Greta Gerwig’s ‘Narnia’ Causes Backlash Over Gender-Swapped Role

Q. I’m surprised you haven’t tackled the controversy surrounding Meryl Streep’s casting in “Narnia.” Fans of the books are not happy about the gender-swap. I didn’t see any of the trades tackling this story, but it’s a big deal (Bryan).

You know what? It is a big deal, but only if you’re a superfan of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia books. To the hardcores, it’s practically sacrilege to have a gender swap when it comes to the character of Aslan, but Greta Gerwig has done just that.

I have no issues with the casting because, quite frankly, as much as I respect Lewis’ stories, I’m not as passionate a fan as, say, all of the ones crying “betrayal!” over Streep’s Aslan. However, I remain skeptical over Gerwig’s decision to make these movies.

Lewis was a devout Christian, and he based Aslan, a divine being, as a sort of stand-in for Jesus Christ. The character, and the books, have had enormous staying power these last 70 years, so much so that its faithful readers, and diverse global fanbase, many of which are Christian, are threatening to boycott Gerwig’s upcoming film.

“This would be a horrible decision for every possible reason,” wrote Aaron Earls at The Wardrobe Door. “Art should not be up to the popular vote, but adaptations of already existing works have to give the largest voice to the original work.” 

Similarly, in an op-ed titled “Aslan Unmade,” Annie Crawford wrote: “To change the gender of The Lion, of The King… is to completely alter the structure and meaning of Lewis’s sacramental cosmos.”

Meanwhile, the most popular fansite of C.S. Lewis’ novels, NarniaWeb, had poll results showing that 65% of Narnia fans are now “extremely concerned” about the direction Gerwig is taking her Netflix movie. It’s come to the point where the site has set up contact information for producers of the film series, urging them to share their feedback. 

Do Gerwig and Netflix really want to go through another nasty culture war over ‘Narnia’? You already have the usual suspects referring to Gerwig’s upcoming film as “woke,” including The Daily Mail. When the “W” word starts to pop up, beware — just ask Disney.

The good folks over at What’s on Netflix have a more grounded, but nevertheless worrisome take on the backlash: “The stakes are incredibly high for Netflix and the film’s producers. Before a single frame is shot, gender-bending Aslan risks a vocal fanbase and parade of YouTubers labeling it “going woke.”

‘Narnia’ remains one of the best-selling fantasy novels ever published. There was already a 2000s trilogy of films that earned almost $2 billion at the box office — Liam Neeson played Aslan in those films. Suffice to say it, Fans are starting to get angry at Gerwig, and cameras haven’t even rolled yet on her $200M adaptation. Not a good start.