Actor's weight-loss regime leaves Aslan with no voice

The man behind the voice of Aslan, Brian Cox, has reportedly lost the plum role in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Fan websites for the movie, directed by New Zealand's Andrew Adamson, said it was announced at the Biola media conference in California over the weekend that Mr Cox, a veteran Scottish actor, had lost the part.

Mr Cox's most recent movie roles were as Ward Abbott in The Bourne Supremacy, Agamemnon in Troy and William Stryker in X2.

He was announced as the voice of the computer-generated lion, Aslan, in Disney Pictures' US$100 million movie in December.

He had left because of scheduling conflict.

Andrew Adamson, the man behind the blockbuster Shrek movies who also co-wrote the screenplay for the Narnia movie, had apparently not yet approved a replacement, but a decision was made to opt for a younger voice.