Are there reliable sources confirming Meryl Streep's involvement with the Narnia franchise?

1. The reporting baseline: “in talks” is the common language

The earliest account in the dataset, an exclusive from Nexus Point News, says an offer was made to Meryl Streep to portray Aslan — described there as gender-swapped to female for Greta Gerwig’s adaptation — and that claim was then picked up and framed as “in talks” by established outlets; Deadline published the story and referenced Nexus Point as the origin of the news ^{[1] [2]}. Multiple entertainment outlets (Screen Rant, CBR, Moviefone, Hollywood In Toto, MXDWN, Hindustan Times, NarniaWeb and Vogue) repeated that Streep was being considered to voice or portray Aslan, signaling industry interest and strong circulation of the casting rumor ^{[6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [5]}.

2. Where the reporting converges — and where it stops

Across these stories the factual pattern is the same: a single outlet broke the news and Deadline and other outlets corroborated the tip, with many pieces noting that Netflix and Streep’s representatives declined to comment ^[2]. That convergence — multiple outlets repeating the same sourcing — is a hallmark of a real casting development in Hollywood reporting, but the dataset contains no direct, on-the-record confirmation from Streep, Netflix, or an agent explicitly announcing a signed contract or completed deal ^{[2] [3]}.

3. Subsequent coverage and the “wrap” claim: stronger or circular?

One later article in the set reports the film wrapped production in London and lists Streep among the cast ^[4]. That piece can be read as a stronger implication that Streep did join the film, but the cited snippet also hedges — saying Streep “was in negotiations” for a voice role — which suggests the writer relied on earlier casting reports rather than an independent production credit roll or an official announcement ^[4]. In other words, later items amplify the initial trade reporting but, in the provided sources, do not supply a new primary confirmation that would definitively close the chain of reporting ^{[5] [4]}.

4. Context, motives and the contours of controversy

Coverage also makes clear why this casting story gained traction: Gerwig’s Narnia is a high-profile Netflix franchise for which casting choices carry commercial and cultural weight, and the reported gender-swap of Aslan is intrinsically provocative — generating both enthusiasm and backlash across fans and opinion pieces ^{[6] [2] [12]}. Nexus Point’s “exclusive” status as the originator of the claim matters because outlets often rely on that kind of scoop for early casting news; at the same time, mainstream outlets’ reliance on that scoop without fresh on-the-record confirmation leaves room for the story to be both true and incompletely verified ^{[1] [2]}.

5. Conclusion — what the existing sources do and do not confirm

Given the evidence in the provided reporting, reliable mainstream trades and national newspapers report that Meryl Streep was offered or was in talks to play Aslan in Greta Gerwig’s Narnia films — a development originally reported by Nexus Point and echoed by Deadline, The Guardian, Vogue and others — but the dataset does not include a direct, on-the-record confirmation from Streep, her reps, or Netflix that she is officially cast or that a deal was signed ^{[1] [2] [3] [5]}. The later “wrap” report that names her among the film’s stars strengthens the impression of involvement but, in the provided sources, appears to rest on the same reportage trail rather than a fresh primary source proving final casting status ^[4].