It sounds like Greta Gerwig's upcoming Narnia movie for Netflix will be taking a considerably different direction with its casting, however, they're also enlisting some seriously A-list talent for key roles.
According to Deadline, the streamer is currently in early negotiations with 3x Academy Award-winner Meryl Streep (Only Murders in the Building; Mamma Mia!; The Devil Wears Prada) to play Aslan the Great Lion, although they stress that they aren't close to making an offer just yet, although things do seem to be trending in the right direction.
In the context of the series, Aslan was created as an allegory for Jesus by author C. S. Lewis and is the only character to appear in all seven books. In addition to the Great Lion, he is also referred to as King of Beasts, the son of the Emperor-Over-the-Sea, and the King above all High Kings in Narnia.
The CGI role was previously voiced by Academy Award-nominee Liam Neeson in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
Nexus Point News was the first to report the news earlier this week and they've also seemingly learned that the new film will adapt the sixth book The Magician's Nephew, which chronologically takes place first in C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia series.
The Magician's Nephew, originally published in 1955, reveals the origin of Narnia and follows Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer, who discover the magical world through Digory's uncle Andrew's magic. Daniel Craig (Knives Out; No Time to Die; The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) is reportedly being eyed for Andrew, while Charli XCX is in talks for Jadis, who later becomes the White Witch.
Streep is considered one of the greatest actresses of all-time, but hasn't been part of a film project since 2021's Don't Look Up, so this will certainly be an exciting return to the big screen for her. Her more recent credits include Only Murders in the Building, Extrapolations, Let Them All Talk, The Prom, Little Women, The Laundromat, and Big Little Lies.
As for what's next, she's scheduled to shoot a sequel to The Devil Wears Prada later this year and is also attached to a series version of the hit novel The Corrections.
With casting underway, we should get bigger updates in the coming weeks as it prepares for a summer shoot. The upcoming film is tentavively scheduled to have a limited theatrical window starting Thanksgiving 2026, before debuting on Netflix a short while after, presumably on Christmas Day.