Empire magazine has revealed our first look at Aslan in Greta Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, and with it the confirmation that Meryl Streep voices the great lion. The world-exclusive reveal fronts Empire’s November 2026 issue, on sale Thursday, September 24.
Empire describes Gerwig’s Aslan as having heterochromatic eyes and a ‘bold red-striped visage,’ a look the magazine says nods to one of her key creative inspirations, David Bowie. The role reunites Streep with her Little Women director.
“I wanted someone who was profound but not pretentious, who had gravitas but not morose self-seriousness. Someone who could communicate depth and pathos as well as joy and delight,” Gerwig told Empire. “I wanted someone who was older than 70, so there was a wisdom of experience, but who also had the capacity of fresh wonder, like a child. And also to be one of the greatest actors to ever do it. That list is not a long one.”
The issue’s subscriber cover, illustrated by the film’s concept artist Jaime Jones, goes even bigger, showing Aslan creating Narnia itself.
The film stars newcomers David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell as Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer, alongside Emma Mackey as the White Witch, Daniel Craig, and Carey Mulligan. It opens in cinemas on February 12, 2027, before streaming on Netflix April 2, 2027.
The first look follows yesterday’s reveal of the film’s official logo and behind-the-scenes photo.
Empire has also shared a new exclusive still from the film on Instagram, showing a woman in a mirrored dress leading two children through a crumbling archway as an explosion erupts behind them. The magazine describes Gerwig’s take as a rock-inspired fantasy nodding to David Bowie and The Who. “Narnia is literally a world made out of music,” Gerwig told Empire.
