The Netflix-backed adaptation of Greta Gerwig’s first Narnia movie has cast Digory Kirke’s mother. Carey Mulligan joins a growing list of rumored cast members that include Daniel Craig, Emma Mackey, and…Meryl Streep reportedly as Aslan.
Netflix has declined to comment on the casting rumors and so there is no official confirmation on any of this, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, the roles line up as follows.
- Emma Mackey as Jadis, who comes to be known as The White Witch
- Daniel Craig as Andrew Ketterley
- Carey Mulligan as Mabel Kirke
- Meryl Streep as Aslan
Skandar Keynes as Edmund Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), The Walt Disney Company
If the casting proves to be true, then our earlier speculation, that the first adaptation in this series would be The Magician’s Nephew is all but confirmed. No word as of yet about the two protagonists Digory Kirke and Polly Plumber.
Given the spectacular magic described in the book, Netflix decision to release this movie on IMAX screens should give fans hope on seeing a faithful adaptation of the music of creation which causes the land to undulation and bring forth animal life. On the other hand, If Meryl Streep is cast as Aslan, then perhaps the hoped for faithful adaptation is not in the offing.
Streep hasn’t made a practice of playing male characters, but she has done it before. In 2003 she played several characters in HBO’s “Angels in America”, one of whom was Rabbi Isidor Chemelwitz. Playing one of a number of characters in a television adaptation of a stage play is one thing, playing The Great Lion, Son of the Emperor-Beyond-The-Sea, High King of the Kings, and an explicit literary Christophany is another.
William Moseley as Peter Pevensie, Liam Neeson as Aslan, and Anna Popplewell as Susan Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), The Walt Disney Company
This does lead to questions, what if Meryl Streep has not been cast to play Aslan as a male lion, but instead as a female? What changes will need to take place later in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when his mane is shorn? What are the broader implications of a director adapting a work which they love (Gerwig has often expressed a love and respect for Narnia), but has philosophical or political underpinnings which the director rejects?
Since none of these things are confirmed, it may be that Meryl Streep has been cast as Aunt Letitia Ketterley, one of the many talking animals, or the wife of a cabby who comes to play a role in the story. Given the way Hollywood is grappling with a broad identity crisis (in one instance making moves to back off of rage marketing, in another pressing hard into controversial casting like Cynthia Erivo in Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hollywood Bowl), any of these is possible.
Cynthia Erivo in an interview – YouTube, CBS Sunday Morning
Existing film and TV adaptations of the Narnia series have focused on the first books to be released chronologically. So, fans are well versed in the classics like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Film and TV), Prince Caspian (Film and TV), The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Film and TV), and The Silver Chair (TV). In radio and audio books the entire series has been realized.
Tilda Swinton as White Witch in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), The Walt Disney Company
No matter how this or any other adaptation comes together, it’s important to remember that fans of the books will always have the books; if they bought a physical copy.
Do you have any hope for this Netflix Narnia Movie? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
No race and sex swaps are acceptable. Anything from Netflix will have those, so it’s easier just to avoid them completely.
How in the @#$% does Netflix race-swap a literary representation of Jesus Christ–(showing complete disrespect to Lewis) and expect a fan of Narnia to take it seriously?
Bicth better not have a mane.