Greta Gerwig, the Oscar-nominated Barbie director, met with backlash over the latest casting news for The Chronicles of Narnia.

As per Deadline, Meryl Streep is in talks to voice Aslan in the films.

In the C.S Lewis novels, Aslan is a talking lion who serves as Narnia’s guardian. In previous 2005 adaptation, the feline was voiced by Liam Neeson.

The news of Streep’s alleged casting sparked backlash from fans on social media.

“But Aslan is a male lion?” one fan wrote on X.

“Of course, we need a female Aslan. It would be crazy to just write a female character,” another person said.

A different fan asked, “Why do they feel the need to gender-swap Aslan?”

“Aslan is literally a male lion. Will all due respect to Meryl Streep’s acting abilities, there’s no conceivable reason to cast a female as Aslan unless it is to deliberately subvert C.S. Lewis,” another tweet read.

Earlier, Deadline reported that Charlie XCX is in talks for the role of White Witch/ Queen Jadis, played by Tilda Swinton in original film series.

Gerwig is set to direct two Narnia films. The first will be released in IMAX theaters on Thanksgiving Day 2026 for two weeks, before it premieres on Netflix.

She previously gave an insight into her take on the fantasy series to the Time, saying, “It’s connected to the folklore and fairy stories of England, but it’s a combination of different traditions.”

“I’m interested in embracing the paradox of the worlds that Lewis created, because that’s what’s so compelling about them,” she added.

The original Chronicles of Narnia film trilogy came out between 2005 and 2010.