Meryl Streep as Aslan? Narnia fans react to controversial casting choice by Greta Gerwig 

Rumors that had swirled for months were confirmed Thursday when it was revealed that Meryl Streep will voice Aslan in Netflix’s new Narnia movie – a decision to cast a woman as the beloved male character that sparked a wide range of reactions, to say the least.

Aslan, of course, is the powerful lion who serves as the creator and ruler of Narnia and as the series’ Christ figure, according to C.S. Lewis, the author behind the beloved fantasy world.

Liam Neeson voiced Aslan in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Prince Caspian (2008) and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010) – three movies that were hits at the box office and were widely embraced by fans of the books.

But director Greta Gerwig told Empire in a new interview that a female, Streep, will voice Aslan in Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, which is scheduled for release in theaters Feb. 12. The film is based on a Lewis book of the same name and serves as Narnia’s origin story.

“I wanted someone who was profound but not pretentious, who had gravitas but not morose self-seriousness,” Gerwig said. “Someone who could communicate depth and pathos as well as joy and delight. I wanted someone who was older than 70, so there was a wisdom of experience, but who also had the capacity of fresh wonder, like a child. And also to be one of the greatest actors to ever do it. That list is not a long one.”

Further, Gerwig revealed that Aslan will have multicolored eyes and that rocker David Bowie was a source of inspiration for the Netflix lion character. Although The Magician’s Nephew isn’t a musical, Gerwig nevertheless said she wanted the movie to be “big and transporting” and feel like a “rock opera.”

“Narnia is literally a world made out of music,” she told Empire. “It is a world sung to life by Aslan, and rock ’n’ roll to me felt like a world made out of music.”

But not all Narnia fans are embracing Gerwig’s vision, particularly her choice of a female actress to voice a character closely identified with Christ. The Empire story – for those curious – did reference Aslan as a “he.”

“I believe casting Streep as Aslan is an unforced error that will undermine the movie artistically as an adaptation and cost Netflix money at the box office,” wrote Aaron Earls, a writer and Narnia expert who explores Lewis and culture at his TheWardrobeDoor.com website.

“Yet, I’m holding out hope because we still don’t know everything and there’s something even a terrible adaptation can’t change,” Earls added. “Having a female-voiced Aslan doesn’t add to the story. It only serves to undercut the movie both artistically and financially.”

Writer Samuel D. James similarly expressed reservations about the casting on his Digital Liturgies Substack, arguing in an open letter to Gerwig that Aslan’s male identity is an important part of Lewis’ portrayal of the character.

“Aslan’s identity as the presence of Christ in Narnia world means that a faithful adaptation of the stories has to reckon with this,” James wrote. “Your own description of what you were looking for in a voice actor reflects wonderfully well the reality that Aslan is not like all the other characters. He’s special. And I would argue that it’s a mistake to abstract what makes him special from his ‘He-ness.’ I’m not at all trying to say that Aslan should have a stereotypically masculine voice. Timber or pitch are not the point. The point is that when people hear Aslan, they should think of a father.”

Reaction on the fan-run NarniaWeb website was mixed, although most comments were negative.

“Not happy about Meryl voicing him, but at least he’s spoken about as a Him,” one person wrote in the comments below the announcement.

“I obviously would prefer a masculine voice, but if they are going for something wild, it might work,” another wrote.

Some, though, expressed excitement about Gerwig’s vision for the film.

“This movie has the opportunity to be the most inspiring and uplifting movie for people of all ages,” still another person wrote. “A creation story is exactly what the world needs now. These visuals are truly stunning. Can’t wait for more!”

(Background: Screenshot/Facebook/The Chronicles of Narnia, altered; Meryl Streep/Screenshot/Instagram/@ tdwpmovie)