Does It Really Matter If Aslan Is a "He"? Here's What I Found After the Camera Stopped

Hey! In my last video I reacted to the news about Netflix's new Narnia movie, The Magician's Nephew, directed by Greta Gerwig. In September Netflix confirmed that Meryl Streep will voice Aslan. A lot of Christians are upset, and I gave my two cents: if you let an elephant in the house, don't be surprised when it breaks stuff.

But after I stopped recording, one question kept bugging me. I even asked it out loud in the video: "It's a fictional story, Manny. What's the big deal?" So I went digging.

Why Aslan is a lion in the first place

C.S. Lewis didn't pick a lion by accident. In one of his letters he explained it himself. Narnia is a world of talking animals, so he imagined Christ becoming a talking animal there, the same way He became a man here. And he chose a lion for three reasons:

• The lion is the king of the beasts.
• The Bible calls Christ "the Lion of Judah."
• And, funny enough, Lewis had been having dreams about lions when he started writing.

That "Lion of Judah" line comes straight out of Revelation:

Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David's throne, has won the victory.Revelation 5:5 (NLT)

So Aslan isn't just "a nice lion." He's Lewis's picture of Jesus: the Son, the King, the One who dies and comes back. That's why changing him feels different from changing any other character.

What surprised me

I wanted to be fair, so I looked for the other side. And I found something I didn't expect: the Bible does use motherly pictures to describe God.

I will comfort you there in Jerusalem as a mother comforts her child.Isaiah 66:13 (NLT)

Jesus even described Himself like this, looking over Jerusalem:

How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn't let me.Matthew 23:37 (NLT)

So tenderness, comfort and protection aren't "un-God-like." God's love has a gentleness we usually connect with moms. I'll be honest, I didn't have that one in my back pocket.

But here's the difference

Those verses are comparisons: God comforts like a mother, Jesus gathers like a hen. But when God tells us who He is, the names He gives are Father and Son.

Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.Matthew 6:9 (NLT)

So the Word became human and made his home among us... And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father's one and only Son.John 1:14 (NLT)

Jesus didn't just look male in some story. He actually came as a man, the Son. And Aslan was built to point to Him. So when a movie keeps the lion but changes who he is, it's not just a casting choice. It blurs the picture Lewis was painting on purpose.

What I'm doing with this

I probably won't watch it. But I'm not going to spend my week mad about it either. James says it straight:

You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.James 1:19 (NLT)

If you love Narnia, read the books with your kids and talk about who Aslan points to. That does more good than any comment war.