'Tremendous Heresy': CS Lewis' Family Confirms He'd Be 'Turning Over in His Grave' Over Netflix's Aslan Casting
The family of C.S. Lewis is reportedly unhappy with Meryl Streep voicing Aslan in the upcoming “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” adaptation by Netflix.
The company chose Streep to voice Aslan, a male lion who symbolizes Jesus in Lewis’ widely beloved children’s series and Christian allegory, despite the fact that Streep is a woman.
Dr. Ted Baehr, the founder of Movieguide, said in an interview with CBN News that he recently visited Tim Gresham — the son of 80-year-old Douglas Gresham, the stepson of Lewis.
The elder Gresham is the godfather of Baehr’s daughter-in-law, and Baehr relayed the family’s view of Streep as Aslan.
“C.S. Lewis would be turning over in his grave. His family is very upset about it, and I think we should be upset about it,” Baehr said of the casting choice.
“Theologically this is a tremendous heresy and it’s a tremendous problem… So it shouldn’t happen.”
Baehr indicated that Lewis’ family agrees with the sentiment from many Christians that replacing Aslan with a woman dangerously tampers with the allegory.
Meryl Streep will officially voice Aslan in Greta Gerwig’s ‘NARNIA: THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW’.
🔗 https://t.co/VPXM5XAY0l pic.twitter.com/H5VYmi8BcH
— Film Crave (@_filmcrave) September 17, 2026
He also claimed that the family is working to regain control of The C.S. Lewis Company, which entered into an agreement with Netflix in 2018 to create new “Narnia” series and films.
“They did a big campaign. They’re trying to regain control of The C.S. Lewis Company in order that–” Baehr said before cutting himself off, as noted by The Christian Post.
“The problem is, and this happens quite often — no, I shouldn’t tell you that. But anyway, things happen.”
Baehr continued by listing the problems with casting a woman to voice Aslan.
“One, it’s beloved; one, it’s going to destroy the brand. But there’s a deeper issue, which is the theological issue,” he said.
“Because God the Father, and Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit and, of course, the whole process leads toward ‘The Last Battle,’ and ‘The Last Battle’ represents Jesus in Heaven,” he said in reference to the final “Narnia” book.
“If God is a Father, He is not Meryl Streep pretending to be a father. He’s not trans. He’s the Father, He’s our Father. He loves us, He adopts us,” Baehr added.
“You have to have God as a Father. You can’t have God being voiced as a woman. This is not theologically correct.”
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