are often under strict NDAs, but I think it’s quite telling that every time.we have managed to.get a peak behind the curtain, all of the evidence points towards a traditional male Lion.
There’s still likely a lot of unanswered questions, and it could still end up being something less than ideal, but the one thing I think is clear from everything we’ve seen and heard so far, is that the Streep rumours aren’t quite as straightforward as the initial reporting suggested.
Fingers crossed.
Aslan is through the whole film series which will take years and Meryl is an extremely busy actor who doesn’t really do film franchises and SHE is 76 and so I’m highly doubtful as well, as I said all along.
It seems every couple of weeks there is upset over a detail that is later debunked
Remember CharlieXCX, which didn’t happen, or, the delay from July to autumn, when set photos were seen on 11 Aug.
I know that nothing is confirmed, but PHEW. Even when I initially heard the Streep rumors I tried to put on a bold face like Glumpuddle and assume that we don’t have all the answers yet (or I was in denial). I was trying to remain optimistic.
This past week kind of shattered that optimism in a way, seeing that the movie will be set in the 1950s, and all the implications that has for LWW. This has renewed my spirits in a way and I feel a weight begin to lift. But who really knows anything though?
Did you do this report just because I commented that I wished the recent Talking Beasts episode had talked about the image of the male lion in the recent set photos? That was nice of you. Actually, it was nice of you, whether or not that was the reason.
I just want to say a personal ‘thank you’ for all of you news team members for looking into this. Not just because it’s an outcome that I personally hope for, but because many other sites immediately latch onto any controversy and run with it, without fact checking. So it’s much appreciated. I hope you all are correct!
Aslan being portrayed on screen as male vs. female is a deal breaker for me personally, as to whether or not I support the film.
In my opinion, this news brings things down from insulting to possibly “just” a major miscast.
It’s still hard to picture a 75-year-old Meryl Streep voicing the character we know from the books. Then again, there’s a long history of actors who were initially rejected by fans but ended up being fantastic in their roles.
At this point, with so many unknowns, I’m willing to wait and see how the performance turns out and what they decide to do with his voice.
But hey… at least it no longer appears to be the worst case scenario.
Thank you for taking time to bring light into a topic which could have destroyed Narnia.
My theory is Streep is going to be Digory’s Aunt instead of having an uncle Andrew. (Streep has played quirky magicians in the past and she’s good at that persona). The second part of the theory is that Daniel Craig will instead voice Aslan. These are the 2 heavily rumored cast members, and based on the evidence (and what’s been suggested in this report), seems most likely.
Just to be clear, i think its still fairly unequivocal that Meryl Streep *was* in talks to play Aslan, and very likely *will* still play Aslan…. its just that Aslan might not actually be a Female Lion after all.
Whether that outcome is ideal or not, it remains to be seen, and whether either outcome will come to pass or not, also remains to be seen, but as yet, the evidence rather confusingly seems to point towards (likely) Meryl Streep voicing a (possibly) Male Lion.
I’ve always thought that if the Meryl rumors are true, maybe Meryl will be used as a “singing voice” for Aslan, rather than Aslan’s actual voice for the series.
Like maybe they will have her “sing Narnia into creation”, not exactly sure how that would be portrayed, but they could be writing an actual song or a chant for that scene, so that’s just an idea I had.
Obviously we don’t know, but if that is what they are actually doing with her role, I wouldn’t be upset, because I think Meryl’s singing voice is strong and moving (Into the Woods comes in mind).
This is good news! Thanks for your hard work tracking it down
Watching and waiting to see if Netflix’s Chronicles of Narnia really does follow down a path parallel to Bud Light?
Does anyone else just find all of this exhausting? It’s frustrating to know that the people who are making the film have the truth (or at least the current plans), but are withholding it from the public. I do not understand the reasoning there, unless they are making it up as they go and don’t want to show off their lack of organization. It’s a real turn-off. I understand the desire for a few surprises — seriously though, just having awesome visuals would be enough for “wow” factor — but there’s not much point in withholding information about major book alterations unless it is to trick folks into watching it (bait and switch). Some honest answers from the creative team would be much more appreciated than trickery.
