If the rumors are true, this will be one of the worst examples of Netflix going above and beyond to disrespect an audience to date. 

Fresh off her box office victory from Barbie, director Greta Gerwig was handed the globally beloved story of "The Chronicles of Narnia," and many people, including myself, were immediately ready to riot. 

In July 2023, I warned that this would end up being Netflix's Rings of Power moment, and if recent rumors are true, then it looks like I was right. 

(READ: Netflix Is About to Ruin 'The Chronicles of Narnia' With Their Own 'Rings of Power' Moment)

According to Nexus Point News, Meryl Streep is in talks to play... not Jadis the White Witch, not Mrs. Macready... but the Lion, Aslan. 

In Lewis's story, Aslan is an allegory for Jesus Christ. He is the creator of Narnia, and its savior after sacrificing himself to break the White Witch's hold on it. 

Streep is a celebrated actress who once called Harvey Weinstein "god." 

These two characters are polar opposites of one another, both in terms of gender and who they are as personalities, and if these rumors are true, then perhaps that's the point. This was not supposed to be a celebration of Lewis's work, but a deconstruction that strips it everything that made it special, including the story's Christian foundations. 

Lewis is one of the greatest Christian philosophers of all time, and his stories and non-fiction works are widely celebrated, many of which are still quoted and referenced today, and purposefully putting it through the Hollywood sanitization and DEI departments would be a massive middle-finger to Christians everywhere, much less, fans of the story. 

Critics, especially those with an anti-Christian bent, have always taken issue with many aspects of Lewis's Narnia, and sought to "fix" the story in various ways. The most famous of which is author Phillip Pullman, who created "The Golden Compass" and the "His Dark Materials" trilogy in response to Narnia. 

One of the main problems these people had was Lewis's views on the "modern woman," which he came down on in the final book of the Narnia series, "The Last Battle," through Susan, who wasn't present with the rest of the main characters as she had effectively rejected Narnia, and her own past, in order to embrace a materialistic "adult" life. 

Polly, one of the main characters in "The Magician's Nephew," notes that “Susan’s grown into a rather silly, conceited young woman,” with Jill Pole from "The Silver Chair," adding “She’s interested in nothing nowadays except nylons and lipstick and invitations.” 

Lewis's critics, especially feminists, always found this insulting to women, and with Gerwig herself being a feminist, I can imagine there will be rewrites, putting Susan, and indeed other female characters, in much higher importance than male characters. This is especially true if Streep is being cast as Aslan. 

Of course, Lewis always made women and girls very important parts of the story, with Lucy Pevensie being the most important human character of call.

Moreover, his critique of Susan wasn't aimed at women per se, or even feminism, though he wasn't a fan. It was more of a rebuke of rejecting everything you know to be true in order to embrace moral and spiritual drift. Susan rejected Narnia, Aslan, and the truth in order to become more "like folks." She traded her crown for things that are temporary and meaningless. 

If the rumors are true, then "temporary and meaningless" are going to describe Gerwig's Narnia series well.