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Reports emerged earlier this month that "Barbie" director Greta Gerwig is looking to cast Meryl Streep as the voice of the lion Aslan in her new "The Chronicles of Narnia" films. The news came as a surprise to many fans of the original novels, as Aslan is traditionally depicted as a male character, famously voiced by Liam Neeson in the previous film trilogy. The potential casting change has been met with significant debate online.
Many fans who oppose the potential gender-swap argue that Aslan's character was inspired by Jesus Christ, and changing the character to female would alter the Christian allegory central to "The Chronicles of Narnia." One fan site's poll indicated that 65% of respondents were concerned about Gerwig's vision for the new films following the news.
However, others have pushed back, arguing that Aslan is a fictional lion, not literally Jesus, and that the connection doesn't need to be so rigid.
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Gerwig is set to write and direct the first two films in the new "The Chronicles of Narnia" series. The first installment will adapt "The Magician's Nephew," which, while published sixth in the book series, serves as a prequel and is the earliest story in the timeline. Production is reportedly scheduled to begin this June and continue through Christmas. The film is planned for an exclusive two-week global run in IMAX theaters starting November 26 of next year, before its streaming debut on Netflix.