I’m glad you looked into this and it might not be the worst case, but it is still terrible, film ruining to have a female person pretending to be a male character, one that is the representation of Jesus. There is no good in that and there is no coming back from it.
Things are looking a bit more hopeful in this area, if only because of the lack of evidence to the contrary. Most likely Streep won’t even end up in the project, but I do like Johnny’s suggestion that she might be the singing voice for Aslan. Even so, I could much more easily stomach the idea of an Aslan with an altered, inhuman voice, rather than an entirely re-shaped character.
Thanks for laying the facts out. Things may well not be as dire as they once seemed, and this news was the main thing making it hard for me to be excited about this project, as I’m sure was the case for many of us.
While the production team is under no obligation to show their hand to the fanbase, it does seem neglectful that they won’t even address the controversy at all, particularly when they know what a stir it has caused to the fans of the books. Even a vague statement like, “While we understand there is a vocal response to our creative choices, be assured that we are dedicated to making our production respectful to the original material,” that would have been something.
But I’m with decarus. Even if they were more respectful to the fans, no good can come of this misguided decision anyway.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write and post an article on this! It’s quite relieving. I still feel uncomfortable about the adaptation being set in the fifties, but if they keep Aslan male it might still keep some of the heart of the story.
I’ve been doing some thinking and I believe one of the reasons I’m so upset about the story being moved into the 1950’s (besides the fact that the atmosphere will be very different) is that no one has ever made The Magician’s Nephew before. I’d like to see C.S. Lewis’s Narnia before I see a different one. There’s not really a reason to change it unless you want to make bigger changes to the adaptations that follow it (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, etc.). That makes me uneasy. But if Aslan is male, there might still be some hope. I’m feeling a bit more optimistic now!
If Streep is cast as Aslan’s voice actor, perhaps they’ll use technology to make her voice sound more masculine and lion-like. In a way that could be considered a sign of respect for Aslan in that his voice would be unique to him rather than sounding like other characters portrayed by his voice actor. I recall someone commenting back when the rumor started that Streep’s speaking does sound regal, so this theory would allow for a regal-sounding, masculine (and lion-like) voice unique to the character of Aslan in the Netflix productions.
As for people’s mentioning of Streep’s age, I would think it possible they would ask her to agree to the use of AI for any remainder of the series if she was no longer able to do the voicing herself.
I do not know (obviously). These are merely theories I’ve been surprised not to have seen come up in the discussions since the Streep rumors started.
Mrs. Beaver, yes, I wish Netflix would be more open. Regardless, this news from Narniaweb makes me worry less. Aslan being a positive male role model to contrast the evil Uncle Andrew in Digory’s life as his substitute father figure is important to me, in addition to that I think in LWW it will be very important that Aslan is portrayed as male because of his allusions to Jesus Christ and the Biblical directive that men are supposed to lay down their lives to protect their wives if necessary which is all the more important in this time when women often bear the blame for the cultural issues in society.
I just think of the recent hubbub over casting Dr. Dillamond in the Wicked movies. The character was CG in the finished film and played on set with a puppet and the female puppeteer also performed the lines, there were rumors on who’d be voicing him and even speculation that the character would be genderbent. However, because the voice actor would be doing the lines after principal photography, we didn’t find out until very late in the process that Peter Dinklage would voice the character.
It’s all just happening again, just now with Narnia and Aslan, probably spurred by the director making films from a feminist angle.
If streep really is voicing aslan, i don’t think she’ll stay for the whole series. Aslan might be a very young lion in this movie and grown up in subsequent movies. I know God is timeless and all but Jesus was also a child and grew up like a normal human being.
@Alicja
I don’t feel it would work changing the voice of the main character throughout the franchise (if they do more than the confirmed 2 movies). It would be to confusing and make it appear that Aslan is 2 different Lions, unless the voices are very similar.
Maybe they could change the tone of the actor’s/actress’s voice instead of changing the voice entirely.
Then again, I don’t think this would work either, but cool idea!
