It’s been revealed that Liam Neeson is not chronically online like most of us, as he only just learned that Meryl Streep has succeeded him as the voice of Aslan in Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew.
In an interview with ScreenRant, Neeson was shocked to learn that The Chronicles of Narnia was being rebooted at Netflix with Greta Gerwig in the director’s chair. “I’m sorry, this is news to me,” admitted Neeson, who voiced Aslan in Disney’s Narnia trilogy from 2005 to 2010.
When Neeson learned that Streep is taking over the role of the great talking lion Aslan, who is responsible for Narnia’s creation and depicted as the fictional land’s Jesus, the actor remarked, “Meryl is playing Jesus Christ? Well, if you’re going to make Christ a lady, nobody better than Meryl.”
You can watch Neeson’s shocked reaction to the Aslan recasting below, via X:
Back in September, Gerwig explained to Empire why she cast Streep as Aslan over a male actor:
“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. 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.”
Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew is an upcoming high fantasy film based on C. S. Lewis’ eponymous sixth Chronicles of Narnia book, which recounts the origin of Narnia. David McKenna, Beatrice Campbell, Emma Mackey, Carey Mulligan, Ciarán Hinds, and Daniel Craig also star in the movie, which opens in theaters on February 12, 2027.
Were you as surprised as Neeson was to learn that Streep was voicing Aslan? Who was your top choice to voice the great lion? Tell us down in the comments with your Disqus account!
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