Culture

Greta Gerwig has confirmed that 77-year-old Meryl Streep — not a male actor — will voice Aslan in her Netflix adaptation of "The Magician's Nephew," saying she wanted someone who could bring both "depth and pathos" and "fresh wonder, like a child." The gender-swapped casting of C.S. Lewis's famously Christ-coded lion has drawn backlash from fans and Christian commentators who call it a betrayal of the source material, while others point to Gerwig's track record and call it a bold creative choice. Inspired reinterpretation, or rewriting a character that was never meant to change?

The film, also starring Emma Mackey and Carey Mulligan, hits theaters in February before moving to Netflix.