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“This Is Nothing Short Of Insane”: Gender Swap Rumors Spark Massive Outrage Over ‘Narnia’ Reboot
Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Chronicles of Narniahas already started making headlines over its casting choices.
Criticized on social media by devoted fans for gender-swapping a major character, the first movie of the new series is set to hit the silver screen in 2026.
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Greta Gerwig’s Narnia sparks fury over gender-swapping Aslan with Meryl Streep
Image credits: Marleen Moise/Getty Images
Image credits: Disney Plus
Highlights
- Greta Gerwig's Narnia movies face backlash for being in talks with Meryl Streep as the voice of Aslan, a male character.
- Fans sparked fury over gender-swapping Aslan, referencing the character's symbolic connection to Jesus Christ in C.S. Lewis's novels.
- Alongside the controversial casting, Charli XCX and Daniel Craig are in talks to join the new Narnia series.
According to a recent report by Deadline, Hollywood legend Meryl Streep is in talks to voice Aslan in the new movie series. In C.S. Lewis’s original novels, Aslan is a talking male lion who is guarding the fictional realm of Narnia.
The character is also commonly considered by fans as an allegory for Jesus Christ, as he sacrifices himself for the sake of his people but is later resurrected.
Aslan was previously brought to life by Liam Neeson
Image credits: Disney Plus
Image credits: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
In the earlier adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia, which spanned a trilogy of films released from 2005 to 2010, the iconic character of Aslan was brought to life through the voice acting of Liam Neeson.
Neeson’s voice lent a majestic and authoritative tone to Aslan, aligning with the character’s king-like attitude as depicted by Lewis in his books.
The news led to a storm of negative reactions on social media, with one fan mentioning Disney’s Snow White disaster
Image credits: ImperadorOO
Image credits: georg3
Image credits: FormerModerate
The movie series’s casting news led to a storm of reactions on social media, sparking fury among the series’s fanbase. While many fans praised Meryl Streep’s impeccable acting, they also underlined that Aslan is a male lion and should be portrayed as such.
“But Aslan is a male lion?” one fan wrote on X.
“Of course, we need a female Aslan. It would be crazy to just write a female character,” another person sarcastically added.
Another fan asked, “Why do they feel the need to gender-swap Aslan?”
One mentioned Disney’s Snow White, another Hollywood picture that was heavily criticized for its casting choices, saying, “Have you learned nothing from the Snow White disaster?”
Fans referenced Aslan’s Jesus Christ allegory in the comments
Image credits: TheWrap
Image credits: Disney Plus
“Aslan is literally a male lion. With all due respect to Meryl Streep’s acting abilities, there’s no conceivable reason to cast a female as Aslan unless it is to deliberately subvert C.S. Lewis,” one fan explained.
Another took a reference from Lewis’s book, saying, “Aslan is Jesus. Jesus was a man.”
“Aslan is a representation of Christ — he’s male. Hollywood truly despises Christians,” a third agreed.
One fan tagged Netflix’s X account, saying “@netflix this is nothing short of insane. Its an assault on the fan base.”
Charli XCX and Daniel Craig are reportedly in talks to star in the new movie series
Image credits: thecinemadog
Image credits: Shawnscanlon5
It was previously reported by Deadline that pop icon Charli XCX was in talks as one of the top choices for the role of Queen Jadis, the White Witch, which was played by Tilda Swinton in the previous film series.
Another possible name in talks to star in the movie series is the iconic James Bond actor Daniel Craig, though his role is not mentioned yet.
The Netflix CEO said Gerwig’s Narnia movies will be “bigger and bolder”
Image credits: IndianKid23
Image credits: Disney Plus
Greta Gerwig is set to write and direct two Narnia movies. The first of the series will be released on Thanksgiving 2026 before eventually premiering on Netflix. The streaming platform announced in 2018 that it had purchased the rights to all seven books of the popular series.
In an interview with Time, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos said Gerwig’s Narnia movies “won’t be counter to how the audience may have imagined those worlds, but it will be bigger and bolder than they thought.” Sarandos also described Gerwig’s world-building as “rooted in faith,” much like Lewis’ original material.
The film will be Gerwig’s first directorial work since Barbie, a comedy-fantasy hit starring Margot Robbie that earned over $1.4 billion at the worldwide box office in 2023.
Gerwig shared that she is interested in “embracing the paradox of the worlds” that C.S. Lewis created
Image credits: Disney Plus
In the same interview, Gerwig shared her insights on C.S. Lewis’s creation of Narnia and his literary genius. Speaking to Time, Gerwig said, “It’s connected to the folklore and fairy stories of England, but it’s a combination of different traditions.
“As a child, you accept the whole thing—that you’re in this land of Narnia, there’s fauns, and then Father Christmas shows up. It doesn’t even occur to you that it’s not schematic.
“I’m interested in embracing the paradox of the worlds that Lewis created, because that’s what’s so compelling about them,” she added.
Online users were upset over the possibility of Meryl Streep voicing Aslan
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What do you think ?
Natalia 9 months ago
Never mind the genders, why tf do they keep remaking the same bloody films?
Apatheist Account2 9 months ago
Just make all characters disabled trans black lesbians and have done with it!
