Emma Mackey Confirms Meryl Streep Among Cast of Greta Gerwig’s Narnia
Nearly a year has passed since reports first indicated that Meryl Streep was in talks to portray Aslan in Greta Gerwig’s upcoming adaptation of The Magician’s Nephew, based on the novel by C.S. Lewis. Netflix declined to comment at the time, and there have been no updates since on whether those discussions progressed.
A new interview appears to offer the first confirmation of Streep’s Narnia involvement.
Emma Mackey, who is set to play Jadis, told Italian outlet D – La Repubblica that she will be acting alongside Daniel Craig, Carey Mulligan, and Meryl Streep in the film. Here’s the relevant portion of the interview published on March 18:
Roberto Croci: What can you tell us about Greta Gerwig’s Narnia?
Emma Mackey: Not much. It’s just exciting. The subject is very familiar all over the world, and it was also a big part of my childhood. Plus… (laughs) I’ll be acting with Daniel Craig, Meryl Streep, and Carey Mulligan.
Translated from Italian
While this does not confirm that Meryl Streep will portray Aslan, it remains the most likely role based on the earlier reports, as no other part has been publicly associated with her.
Streep previously collaborated with Greta Gerwig on her 2019 adaptation of Little Women. The 76-year-old holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations in history with 21.
Related:
Well if she is “acting with”, she is doing it with real actors in live action, not voice performers or puppets and I don’t see Meryl putting on motion capture suits and crawling! So I still need someone to ask Meryl when she begins press for Devil wears Prada what character she is playing. Ps, Meryl has been out of the public eye for a long time now, she failed to attend the National Board of Review dinner, the Hoppers premier(where she plays the Queen butterfly, kinda ironic) and the Fandango Devil Wears Prada ticket interview, all in the past 4 months)
Actors consider voice work as acting with too, see literally how Dave Franco discussed working with Meryl in Hoppers, those exact words. Also, Meryl hosted a documentary screening in January, and as for the rest if that, she didn’t go to the Ant Bully premiere which she was in so not unusual for her to not go to a premiere of something she has a very small part in, and doing promo asking people to buy tickets isn’t her type of thing either.
Something to consider is Martin Short is her boyfriend now and she would be supporting him atm
In the case of Dave, it’s an animated film and they are all voice performers and he did qualify that they never met
But on the Meryl front, she was in London last spring/summer and pictured at a royal engagement with Camilla before the filming of Devil wears Prada 2.
Maybe not only is Aslan going to be female but she’s going to be human. That would explain why they keep describing Meryl Streep as acting rather than voicing.
Maybe Meryl Streep is playing Jadis’ sister and we get a Charn backstory. I would find that cool.
If she is playing Aslan, though, it might be easier to have the child actors work with her on set and then replace her image with a lion in the finished movie. Or maybe Strawberry/Fledge is going to be a mare instead and Meryl showed up in person to help act alongside the children to help with their performances. Netflix really has not told us.
Well, there’s still *some* hope she’s not playing Aslan if you want to take it that way. But the writing has been on the wall for a while now that she is.
I will not budge, I don’t want a children’s property that has a passionate Christian fandom to become a political football in the culture wars. Also as someone who was confident that Greta would not enrage the global Christian community who are not the fastest to forgive or forget ( >_< ), I won’t budge.
So I will believe it when I see the official announcement from Netflix.
Totally respect that and I agree that the rational behind the change makes very little sense.
Always appreciate reading your thoughtful comments!
I’ve seen this coming since the first report. Yet it still breaks my heart! If they’re so willing to change the timeline in the name of “modernization”, they would have no problem stripping Narnia of its Christian heart and twisting Aslan’s true identity.
While I would like to be wrong, hoping for that is starting to feel like denial of what’s to come.
If Meryl plays Aslan it is theologically sound. ‘The Magician’s Nephew’ is pre-LWW, and depicts Creation. Pre-incarnation the person of the trinity known as Jesus (I.e. Aslan) was ‘the Word’, and did not have human traits such as gender.
We don’t know the motivation for changing the time period to the 50s. So we don’t know if it was a disrespectful “modernization” move. I would say it’s possible that the studio, Netflix, made a decision that the remaining stories must be set in present day. Maybe Gerwig had no choice. Just like how the Fox studio forced Caspian’s accent to be British in Dawn Treader (2010).
Therefore, if they wanted to keep Digory and the professor as the same character, they needed to set MN several decades ago. I would prefer the costumes of the 1950s, which are similar to 1940s costumes (which feel like “Narnia”). I would prefer them than 1960s or 1970s costumes, which look less British and even more casual and modern. But each to their own. I totally understand why some Narnia fans dislike the time period change. 1900 does feel much older and more quaint than 1950s.
