Greta Gerwig knew she needed a commanding presence to voice her Christ-like talking lion Aslan in “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew.” She had a hard time thinking of a better fit than Meryl Streep.
“I wanted someone who was profound but not pretentious, who had gravitas but not morose self-seriousness. Someone who could communicate depth and pathos as well as joy and delight,” Gerwig told Empire in an interview published Thursday about her forthcoming fantasy feature. “I wanted someone who was older than 70, so there was a wisdom of experience, but who also had the capacity of fresh wonder, like a child.”
Aslan occupies a crucial role in both “The Magician’s Nephew” and C. S. Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia” series as a whole. On top of all of the other criteria already laid out, Gerwig added that she wanted “one of the greatest actors to ever do it.”
“That list is not a long one,” she admitted.
Enter: Streep, who previously collaborated with Gerwig in her previous literary adaptation, 2019’s “Little Women.” Empire shared a piece from concept artist Jaime Jones of Streep’s Aslan creating Narnia, as well as an image of the talking lion with a red face stripe and different-colored eyes — an homage to legendary artist David Bowie, per Gerwig, who said she wanted her take on the franchise to feel like a rock opera.
“Narnia is literally a world made out of music,” she told Empire. “It is a world sung to life by Aslan, and rock ’n’ roll to me felt like a world made out of music.”
Empire also revealed a first look at Emma Mackey as the White Witch, in “The Magician’s Nephew.” Other cast members include David McKenna, Carey Mulligan, Ciarán Hinds and Daniel Craig.
“The Magician’s Nephew” will release in theaters on Feb. 12 after previewing in Imax on Feb. 10. It will then release on Netflix on April 2, with Gerwig securing a lengthy window for theatrical exclusivity at the streamer.
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