The public has yet to see a single frame from director Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of the classic children’s book series “The Chronicles of Narnia,” but the casting decision is already drawing ire from many conservative Christian commentators.
They are disturbed by the news that a female actor (Oscar winner Meryl Streep) will voice the role of Aslan the lion in “Narnia: The Sorcerer’s Nephew.” The lion is considered a literary representation of Jesus Christ in the seven Narnia books by British Christian author C.S. Lewis published in the 1950s. In the books, the lion is depicted as a male with a magnificent mane.
Filmmakers routinely obtain licenses to adapt books; compressing timelines, combining characters, and more. Gerwig resets “The Magician’s Nephew” from the 1900s to the 1950s.
Streep’s casting does not necessarily mean that Aslan will be portrayed as a woman. But to conservative Christian critics, even the possibility of depicting a divine Jesus figure as anything other than male goes beyond artistic license. They see this as an attack on their faith, noting that the Bible and ancient beliefs refer to God the Father and Jesus as the Son of God.
“This is a well-known ploy by God’s enemies to subvert and destroy the symbols of Christianity in order to win a war of attrition for the heart of the culture,” Seth Udinsky wrote in an op-ed for the Christian Post, an evangelical news website. He suggested that Gerwig had made Aslan “transsexual,” citing a newly released photograph by the film’s promoters depicting the lion with rainbow-colored whiskers.
Similar comments and rebuttals appear in numerous responses to Netflix’s casting post on Instagram.
Some Lewis scholars and enthusiasts are taking a wait-and-see approach. The Netflix production is planned to be released in theaters in February.
Kat Coffin, a New York-based writer and Lewis scholar, said she had questions about the casting decision but added: “I’m much more disturbed by people who are vehemently opposed and outraged at the idea that the incarnation of God could be anything that implies feminine.”
Gerwig hasn’t directly addressed the gender issue in her public statements, but she has said she sees Streep as one of the few actors who could meet the voice criteria for Aslan.
“I wanted someone who was deep but not pretentious, dignified but not dour but without a dour personal seriousness,” Gerwig said. “I wanted someone who could convey joy and pleasure as well as depth and emotion. I wanted someone who was over 70 years old, so had the wisdom of experience, but also had the capacity, like a child, to create new miracles. I also wanted him to be one of the greatest actors to ever achieve this.”
Gerwig said she first read “The Magician’s Nephew” as a child and fell in love with the story and its magical world.
Gerwig is known for putting feminist spins on her acclaimed films “Barbie” and “Little Women,” which are also based on intellectual properties long popular with children.
The report in Empire film magazine that Gerwig drew inspiration from pop artist David Bowie, known for his gender ambiguity, in depicting the lion with different colored eyes and a “dark red-striped countenance” further raises feathers.
Published in 1955, eight years before Lewis’s death, “The Magician’s Nephew” tells the story of two children, Digory and Polly, who are sent to parallel worlds by evil magic. They eventually arrive in the newly created fantasy land of Narnia, but unintentionally bring the evil witch Jadis with them. In this and subsequent Narnia books, Aslan leads his young followers in fighting and defeating evil.
According to Ted Baehr, the portrayal of Aslan by a woman is a direct challenge to Christian doctrine regarding the nature of God.
Baehr is the founder and publisher of Movieguide, which advises Christian parents on what to watch.
“This movie could be very successful, but the better it is, the more Christians there will be to worry about their children and grandchildren,” said Baehr, who runs a company that produced a 1979 animated television version of another Narnia book.
Baehr praised Gerwig’s directorial skill but said she may not understand the importance of the subject for many Christians. Lewis said the Narnia books are not allegories, but rather closely parallel biblical stories and concepts. These could not be adapted as easily as the Greek myth in Christopher Nolan’s latest film, “The Odyssey,” Baehr said.
“The Bible is not a myth,” he said.
The criticisms reflect the deep connection many Christians, especially evangelicals, feel with Lewis, who promoted Christian teachings and themes through fiction and nonfiction.
Narnia has a wide readership, with worldwide sales of 120 million books reported since the first volume was published 75 years ago this month. Christian readers feel a special sense of ownership.
“I know a lot of people who are really concerned because the original stories mean so much to them,” said Christin Ditchfield Lazo, author of books on Lewis.
He said the Narnia series “has had a profound impact on the lives of millions of people, especially people of faith who love the spiritual truths in these stories and want them to be faithfully represented.”
Ditchfield Lazo called on Christians to exercise common sense.
“There’s a big difference between a woman voicing a male character and a director changing the gender of the character,” she said. “It might be problematic, but we won’t know until we see the movie.”
He noted that men and women often play or voice each other’s roles, from Shakespearean dramas to modern animations.
Many evangelicals embraced the early 2000s films based on the first three Narnia books, which featured Aslan’s deep, masculine voice provided by actor Liam Neeson.
Coffin said God is depicted with feminine characteristics in other literary works, including Narnia, where Aslan appears as a lamb with a “sweet, milky voice.”
“I would describe it as a feminine presentation,” Coffin said.
In a statement from Gresham’s family, Lewis’ late wife, Joy Davidman, praised Gerwig for her “sincere passion” for the Narnia works.
In the statement made by Netflix, it was said: “We saw this enthusiasm during our visit to the set in London.” “We are excited to be working with such a talented and accomplished director and production team and look forward to continuing to work with them on future projects.”
C.S. Lewis Co., the owner of Lewis’ intellectual property rights and the producers of the film. “It’s incredibly moving to see how deeply Greta Gerwig has embraced C.S. Lewis’ world and infused ‘Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew’ with joy, heart and genuine love for the story,” he said.
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