Thanks for keeping the discussion thoughtful and respectful so far — it’s appreciated!
Just a quick reminder that the comment section isn’t the place for ongoing discussion or debate about religion, so we’ve removed a few comments from this thread to keep things on topic. Please see our guidlines below http://www.narniaweb.com/comment-section-rule/
Thank you NW Moderator for keeping things on point. For those interested in continuing this discussion, I have created a new forum entitled Would a Female Aslan Be Theologically Sound, and have attached a link below.
https://community.narniaweb.com/community/the-man-behind-the-wardrobe/would-a-female-aslan-be-theologically-sound/#post-366414
There’s no reason to think Aslan is going to be female even if Meryl is voicing him. I’ve just listened to one of her speeches and realized she he has a really deep voice for a woman. With just a tiny bit of modulation she can absolutely sound like a teenage boy or a very young man. Maybe Aslan is just going to be a young lion, at the beginning of Narnia?
It’s not desperate coping, as I already know I won’t like this adaptation (doesn’t mean others won’t either). It’s just what I think.
Oh that’s a new theory I haven’t heard before, that could be a fun twist. A young Aslan for a young world, that’d be interesting.
I find it hard to think of another major role that Meryl Streep would be playing. Must say, this made my heart drop. Very concerning
She could still honestly play Mrs. Lefay or some older character like the leader when Narnia is created, there tons of options if we are not going too specific.
True, but i feel this role is too minor for someone like Meryl Streep. Knowing Gerwicks style and intentions, I feel she would want to give Streep a very major role.
@Harfang, maybe Gerwig just loved working with Meryl Streep so much on Little Women that she wanted to have her in another film. And I can see Meryl Streep being fine with playing a small role, if it is so magical and archetypal as Mrs Le Fay.
@JohnathanParavel
I completely get this now, especially after someone else commented that Meryl doesnt like doing sequels!
Sorry to burst everyone’s bubble, but if Meryl is playing Aslan’s voice and Aslan remains a male lion, then there is nothing wrong with this casting. She is an incredible actress who has a deeper voice, and can actually sing. We would have to just wait and see, I totally think Greta went with Meryl because she can sing Narnia into creation. Also, many female voice actresses play male characters all the time in tv shows and movies, it’s not uncommon, and it’s not a big deal. Meryl has a big range and she is very talented, and instead of just shooting this movie in the foot before we’ve seen a trailer, maybe we should just wait and see what Greta has in store.
Jesus isn’t going to be offended if Aslan is voiced by a female voice actress and it’s doesn’t have to have a feminist, woke, or political explanation behind every decision. It’s not that serious.
It’s usually actresses voicing little boys in cartoons (and actors voicing little girls), not adult characters. Also, I wouldn’t say Meryl Streep is a bad singer, but I wouldn’t say she’s such a great one that she’d be specifically cast for that reason.
100% this! Hopefully, Aslan will remain a male lion!
Digory: I very much agree that we don’t have to explain every decision by the wicked schemes of man… but don’t you think this is a rather important detail? I think that is what everyone is getting at. Also, why do you say Jesus Christ won’t be offended?
@Lamp Lighter, I guess Digory’s point was partly that if Aslan in the movie is going to be male, what’s the problem with a female actress? Since a voice actor is hidden from view, and it could be anyone who voices a male, just like has happened elsewhere in Film.
My point is: why would a god be offended by a work of fiction? Why do people take this like we were talking about Jesus himself? Aslan is not Jesus, it’s a character in a fiction book. I get the message Lewis wanted to convey, but let’s be grown-up.
100%. I recently found out a show I’m watching has females voicing most of the young boy characters, but it didn’t ruin the show for me and didn’t seem like a disservice to the characters.
And there’s virtually no chance that Aslan is a female lion, that would be an awful decision from a business standpoint. Narnia is a small enough property that you can’t risk alienating your primary audience like that.
She has stated that as a policy, she does not do sequels, and as such, had to be thoroughly convinced to even do the little bit she had in Mama Mia 2. So if she is against sequels, why would she sign on to play a big part in a franchise. It’s the Magician’s Nephew – she could play the farmer’s wife (the first queen of Narnia). If she did voice Aslan, I wouldn’t even bother watching.
This is good to know. Thank you. (I agree with your last sentence :D)
Let all be real here, this “hush hush” method is honestly a rage bait effort to not leak anything. As we have seen from the past few months/ years even with little to no news from the direct contributors (Netflix, Greta Gerwig, actors/actresses, and those who are involved), there would still be something to be feed whether it is a big meal of a news or small crumbs from “here and there” onlookers, yet at the end of the day nothing is reveal until it is basically released so to speak. I mean the desire that many or some individuals wanted this production to “give an outline” of what they are doing like a “how-to-guide” although nice would only feed onto the perception of “this does not look like what I in-vision” when say too much news get flooded out yet it also the same with little news as the crumbs we do get feed into the paranoia of “not the vision” as well.
