{
  "id": 18507889,
  "title": "What C.S. Lewis said about Narnia’s most famous character: the Jesus-like lion Aslan",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/what-c-s-lewis-said-about-narnias-most-famous-character-the-jesus",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-11-06T13:13:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Conversation",
    "slug": "the-conversation",
    "url": "https://theconversation.com/what-c-s-lewis-said-about-narnias-most-famous-character-the-jesus-like-lion-aslan-294140"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "C.S. Lewis' \"The Chronicles of Narnia\" has long been compared to biblical stories, with many Christian readers finding parallels between the two. Aslan, the lion and protagonist of the series, is seen by some as a Jesus-like character. This perception has sparked concern among Narnia fans about the upcoming Netflix adaptation of Lewis' novel \"The Magician's Nephew,\" where Aslan is depicted with David Bowie's likeness and Meryl Streep's voice.\n\nAslan's significance goes beyond being a literary character or an ordinary hero; he is considered a representation of Jesus Christ by many readers. In the series, Aslan sings the world of Narnia into existence and performs Christ-like acts, including sacrificing himself to save a young British boy, Edmund Pevensie. His resurrection allows royal power to pass to the Pevensie children.\n\nLewis, a medievalist and scholar at Oxford, and his friend J.R.R. Tolkien, author of \"The Lord of the Rings,\" were close colleagues for over 30 years. Both authors acknowledged the ethical and religious themes in their fiction, but Lewis rejected the idea that \"The Chronicles\" were merely an allegory. He described the books as \"supposals,\" an imaginative way of asking, \"What if?\" Aslan's role in the series is not a simple stand-in for Jesus, nor an extended metaphor. Instead, Lewis saw it as a way to explore what Christ might look like in a world like Narnia.",
  "summary": "Some Narnia fans are up in arms about Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of ‘The Magician’s Nephew,’ directed by Greta Gerwig.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}