Netflix’s new Chronicles of Narnia is starting to take shape – and making some major changes.
C.S. Lewis’ seven-book fantasy series has been adapted several times over the decades, with Aslan serving as one of its most important characters. The lion is widely viewed as an allegory for Jesus and plays a central role across the Narnia stories.
Ronald Pickup voiced Aslan in the BBC’s television adaptation in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Liam Neeson later took over the role for Disney’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Prince Caspian (2008), and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010).
Netflix is now preparing its own version of Narnia, with Barbie director Greta Gerwig leading the franchise. Her first movie, Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, is already making several changes to previous adaptations.
One of the biggest involves Aslan.
Meryl Streep Will Voice Aslan
Meryl Streep has officially been confirmed as the voice of Aslan in Gerwig’s The Magician’s Nephew.
The casting was confirmed on September 17, when Empire shared its first look at the new version of Aslan. The character has different colored eyes and a red stripe through his fur, with David Bowie cited as an influence on his appearance.
First look at Aslan in Greta Gerwig's ‘NARNIA’ movie.
Voiced by Meryl Streep.
(Source: @empiremagazine)
First look at Aslan in Greta Gerwig's ‘NARNIA’ movie.
Voiced by Meryl Streep.
(Source: @empiremagazine) pic.twitter.com/LGlALgofRV
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 17, 2026
Gerwig said she wanted somebody who could bring both “gravitas” and “joy and delight” to the character.
She was also looking for an actor over 70 who could bring experience to Aslan while still capturing his sense of wonder.
Streep’s casting marks the first time a woman has voiced Aslan in a major screen adaptation.
However, it does not necessarily mean that Aslan himself has been changed from male to female.
The first official image still shows Aslan as a maned lion, while coverage of the movie has continued to use male pronouns for the character. So far, the change is to the voice behind Aslan rather than his confirmed gender.
That has still prompted debate among Narnia fans online.
Some critics have accused Netflix and Gerwig of making “REALLY weird decisions,” while another described the choice as “stupid.”
Others have defended the casting.
One Reddit user wrote, “Jesus’ life and death are no more or less divine if they are told allegorically with a woman’s voice. It literally is not that hard.”
Another added, “Jesus takes the form of a talking lion—also an albatross, a lamb, and a cat. Aslan shape-shifts. There is no reason that a woman cannot VOICE the talking lion that is Jesus in our world.”
Netflix has not announced any other gender changes for the movie.
Netflix Is Making Other Changes to Narnia
Aslan is not the only part of Narnia that Gerwig is approaching differently.
Netflix is beginning its franchise with The Magician’s Nephew, rather than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Lewis published The Magician’s Nephew as the sixth Narnia book, although it takes place first chronologically. The story explains the creation of Narnia and has never previously been adapted as a feature film.
The movie follows Digory Kirke, played by David McKenna, and Polly Plummer, played by Beatrice Campbell.
🚨 First look at Emma Mackey as Jadis and Charn in Greta Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew
🚨 First look at Emma Mackey as Jadis and Charn in Greta Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew pic.twitter.com/si0zvUitkq
— NarniaWeb (@NarniaWeb) September 17, 2026
After experimenting with magical rings created by Digory’s uncle, played by Daniel Craig, the pair travel between different worlds. Their journey eventually takes them to the creation of Narnia and brings them into contact with Jadis, played by Emma Mackey.
Gerwig has also changed the story’s time period.
The novel takes place around 1900, while the new movie has been moved forward to 1955, the year The Magician’s Nephew was first published.
That change could also affect future Narnia movies.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe takes place during World War II, with the Pevensie children evacuated from London during the Blitz. Netflix has not explained whether later movies will keep that setting or also move forward in time.
Music will also play a larger role in Gerwig’s version.
Aslan sings Narnia into existence in The Magician’s Nephew, and Gerwig has said that element has stayed with her since childhood.
She has described the world as “made out of music” and previously revealed that she initially approached the project as a “rock opera.”
Her Barbie collaborators Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt are composing the score.
Netflix currently holds the rights to all seven Chronicles of Narnia books. Gerwig is attached to multiple movies, although the streamer has not confirmed which novel she will adapt after The Magician’s Nephew.
The movie will also receive a much wider theatrical release than most Netflix films.
Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew will open in theaters worldwide on February 12, 2027, following IMAX previews beginning February 10.
It will then arrive on Netflix on April 2, giving the movie a theatrical window of more than 45 days before its streaming debut.
Are you excited for Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew?
