The internet blew up when it became known that Aslan, the lion from The Chronicles of Narnia, would be played by Meryl Streep. Everyone started tearing their hair out and demanding explanations from Greta Gerwig, the director of the new version, while wishing Liam Neeson were back, who voiced him in the previous films. To no one’s surprise, the actor couldn’t care less about the controversy and thinks it’s all wonderful.
Meryl, a lioness
In fact, when he was asked about it in a recent interview, Neeson replied with a terse “Sorry, I had no idea”. And if he couldn’t care less, the rest of us shouldn’t care at all either. “Meryl is playing Jesus Christ? Well, if you’re going to make Christ a woman, nobody better than Meryl”, he added. Because, in general, nobody better than Meryl.
Of course, there’s a reason Gerwig chose Streep over other options: “I wanted someone who could communicate depth and pathos as well as joy and delight. I wanted someone over 70, so there’d be wisdom and experience, but who also had the capacity for wonder, like a child. And also be one of the best actors in history. The list isn’t that long”.
On February 12 we’ll get our answer with a film that, rumor has it, hasn’t been liked quite as much as it should have within Netflix itself. Of course, it won’t be because they haven’t given it a chance: it will have a six-week theatrical run, which is unusual for Netflix, and it’s the streamer’s pivot (possibly permanent) toward theatrical releases. Whether it will last or not, that’s still to be seen.
