Greta Gerwig is assembling one hell of a cast for her Narnia adaptation. Emma Mackey confirmed this week that Meryl Streep has joined the production alongside Daniel Craig and Carey Mulligan. If the April 2025 reports hold up, Streep is playing Aslan—yes, the lion—in what would be one of the more inspired voice casting choices in recent memory.
Let's talk about what Netflix is actually doing here. After Barbie made $1.4 billion and proved Gerwig could turn prestige sensibilities into mainstream gold, the streamer handed her the keys to The Magician's Nephew, the C.S. Lewis prequel that explains how Narnia began. It's a massive vote of confidence in auteur-driven franchise filmmaking—the exact model that traditional studios are running away from.
Netflix is gambling that Gerwig's specific voice—her ability to find genuine emotion in fantastical scenarios—can do for Narnia what she did for Barbie and Little Women. They're not just buying a brand; they're betting on a filmmaker's vision. It's a smarter play than it might seem. The previous Narnia films were competent but anonymous, directed by committee to appeal to everyone and no one. Gerwig makes things feel lived-in. She trusts her audience.
The Streep casting is perfect for another reason: it signals that this won't be a reverent, churchy adaptation. Lewis's Christian allegory has always been the elephant in the room—or should I say, the lion?—and Gerwig assembling a cast this sophisticated suggests she's treating the material as myth and metaphor rather than Sunday school lesson. previously collaborated with on , so there's creative trust here.
