Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” has largely been shrouded in mystery, but the shroud is slowly beginning to fall away. Today, thanks to Empire Magazine, we have our first look at Gerwig’s new version of Aslan the lion, voiced in this iteration by the great Meryl Streep, who worked with Gerwig previously on the pitch-perfect 2019 adaptation of “Little Women.”
🚨WORLD-EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK 🚨
Greta Gerwig opens the doors to Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew in the new issue of Empire – detailing her revolutionary rock’n’roll adaptation.
Here’s your first look at Aslan – and he’s voiced by the legendary Meryl Streep.
On sale Thurs… pic.twitter.com/zsXC1yRkJD
— Empire (@empiremagazine) September 17, 2026
In author C.S. Lewis’s Narnia books, Aslan is a powerful authority figure who serves as a king, guide, and ultimately friend to the children who are whisked away to that magical realm. The books, which are full of religious allegories, make it clear that Aslan is meant to be a stand-in for Jesus Christ. The character has historically been voiced by men — Bernard Kay, Stephen Thorne, Ronald Pickup, David Suchet, and Liam Neeson have lent him their voices in various media over the years, with Neeson’s portrayal being the most famous across the live-action movies from 2005-2010. Gerwig’s upcoming film marks the first time a woman will be voicing this character, which I’m sure everyone will be totally normal about.
Meryl Streep’s Aslan looks very different than Liam Neeson’s
As you can see from the screenshot above, Streep’s version of Aslan looks very different than the one voiced by Liam Neeson. For one thing, this Aslan has different colored eyes and a red stripe across his face, which Empire says is Greta Gerwig’s shout out to legendary musician David Bowie. As for why she chose Streep, Gerwig explained that to Empire:
“I wanted someone who was profound but not pretentious, who had gravitas but not morose self-seriousness. Someone who could communicate depth and pathos as well as joy and delight […] 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. And also to be one of the greatest actors to ever do it. That list is not a long one.”
So far, most of the focus on the movie has been on when and how we’ll get to see it. After the massive success she had with “Barbie,” the writer/director wanted to secure a big theatrical release for “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew.” Netflix, the company behind the movie, doesn’t typically do that, which led to some behind-the-scenes clashes. Eventually, though, the streamer capitulated to Gerwig’s request, and dated the movie for an IMAX release this Thanksgiving. After that, the film was bumped back to around Valentine’s Day of 2027, though it’s still receiving a wide IMAX release before heading to Netflix sometime after.
“The Magician’s Nephew,” which is the sixth book in the publishing order but is actually a prequel to the larger Narnia adventure, has never received the proper big-screen treatment before, despite attempts to get it going back in 2011.
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