Searching for the right-voiced Aslan

Jeff Overstreet has seen the trailer for the upcoming Narnia movie, and he reports this bit of unexpected news:

The big breaking news concerning this though is that Bryan Cox is NOT going to be the voice of Aslan. Got this straight from the head of Disney voice casting. Cox *was* cast, but then he came in to do the lines and, because he had recently lost 40 pounds, his girth was significantly reduced, and that has affected his famously brusque and burly tone. His pre-weight-loss voice was an ideal voice for Aslan; his post-diet voice is not.

And so Cox, who is often cast as the villain — in Troy (my review), in X-Men 2, in the Bourne movies (my review), etc.; he even played the original Hannibal Lecter in Manhunter — will no longer have this opportunity to shine in the ultimate good-guy role.

On the plus side, maybe he won’t be typecast as “the heavy” any more. (Wokka wokka wokka…)