Greta is currently in Venice, probably the production is doing second unit photography for two /three days plus maybe the shooting offday. But nice to see her attend Jay Kelly premiere.
The Jay Kelly reviews are so horrific, I’m literally as someone who has been very positive about this Narnia film have become worried for Greta’s adaptation and begun prayer. I think am at a yellow light. Also the probability of a director making 4 well received films in a row is virtually impossible. Literally crying.
I’m with Noelle: sad that there isn’t an adaptation of “The Magician’s Nephew” as close to the book as possible before getting a reimagined one with the time period completely shifted. I don’t suppose there’s any possibility that the time period of this film isn’t actually shifted to the 50s? *sigh* I have a feeling Aslan will be OK(ish?), but I am not hearing anything that is getting me excited, as in, “Oo! I really want to go see this in theaters!” If I believed it was going to be excellent, I’d probably throw a Narnia party and go see it with a horde of friends! In my current line of discouraged thinking, though, I will probably end up waiting until it’s free to borrow from the public library on DVD. That’s telling! If feels like the creative team of this film isn’t concerned about building rapport with the potential audience. I just don’t get it.
Even if is the problem, if she isn’t playing him then just tell us. It’s just pathetic that we have no official word which concerns me still. If she vocies him no coping and you shouldn’t too. It’s needs to be a male voicing him for all that’s good.
At this point if Aslan will be male, and let’s assume a male actor will voice him, perhaps Streep was considered for another role? Aunt Letty or even the narrator of the story, should there be a narrator??
Looking back at some of the articles breaking down Craig’s potential casting, I noticed something interesting: most of them never explicitly say that he was offered the role of Uncle Andrew. My feeling is that Streep will play a gender swapped Uncle Andrew and Craig will voice Aslan.
It is a travesty that the director would allow rumors to persist. If Streep is in talks, it is a travesty for gerwig to consider her for the role. To consider any woman for the role is wrong.
The world of Narnia runs on order and authority. Aslan has to be Aslan to have authority. He has to be a he to fit in its order.
To consider a woman is to degredate the serious. Not because women can’t have authority, nor is it the case that women are a force of degradation.
But things and people have their places. And it is a perversion of order and authority to pretend that a character is Aslan if they are voiced by a women, or is a lioness. Those exclude a character from being Aslan.
If a female voice does Aslan it’s a deal breaker for me. I read the Narnia books several times growing up and had an early set of them. I have a voice in my head of what Aslan sounds like and it’s not feminine. It’s more like James Earl Jones. Liam Neesan was a great Aslan. But a female voice and that deep loud roar doesn’t go together. Not only that but C.S. Lewis wrote the Aslan character to parallel Jesus. Actually Aslan is the Son of God in Narnia. C.S. Lewis used the Narnia books as a way for children to understand the Son of God in Christianity. In the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe Aslan gives his life for the sins of another (Edmund). Then he was resurrected again, just like Christ. So for a male lion who is supposed to like the SON of God doesn’t make sense to have with a female voice. Now if Merle Streep can sound like a man I would have no problem, but I don’t see it.
If a female voices Aslan I won’t watch. It would just prove they don’t understand the series. I hope they don’t ruin the series [MODERATOR REMOVED]. The books are great. Just keep it as close to the books as possible. Their not a better writer than Lewis was, changing things will only make it worse not better. The 2005 series imitated the book about as good as any movie ever has, it can be done, and thats what they should do.
Many male characters have been voiced by females, including Bart Simpson, Ash Ketchum, Naruto Uzumaki, Timmy Turner, Bobby Hill, Jimmy Neutron, Ben Tennyson, and Tails from Sonic the Hedgehog… why can’t Aslan be voiced by a woman?
@Christian Wow, your claim — “things and people have their places, and it is a perversion of order and authority to pretend [otherwise]” — reveals a worldview that treats hierarchy as natural and unquestionable. It frames inequality as “order” and paints any effort to challenge or expand inclusion as a moral failing. In reality, what gets called “order” is often just tradition serving those already in power, while change is dismissed as dangerous precisely because it threatens that arrangement.