Liam Neeson has given Meryl Streep his approval to take over as Aslan in Greta Gerwig’s upcoming adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ The Magician’s Nephew. Neeson voiced the lion in three previous Narnia films, released between 2005 and 2010.
Neeson said he had not heard about the new casting before a ScreenRant reporter told him. After learning Streep would play Aslan, he joked: “Meryl is playing Jesus Christ? Well, if you’re going to make Christ a lady, nobody better than Meryl.”
Gerwig, who wrote and directed the film, said she wanted an actor who could convey wisdom, emotional depth and a sense of wonder. She described her list of potential performers as short and said she was looking for someone older than 70 and among the greatest actors of all time.
The Magician’s Nephew is chronologically the first story in Lewis’ Narnia series. It follows Aslan’s creation of Narnia, a thousand years before the events of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Gerwig confirmed plans to adapt the books for Netflix in 2023, and Streep was attached to the role last April.
Neeson previously voiced Aslan in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Prince Caspian (2008) and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010). The new film is scheduled to premiere in theaters on February 12.
Sources: Deadline.