Michael MacKinnon 9 months ago
The comment about Bart Simpson is on point: Aslan is a voice. Cast someone you think can provide an authoritative voice. And I say that having read the series, repeatedly, since my early teens.
Ace 9 months ago
I would never have guessed that the complaints were from 'Christians' complaining because their Jesus character was portrayed as male by all the male writers of the period following his death. Why were these same people not complaining about the book and other screen adaptations where their god is depicted as an animal, FFS?
Apatheist Account2 9 months ago
People are getting fed up with the constant erasing of their gender, whether male or female. There will never be equality by erasing the majority. The book is allegorical, and lions are seen as noble beasts. I dare say it would have been different if it had been a hyena or a worm.
Load More Replies...
Earonn - 9 months ago
Given that Arslan is to represent Jesus I'd say it doesn't matter if the role is cast with a male or a female. Because the important thing about Jesus is the teachings, not if there's a d**k between his legs (historical Jesus? Guys, historical Jesus - if he ever existed - wasn't a lion, either). Anyone remembering Tilda Swinton as angel Gabriel in Constantine? What an amazing performance! // However, I agree with those who say that it would be nice to get new stories, even if they come from old books.
Al Ban 9 months ago
Gender swap is not what makes bad movies, it's the bad writing, so far most of the all the Femal cast cast movie have a bad writing, if the wrinting is good, I don't mind changing things around, Great have a good track record so far so it could be good, and for people who prefere the old film, or the book they still can watch and read them, a new adaptation doesn't delete the previous one
Adam Belaire 9 months ago
I would've love to hear Joan Rivers voice Aslan. That'd be a riot! Oh! Oh! Do not cite the Deep Magic to MEE, Witch. I was there when it was written!"
The Reap 9 months ago
I don't understand these arguments. It's all made up. Who gives a s**t if a fictional character is male or female. Just don't make boring movies.
Forrest Hobbs 9 months ago
Aslan has a mane - which is relevant in the story. Aslan is definitely male and, as people pointed out in comments to the original article, is basically a representation of Jesus. Changing his s*x in a film version of the story just doesn't make sense to my mind - turns it into something other than what the author wrote in the first place. Not that it matters to me directly - I'll stick with the books no matter what they put on screen.
Load More Replies...
Emma B 9 months ago
You just need the comment from the outraged person who claimed women shouldn't be making Narnia to know which side you should be on this.
Ryan-James O'Driscoll 9 months ago
Writing off a whole subset of opinions due to one person seems to be quite an extremist point of view in and of itself.
Load More Replies... Natalia 9 months ago
Never mind the genders, why tf do they keep remaking the same bloody films?
Apatheist Account2 9 months ago
Just make all characters disabled trans black lesbians and have done with it!
Michael MacKinnon 9 months ago
The comment about Bart Simpson is on point: Aslan is a voice. Cast someone you think can provide an authoritative voice. And I say that having read the series, repeatedly, since my early teens.
Ace 9 months ago
I would never have guessed that the complaints were from 'Christians' complaining because their Jesus character was portrayed as male by all the male writers of the period following his death. Why were these same people not complaining about the book and other screen adaptations where their god is depicted as an animal, FFS?
Apatheist Account2 9 months ago
People are getting fed up with the constant erasing of their gender, whether male or female. There will never be equality by erasing the majority. The book is allegorical, and lions are seen as noble beasts. I dare say it would have been different if it had been a hyena or a worm.
Load More Replies... Earonn - 9 months ago
Given that Arslan is to represent Jesus I'd say it doesn't matter if the role is cast with a male or a female. Because the important thing about Jesus is the teachings, not if there's a d**k between his legs (historical Jesus? Guys, historical Jesus - if he ever existed - wasn't a lion, either). Anyone remembering Tilda Swinton as angel Gabriel in Constantine? What an amazing performance! // However, I agree with those who say that it would be nice to get new stories, even if they come from old books.
Al Ban 9 months ago
Gender swap is not what makes bad movies, it's the bad writing, so far most of the all the Femal cast cast movie have a bad writing, if the wrinting is good, I don't mind changing things around, Great have a good track record so far so it could be good, and for people who prefere the old film, or the book they still can watch and read them, a new adaptation doesn't delete the previous one
Adam Belaire 9 months ago
I would've love to hear Joan Rivers voice Aslan. That'd be a riot! Oh! Oh! Do not cite the Deep Magic to MEE, Witch. I was there when it was written!"
The Reap 9 months ago
I don't understand these arguments. It's all made up. Who gives a s**t if a fictional character is male or female. Just don't make boring movies.
Forrest Hobbs 9 months ago
Aslan has a mane - which is relevant in the story. Aslan is definitely male and, as people pointed out in comments to the original article, is basically a representation of Jesus. Changing his s*x in a film version of the story just doesn't make sense to my mind - turns it into something other than what the author wrote in the first place. Not that it matters to me directly - I'll stick with the books no matter what they put on screen.
Load More Replies... Emma B 9 months ago
You just need the comment from the outraged person who claimed women shouldn't be making Narnia to know which side you should be on this.
Ryan-James O'Driscoll 9 months ago
Writing off a whole subset of opinions due to one person seems to be quite an extremist point of view in and of itself.
Load More Replies... You May Like
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