Streep as Aslan keeps Narnia casting fight hot
Greta Gerwig’s choice of Meryl Streep to voice Aslan in Netflix’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew drew fresh weekend heat from Christian critics. Gerwig has said she wanted an actor over 70 with gravitas and childlike wonder. The film is set for theaters Feb. 12, 2027, then Netflix April 2.
The casting of Meryl Streep as the voice of Aslan remains the loudest culture fight around Netflix’s Narnia reboot as October opens. Fox News Digital reported Saturday that criticism continues from some Christian and media figures who treat C.S. Lewis’s lion as a Christ figure and reject an actress in the role. A Change.org petition launched Friday also urges Netflix to replace writer-director Greta Gerwig on future Narnia films.
Gerwig explained the pick to Empire in comments amplified by Deadline: she wanted someone “profound but not pretentious,” older than 70, able to carry pathos and delight, and among the greatest actors working — “that list is not a long one.” Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew is scheduled for theaters on Feb. 12, 2027, including Imax, before a Netflix debut on April 2, 2027. The story is chronologically first in Lewis’s series even though it was published sixth.
Movieguide founder Ted Baehr told Fox he worries the choice will alienate a large Christian audience even if the movie still finds box-office buyers. Voice director Ned Lott, who helped cast Liam Neeson as Aslan for the 2005 Walden film, said the job once felt like casting the voice of Jesus and that Streep’s assignment reflects a different philosophy than the earlier adaptations.
Backstory: Streep attached to Aslan earlier in 2026 after Gerwig confirmed her Netflix Narnia plans in 2023. Neeson voiced Aslan across three prior theatrical films. Gerwig has described her approach as a “rock opera” take and has said she comes at the material from a Unitarian Universalist churchgoing background.
For families planning a 2027 theater trip, the practical stake is whether the casting debate becomes a boycott story or fades once trailers show the finished performance. Overnight sticks to named quotes and dates rather than predicting ticket sales.
What we know:
Streep is cast to voice Aslan; Gerwig has publicly defended the choice; theatrical and Netflix dates are set for early 2027.
What we don’t:
Whether Netflix or Gerwig will issue a new statement answering the petition, and how finished footage will sound once marketing begins.
Where outlets agree Fox News and Deadline both report Streep is voicing Aslan for Gerwig’s Magician’s Nephew and that Gerwig defended wanting an actor over 70 with gravitas and wonder.
Where they differ Christian critics frame the casting as a break with Lewis’s Christ allegory while Gerwig frames it as an artistic search for depth, joy, and experience.