Image source: Getty Images/Disney
Greta Gerwig’s highly anticipated adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew is slowly coming out of the closet. Today, Empire dropped a huge, world-exclusive first look (preliminary) at the upcoming fantasy epic, and with it, officially confirmed one of the most controversial casting rumors in recent Netflix history: Meryl Streep will indeed be voicing Aslan.
If you’ve been following our coverage here at What’s on Netflix, you’ll know that ever since Deadline first reported on the possibility of Streep taking on the iconic role of the mighty lion, the Narnia fanbase has been deeply divided. The idea of a gender-bending Christ-like figure of Aslan, who was traditionally masculine, won fans Between cautious optimism and outright concern. Some argued that this could spell disaster for the franchise, while others trusted the acclaimed vision Barbie and Little women exit.
Well, the debate is over. The casting process has officially closed, and Greta Gerwig has finally spoken out about why the legendary actress was the perfect and only choice for her version of the God of Narnia.
Talk to the Empire In our November 2026 cover story, Gerwig explained the rationale behind her reunion with Streep:
“I wanted someone who was deep but not pretentious, who had gravity but not dreary self-seriousness. Someone who could convey depth and pathos as well as joy and delight. I wanted someone who was older than 70, so there was wisdom from experience, but who also had the capacity for renewed wonder, like a child. And also who would be one of the greatest actors to ever do it. That list is not long.”
Interestingly, the article still refers to Assad as A heAnd it is very controversial.
A bold new look for Aslan
Beyond confirming the casting, Empire’s newsstand cover gives us our first glimpse of Aslan’s design — certainly a departure from the 2000s Disney/Fox adaptations.
Gerwig offers a very particular and specific vision of C.S. Lewis’s sprawling imagination. As revealed, Aslan’s new look is heavily inspired by David Bowie. The mighty lion has heterochromatic eyes and a bold, striking red-striped appearance, and appears to have the skin of many other animals.
For die-hard fantasy fans, Empire is also launching an exclusive cover to subscribers featuring concept art by Jamie Jones, depicting the epic mythical moment from The Magician’s Nephew where Aslan literally sings the world of Narnia into existence.
In another exclusive photo, we see David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell as Diggory Kirk and Polly Plummer behind Jadis, played by Emma Mackey. they Coverage indicates For the film as a “rock opera” fantasy inspired by Bowie and The Who. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m getting strong, Doctor, who stirred up emotions here.
What did we learn?
While we’ll have to wait until the full magazine hits newsstands on September 24 to get the full visits and interviews, the preview dropped some additional confirmations and nuggets. Of course, we already knew about the delayed release date, but we also have confirmation that Gerwig’s adaptation explores the ramifications of moving the original Narnia story to the 1950s. We’ve got this covered through Storyboards throughout production.
Netflix is clearly betting big on Gerwig to deliver a Narnia unlike anything we’ve seen before. With the release just over a year away, the marketing machine officially came back to life yesterday with BTS’s official logo and graphic are still being revealed.
Were you influenced by Greta Gerwig’s decision to cast Meryl Streep as Aslan? What do you think of the Bowie-inspired design? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!