Greta Gerwig’s Netflix Narnia Movie Suddenly Has an Aslan Problem

Greta Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew is stirring disappointment before audiences have seen a frame of the finished film. That disappointment should not be confused with surprise. A feminist progressive filmmaker taking on C.S. Lewis’ deeply Christian fantasy, then casting left-wing Oscar winner Meryl Streep as Aslan, was always likely to produce a version that treats Lewis’ religious purpose as material to be updated, softened, or reshaped. Streep is an acclaimed performer, and nobody needs to pretend otherwise. But talent is not the question. Aslan is not simply a large talking animal who can be redesigned or recast as Hollywood sees fit. He is one of the clearest Christian figures in modern fantasy. Lewis created him as the lion king of Narnia, a male figure of authority, mercy, sacrifice, judgment, and resurrection who points readers toward Jesus Christ. Lewis did not write The Chronicles of Narnia as a shallow symbol game in which every character stands for a single idea. He called it a “supposal.” The question behind Aslan was simple: If Christ entered a world like Narnia to redeem it, what form might He take? Lewis’ answer was Aslan. That is why these stories are buil...