Director Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Narnia film has prompted criticism after Meryl Streep was announced as the voice of Aslan, a role associated with C.S. Lewis’s depiction of Jesus.
The Story
A casting decision is drawing outrage among some conservative Christian commentators ahead of director Greta Gerwig’s movie adaptation of “The Chronicles of Narnia.”
The controversy centres on news that Oscar-winning actor Meryl Streep will voice Aslan the lion in “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew,” a story set within C.S. Lewis’s Narnia books published in the 1950s.
Aslan is widely seen as a literary representation of Jesus Christ in the Narnia books, and the books depict the lion as male with a mane. Some critics said that portraying a divine Christ figure as anything other than male goes beyond artistic adaptation.
The film’s creative approach has already included changes: the director is resetting “The Magician’s Nephew” from around 1900 to the 1950s, and the books’ timelines and characters are also often compressed or combined in adaptations.
Netflix’s production is scheduled for theatrical release in February. Gerwig has not addressed the gender debate directly, but said she chose Streep for her voice.
Gerwig said she wanted “someone who was profound but not pretentious, who had gravitas but not morose self-seriousness,” and added: “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.”
In public comments, Gerwig said she first read “The Magician’s Nephew” as a child and fell in love with its story and world.
Some critics have pointed to a recently released promotional image showing the lion with rainbow-tinted whiskers, while Lewis scholars and fans have taken a wait-and-see approach about what the film will ultimately do with the character.
Kat Coffin, a New York-based writer and scholar of Lewis, said she had questions about the casting decision but added she was more disturbed by people who are “violently opposed and angry” at the idea that God’s incarnation could be “anything even hinted toward feminine.”
The “The Magician’s Nephew,” published in 1955, follows Digory and Polly, who are sent to parallel worlds by evil magic and arrive in a newly created land of Narnia, where they bring the witch Jadis with them.
A critic quoted in the report, Ted Baehr, founder and publisher of Movieguide, said a woman portraying Aslan is a direct challenge to Christian doctrine about the nature of God. He praised Gerwig’s directing skills but said concerns exist for children and grandchildren.
Another perspective cited came from Christin Ditchfield Lazo, an author of books on Lewis, who urged Christians to reserve judgment and said there is “a huge difference between a woman voicing a male character and the director changing the gender of the character.”
The Lewis family of Joy Davidman Gresham issued a statement praising Gerwig’s “sincere passion” for the Narnia works, saying they saw that enthusiasm during a set visit in London. The statement said they are “thrilled to be working with such a talented and accomplished director and production team,” and want to continue collaborating on future projects.
The C.S. Lewis Co., described as the holder of Lewis intellectual property rights and a producer on the film, said it was “incredibly moving” to see Gerwig’s team embrace Lewis’s world and infuse “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” with joy, heart, and love for the story.
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