No, Aslan Cannot Be Female

Door Jam: April 7, 2025

The Door Jam is a place to squeeze in articles about C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, their work, adaptations of their fantasy worlds, news from other franchises, and interesting articles. Unless otherwise stated, I’m not endorsing (or criticizing) any of these but merely sharing them with you.

Several outlets have confirmed that Netflix and Greta Gerwig are in talks with Meryl Streep to voice Aslan in their upcoming adaptation of Narnia. This would be a horrible decision for every possible reason.

Pauline Baynes illustration of Aslan at the Stone Table

Around April Fools Day, rumors began to swirl that Meryl Streep was being considered for the role of Aslan. Many dismissed those rumors as it was first reported by the rumor site Nexus Point News. The site has a mixed track record in having its reporting confirmed. Then Deadline confirmed Streep was in talks to serve as Netflix’s Aslan but had not been offered the role yet.

The Telegraph ran an opinion piece on why C.S. Lewis might agree with having a female Aslan. I agree with much of their reasoning but disagree vehemently with their conclusion. They are correct that Lewis did not write Narnia as a Christian allegory. Aslan is not Jesus. Aslan is a supposal of what Christ would look like in a world like Narnia.¹ But that doesn’t mean it would be a wise decision to make Aslan female or one that Lewis would support.

Let me give you five brief reasons why it would be an immense, illogical, unforced error to cast Streep or any woman to voice Aslan.

1. It would be contrary to the books. It’s not just an adaptive choice. It’s not even that it’s unfaithful to the books. It runs contrary to the entire series. So much hinges on Aslan being male and serving as the Creator King of Narnia. His mane serves as an important image throughout the books. This would literally mirror part of the White Witch’s attempt to shame Aslan as she shaves off his mane.

2. It doesn’t fit the cultural moment. Did we not see what just happened to the live-action Snow White? Is Netflix not paying attention to the shift away from subverting classic texts and stories? It’s no longer shocking or attention-worthy to do this type of stunt casting because everyone has been doing it now for decades to diminishing returns.

3. It will anger the core audience. You don’t have to give fans exactly what they want, but you can’t alienate them. Those most excited about this movie and poised to be its biggest champions will become its biggest critics. Additionally, the larger potential audience of Christian families will be turned off and avoid the movie out of principle.

4. Any benefits could be achieved elsewhere. If you want to cast Meryl Streep, she would be great as Letitia Ketterley or “Aunt Letty,” Digory’s aunt and Andrew’s sister. Having Charli XCX rumored as the White Witch is already a potentially “shocking” move. Daniel Craig as Uncle Andrew gives you a big-name actor. Whatever they think they’re gaining from casting a Streep as Aslan could be gained from other moves.

5. The best possible outcome still fails. Nexus Point News said Streep would be playing a female version of Aslan. Deadline said it could not confirm Aslan would be female. Even if Streep is playing a male version of Aslan, that will still generate the same amount of pre-release angst and negative attention. Those already skeptical of Gerwig’s take would see their suspicions confirmed. Even this rumor is already harming the potential of the movie.

So, with all this being said, why might Gerwig be considering this move? She could’ve actually gotten the idea from the book itself. In describing the song Aslan begins to sing at the creation of Narnia, Lewis writes, “Its lower notes were deep enough to be the voice of the earth herself.” [Emphasis mine]

I can imagine Gerwig reading that climactic moment, seizing on the use of “herself” to describe the voice, and swirling around an idea to cast a woman with a deep voice.

But in the same way, you don’t cast a female Jesus because He once compared Himself to a mother hen gathering her chicks under her wings,² you don’t cast Aslan as a female because his voice is compared to a female personification of the earth.

This would potentially destroy any goodwill the majority of Narnia fans have toward this project. I hope this is one where the rumors were mixed up, or Gerwig and Netflix decide to go in a different direction after seeing the reaction. And I hope we hear official news soon.

Art should not be up to the popular vote, but adaptations of already existing works have to give the largest voice to the original work. Gerwig and Netflix are free to develop a film series about a fantasy world created and ruled by a female lion, but that’s no longer Narnia.

If you’d like to respectfully express your opinion on these casting rumors, NarniaWeb has contact information for many involved with Netflix’s adaptation of Narnia.

Sources:

• Nexus Point News

• Deadline

• The Telegraph

• NarniaWeb

Not Safe But Good

C.S. Lewis quote of the week

Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed.

The Magician’s Nephew

Tumnus’ bookshelf

A book by or about C.S. Lewis

Let’s just go ahead and make sure we’ve read The Magician’s Nephew. Regardless of any cinematic adaptation, this remains a classic story that reimagines the Genesis creation narrative.

Behind the Wardrobe

Sneak peek at the bonus articles for paid subscribers

This week, paid subscribers will see some photos from my visit to the C.S. Lewis exhibit at The Museum of the Bible, a surprisingly good summary of The Magician’s Nephew, a potential inspiration for the Narnia lamp post, how Tolkien’s work inspires and interacts with several modern stories, a new language gets The Hobbit for the first time, the sequel to The Passion of the Christ will start filming soon and may start in hell, and more.