Mary Poppins Returns: Emily Blunt to Star in Sequel
It’s official. Disney Studios is producing a live-action sequel to the 1964 classic, Mary Poppins. The new film, Mary Poppins Returns will star Emily Blunt in the upcoming film, which is due out in December 2018. Rob Marshall is directing the upcoming feature. Walt Disney Studios made the announcement this week.
John DeLuca and Marc Platt are producing the film as well with Marshall. David Magee is writing the script based on The Mary Poppins Stories by P.L. Travers. Marc Shaiman is composing new music for the film, and Scott Wittman is writing original songs.
According to Disney’s press release, Lin-Manuel Miranda is going to co-star in the film as a new character, a street lamplighter named Jack. The film will be based on material from P.L. Travers’ other novels. The film will be set in London during the Depression and follows a now adult Jane and Michael Banks. They, along with Michael’s three children, are once again visited by Mary Poppins after a personal loss. Through her unique skills, and the help of Jack, they rediscover the joy and wonder that’s been missing in their lives.
Speaking on the announcement, Rob Marshall stated: “I am truly humbled and honored to be asked by Disney to bring P.L. Travers’ further adventures to the screen. The iconic original film means so much to me personally, and I look forward to creating an original movie musical that can bring Mary Poppins, and her message that childlike wonder can be found in even the most challenging of times, to a whole new generation.”
The different adventures of Mary Poppins from Travers’ additional books have never been adapted onscreen before, so that should be interesting. Then again, Travers’ difficulties with Walt Disney and Disney Studios were well documented in the 2013 film, Saving Mr. Banks.
Mary Poppins Returns hits theaters on December 25, 2018.