Greta Gerwig’s trip to Narnia now has a legendary voice at its center: Meryl Streep is voicing Aslan in Gerwig’s adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ fantasy series.
The casting reunites Gerwig with Streep after “Little Women,” and places the actor in one of the story’s most mythic roles. In Gerwig’s “Narnia,” Aslan is the lion who creates the mystical world at the heart of the tale.
Speaking to Empire for a cover story on the upcoming film, Gerwig explained the very specific qualities she wanted for the role. “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,” Gerwig said. “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.”
A Bowie-tinged Aslan
Gerwig also revealed that David Bowie helped shape both the visual conception of Aslan and the broader spirit of the movie. In this version, Aslan has multicolored eyes and a red-striped face, details tied to Bowie’s influence on the character’s look.
The Bowie connection goes beyond design. Gerwig told Empire she wanted the film to feel “big and transporting” and described the desired energy as a “rock opera.”
“David Bowie saved my life. Paul McCartney saved my life. David Gilmour saved my life. Pete Townshend saved my life. Jimmy Page, Robert Plant,” Gerwig said. “When I heard their music, I had this deep sense of [thinking], ‘You’re gonna be OK.’”
For Gerwig, that musical reference point connects directly to the fantasy world she is adapting. “Narnia is literally a world made out of music,” she said. “It is a world sung to life by Aslan, and rock ’n’ roll to me felt like a world made out of music.”
Gerwig’s next film after “Barbie”
“The Magician’s Nephew” is Gerwig’s follow-up to “Barbie,” described in the source material as her Oscar-winning box office sensation starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. The new film adapts “The Magician’s Nephew,” which serves as a prequel to “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”
The story follows two children, Digory and Polly, who become the first to discover the “Wood between the Worlds,” also identified as Narnia, after their uncle gives them a magical ring. Daniel Craig plays the uncle.
The cast also includes David McKenna, Beatrice Campbell, Emma Mackey, Carey Mulligan and Ciarán Hinds.
When audiences will see it
“Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” had previously been slated for Thanksgiving 2026. The film is now set to open in theaters on Feb. 12, 2027, before arriving on Netflix on April 2.
With Streep now set as the voice of Aslan and Gerwig openly framing the film through the language of music, Bowie and rock ’n’ roll, “The Magician’s Nephew” is taking shape as a major new fantasy project with a distinct creative signature.