Meryl Streep Takes Over as Aslan in Gerwig's Narnia
Meryl Streep Takes Over as Aslan in Gerwig's Narnia
Meryl Streep is taking over the voice of Aslan from Liam Neeson in Greta Gerwig's new Narnia film, Deadline reported on 5 November 2026.
Aslan is the talking lion and the true king of Narnia. He appears in all seven of C.S. Lewis's Narnia books. Neeson voiced him in three earlier films: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Prince Caspian (2008) and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010).
The new project is Narnia: The Magician's Nephew, which Gerwig wrote and directed. It adapts the sixth book in Lewis's series, which is the first in the story's timeline. It shows Aslan creating Narnia a thousand years before the events of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Neeson was asked about the new adaptation and gave a short answer: "I'm sorry, this is news to me." He then reacted to Streep's casting with a joke about the role. "Meryl is playing Jesus Christ? Well, if you're going to make Christ a lady, nobody better than Meryl," he said, according to Deadline.
Gerwig has said why she wanted an older performer for the part. She wanted someone over 70 to voice Aslan, she said, to bring the wisdom of experience and a sense of fresh wonder. Deadline reported that Streep had been attached to the role since April 2025.
The film has been in development for some time. In 2023, Gerwig confirmed plans to adapt the Chronicles of Narnia books for Netflix. The streaming service released a trailer for Narnia: The Magician's Nephew on 13 October 2026.
Streep is not the only name on the cast list. Emma Mackey and Daniel Craig are also in the film, which Netflix's Tudum site lists alongside her. The site also names David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell as newcomers in the cast.
For longtime readers of the books, the change puts a familiar character in a new voice. Neeson's three films and the new Netflix project now have different actors behind the same lion. Netflix has not given a theatrical plan for the film, so the streaming platform remains its home for now.
