As Ariana Grande herself sang, “God is a woman.”
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Greta Gerwig has confirmed that veteran actress Meryl Streep will be the voice of the lion Aslan in her Netflix movie adaptations of “The Chronicles of Narnia,” the popular book series by C.S. Lewis.
Speculations regarding Streep’s involvement have been circulating for a year but Gerwig made the casting official in an interview with Empire magazine which shared a first look image of deity-like animal.
Gerwig’s take on Aslan sees the talking lion with visible colors on his coat and whiskers, but standing out are the feline’s heterochromic eyes. The creative design, according to the director, is inspired by the late rock star David Bowie.
“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 said about tapping Streep for a second time after 2019’s “Little Women.”
“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. And also to be one of the greatest actors to ever do it. That list is not a long one,” she also said.
Bowie isn’t the only inspiration for the film as Gerwig also credited the music of Paul McCartney, David Gilmour, Pete Townshend, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant for assuring her.
“Narnia is literally a world made out of music. It is a world sung to life by Aslan, and rock ‘n roll to me felt like a world made out of music,” the director added.
Gerwig will begin her adaptations of “Narnia” with “The Magician’s Nephew,” the penultimate one penned by Lewis but the first one chronologically.
It will follow the adventure of two children, Digory and Polly (relative newcomers David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell), discovering Narnia after the latter’s uncle Andrew gives them a magical ring.
Also in the film are Carey Mullihan, Ciarán Hinds, Denise Gough, Susan Wokoma, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Samantha Spiro and Emma Mackey as Jadis, the future White Witch.
“Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” will be the first Netflix film to get a wide theatrical release, coming out this February, before moving to the streaming platform in April.