I feel that at the end of the day, we can cry in horror in our echo chamber, but nothing can be or will be done until we actually finally see it when it is released. Some of us are aware and know this is coming out, but the majority of the population is not worrying about this or isn’t on their radar cause there are more important things happening in life right now, with stuff like war or other things coming. Those connected to the project are not the ones to ask a summary of a book, they can only express how they felt working in the environment without revealing too much of the movie so the only “comments we should expect at this point are ones related to their experience” not a presentation of how their character or whatever part they are involved cause they aren’t “word-to-word” their characters experience like some History Documentary imagining ancient times like “imagine living as an Egyptian” and so forth. Their job is to promote what they could allow to be said on their plate, which, honestly, none of them can at this point.
I will say this to sum up this “feeling” that is about the project: “Nothing is final until it’s engraved on the tomb.”
Anyways, we have like 8 months til its released, and if you divide it in half, expect something to come around the end of June or mid-July.
I believe Netflix’s annual Tudum event, with project announcements, is in June. And from memory, their last press release about Narnia (this year) said “look out for more updates at Tudum”. So that is when I am expecting something. Hopefully more than just a logo hahaha!
MAYBE she’s playing Aunt Letty and that other actress is playing another character (maybe an original character)?
Or maybe not. At this point I’m just delaying the anger and depression upon finding out she’s playing Aslan.
At this stage, I’d say it’s certain she’s Aslan. Aside from Jadis and Uncle Andrew, it’s the only other major role —
I don’t think they would cast Meryl for anything smaller. And no other big names are attached to the project; if there was a major actor voicing Aslan then we surely would have heard rumours of it by now.
PLEASE be playing Mrs. Lefay. If she is playing Aslan, it will be such a difficult blow to bear!
Ooh… Yes! I can see her in that role perfectly.
Pleeeaase this and not what we are fearing!
She would be perfect for playing Mrs Lefay. No question about that. I can see her in my mind as the witch whom she played in Into the Woods, and she can come across effectively as an old lady with old style hair and wardrobe.
If Meryl plays Aslan it is theologically sound. ‘The Magician’s Nephew’ is pre-LWW, and depicts Creation. Pre-incarnation the person of the trinity known as Jesus (I.e. Aslan) was ‘the Word’, and did not have human traits such as gender.
Just like when X actor is not playing X character in a movie and it’s true all along. if anyone thinks this is correct and is okay with it really needs to reread the books Aslan is based off Jesus. This is just fact, I can’t stress how long I have waited but with this news from a year ago being officially confirmed because we all know they aren’t letting the fact she is playing our great Lion out of the bag completely so they keep hush hush… It’s gonna burn if this comes to. Yikes for what the results will be. The fact they are so quiet about this since the news is alarming. I’m a true friend of Narnia and this is all so overwhelming to think they would do this. Am I shocked yes.
Please, please let her just be Mrs. Lefay or something…
I feel the fact that this article was written by “Impending Doom” fits perfectly.
Maybe this is wishful thinking… could she just be voicing a third-person narrator for the film? Similar to Barbie’s opening sequence? Gerwig could definitely utilize that to provide some context throughout her film. I think it is going to get pretty messy if she is Aslan.
I can’t wait to see what Meryl will be playing. I know some people would hate it – but I still want it to be Aslan.
The writing is on the wall folks. Greta Gerwig was raised a Unitarian Universalist and one thing they believe in is inclusivity. I will be pleasantly surprised if a man voices Aslan.
It would be more appropriate if she were cast as Shift in The Last Battle.
I don’t know if I’d agree to a female Shift. I know the BBC Radio 4 adaptation had a female voicing Ginger. I wouldn’t agree to a female Rishda or a female Tash for sure! Tash saying, “Thou hast called me into Narnia Rishda Tarkaan! Here I am! What’s hast thou to say?” in a female voice would totally ruin it for me!
I for one feel the comment from Emma mackay is totally heartening. If merryl Streep was to be the voice of Aslan, she wouldn’t be acting alongside Emma as such. Voiceover would be in post production. There is no way she will be doing motion capture as Aslan, so unless she wears a lion costume ala the Wizard of Oz, that rules that out. If Merryl was cast to be the voice of Aslan across 7 movies (12 to 14 years to make?) that would make her way to old and her voice not so compelling. I also agree with Nicole Corpus about her not doing sequels, so again this is not likely.
Finally in the on set poster shown in the background of one of the stills, the lion has a mane. Slight hint here I think.
Apologies to Emma, should be Mackey