Meryl Streep may be one of the most recognisable voices in Greta Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew. Gerwig says there was a very specific reason she wanted the Oscar-winning actress to voice Aslan.
According to Empire, Gerwig, a four-time Oscar nominee, said her list of possible choices for the voice of the lion was short. She wanted someone with gravitas and depth, but without sounding pretentious or overly serious.
“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.”
She also wanted an actor older than 70 who could bring the wisdom of experience while retaining a sense of fresh wonder. For Gerwig, the choice also had to be one of the greatest actors of all time.
“And also to be one of the greatest actors to ever do it. That list is not a long one,” she said.
Streep will voice Aslan in Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, which will open in IMAX on 10 February 2027 for previews before its worldwide theatrical release on 12 February. The film will arrive on Netflix on 2 April.
Aslan, previously voiced by Liam Neeson, is the talking lion and true king of Narnia. He appears throughout all seven books in C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia.
The Magician’s Nephew was the sixth book published in the series but serves as its chronological beginning. The story follows the creation of Narnia by Aslan, taking place 1,000 years before the events of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Netflix describes Gerwig’s film as the first screen adaptation of The Magician’s Nephew.
Gerwig confirmed plans to adapt Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia books for Netflix in 2023. Streep joined the project as Aslan in April last year.
