Will Netflix Really Twist Narnia Reboot With Stunt Casting Choices?

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No Hollywood studio is apparently capable of doing a clean reboot that is faithful to the source material, and Netflix may be the next studio in line to create a massive flop.

Both “Snow White” (Disney) and “Rings of Power” (Amazon) should serve as cautionary tales of what happens when a studio decides to rework well-known intellectual properties for the sake of trying to make it conform to a modern narrative. “Snow White” has been a bomb at the box office, thanks to the antics of its star Rachel Zegler, and the rewrite of the animated movie’s plot. “Rings of Power” has some fans, but has been mostly judged a failure thanks to its lack of fidelity to the source material – but Amazon apparently has money to burn, and a THIRD SEASON of this show is apparently in production, though Amazon also recently fired the head of the Amazon MGM Studios, Jennifer Salke (though apparently she will move into a different role in the studio). However, the message is clear: when you take on intellectual property with a long history and a loyal fanbase, the only thing that will satisfy is a clean interpretation.

The next IP on the list up for desecration/rebooting is apparently “The Chronicles of Narnia.” Writer and director Greta Gerwig was tapped by Netflix to head up the project – she of “Barbie” fame – with plans to adapt all seven books. Since most adaptations have petered out around the third or fourth book (the Disney/Walden Media production managed to get through the first three books, and a late 80’s BBC miniseries managed to get through the fourth book), the news that Netflix would attempt all seven drew interest, as did the news that Gerwig wanted to start with the book that was published sixth, but comes first chronologically – The Magician’s Nephew. As that particular book has never been adapted for screen, it would be a clever choice for the beginning of a reboot.

And then Deadline reported that Meryl Streep was “under consideration” for the voice of Aslan the Lion.

Nexus Point News was first with the Streep talks and also reported that the film will adapt the sixth novel in the Narnia series, The Magician’s Nephew, which chronologically takes place first in the series. The novel tells the origin of Narnia and is centered on Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer, who discover the magical world through Digory’s uncle’s magic. The site reports that Aslan will be female in the Gerwig adaptation. We haven’t had those plot details confirmed yet.

As we previously revealed, Charli XCX is in talks for the role of the white witch and Daniel Craig is also being courted for the project, which is aiming to shoot this year. Nexus Point News reports that Craig is being eyed for the role of Digory’s uncle.

In 2018, Netflix said it would develop new series and film projects based on Lewis’ beloved The Chronicles of Narnia series and brought Gerwig on board in 2020 to adapt and direct the first movie. As previously reported, the movie is getting an exclusive two-week Imax global run for Thanksgiving 2026 in advance of the pic’s drop on the streamer.

If Netflix does go through with stunt-casting Streep, then that is the cue that audiences will see and know that their beloved book series is about to fall victim to yet another “modern interpretation” hack job.

Aslan’s presence throughout the Narnia series is meant to be profound. By pairing imagination with faithfulness to Scripture, Lewis sought to create an allegory for the Bible that could be easily understood and loved by children and adults alike. Central to the story was Aslan, who serves as a symbol for Christ. He is the tale’s moral backbone, a humble mentor who sacrifices himself to save those he loves. In both the book and movie adaptation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Aslan allows himself to be killed so he may save Edmund, a young boy who betrayed the entire kingdom of Narnia by siding with the evil White Witch. Aslan is the physical embodiment of strength and mercy, two things Hollywood seems to hate.

Although Streep has not yet been officially cast as Aslan, the studio’s consideration of her for the role shows, at best, a misunderstanding of Narnia and, at worst, disdain for what it represents.

Lewis’ series is meant to be a fable, yet it serves as an access point for people to understand the core principles of Christianity. It displays the virtuous nature of the land’s savior, Aslan, in context with the silly, imperfect children he protects. It is a way for readers to familiarize themselves with Christian teachings that may feel foreign or confusing, and it helps people understand Christ as a personal, known, and named Savior. Thus, attempts to change Lewis’ simple and deliberate allegory for the Son of God feel like an attack on the Gospel itself.

By starting with a different book, Gerwig and Netflix may be trying to push Aslan as a “Mother Earth” figure instead of the Narnian version of Christ – especially since “The Magician’s Nephew” is the adaptation of the Book of Genesis for the series. In the book (do I have to give spoiler warnings for a book that was published 70 years ago?), Aslan literally speaks Narnia into being while Digory and Polly – and the future White Witch – are watching. To have Aslan – who is quite clearly referred to as “he” and “the Son of the Emperor-Over-The-Sea” – now voiced by Meryl Streep? Be warned, Netflix – that casting alone will keep people away. And Gerwig is already receiving fan input and blowback.

The Sacramento-raised “Barbie” director, tapped by the streaming company to helm two new “Narnia” films based on Lewis’ 1950s fantasy series, is reportedly considering Meryl Streep to voice Aslan, according to Nexus Point News, which first reported Streep’s potential involvement last week. But because the talking lion serves a suppositional incarnation of Jesus Christ in the books, according to the author, religious fans are not having it.

The official X account for Into the Wardrobe, a “Narnia” fan site and YouTube channel, called the move “an assault on the fan base.” It even started a petition to “preserve the gender of Aslan” in the film, which has received more than 1,000 verified signatures since launching on Thursday, April 3.

The fact that the Streep rumor has been circulating for a week without anyone involved correcting the record or making a denial is concerning. Hey Netflix – all you have to do is make a DIRECT ADAPTATION of the movie, and it will print money for you. If you don’t – well, look at “Snow White.” It’s still dropping like a rock, and while the inane but inoffensive “A Minecraft Movie” is sucking up the dollars at the box office, a new Christian animated film by Angel Studios, “King of Kings,” is already positioned to out-earn “Snow White.”

Rumors abound that it’s already far surpassed Disney’s Snow White live-action movie pre-sale numbers, which some estimate to be at around $3 to $5 million based on its Thursday opening numbers of $3.5 million.

One thing that should be understood about the pre-sale numbers of King of Kings is that Angel Studios has a “pay it forward” program, where people can buy tickets for others as gifts, which is likely going to inflate the pre-sale numbers for this film. For reference to how much it could inflate the numbers, Angel Studios reported that nine percent of its total box office for Sound of Freedom came from the program, which potentially means that around $1.31 million came from pre-sale gifted tickets. However, being a family film, I can imagine the program was utilized in greater capacity.

But it needs to be understood that this is real money paid for by real people. There are no phantom ticket purchases here.

As for the movie itself, two of my sons saw “King of Kings” last night with friends, and enthusiastically approved.

Every single time a faith-based movie comes out, and ends up doing large numbers through a word-of-mouth campaign, I swear Hollywood only sees the dollar signs, and not what is driving the crowds. If the studios can’t realize by now that undermining the source material of a well-known franchise is not just bad business, but bad ART, then there’s nothing that can be done to help them, and they should see their dollars go straight down the drain. If Netflix and Gerwig want to put a lion skin on Meryl Streep and say this is Aslan… well, that’s more “The Last Battle” than anything else they could even attempt to try. Good luck with that.

Featured image via Tumisu on Pixabay, cropped, Pixabay license

The post Will Netflix Really Twist Narnia Reboot With Stunt Casting Choices? appeared first on Victory Girls Blog.



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