At first there were just rumors of a Mary Poppins sequel in the works at Disney Studios, then when word dropped that Hamilton star and creator Lin-Manuel Miranda was attached as a new character and Emily Blunt was being considered as Mary Poppins herself, things got a bit more real. Now it’s official – “Mary Poppins Returns” a new movie musical has been officially announced for a Christmas 2018 release.
Reuniting the director and producing team behind Disney’s hit film musical “Into the Woods,” the film will be directed by Oscar nominee, Emmy and DGA Award winner Rob Marshall and produced by Marshall, Emmy winner and Golden Globe nominee John DeLuca and Oscar, Emmy and Tony Award nominee and Golden Globe winner Marc Platt. The screenplay will be written by Oscar nominee David Magee based on The Mary Poppins Stories by P.L. Travers, with Oscar nominee and Tony Award winner Marc Shaiman composing an all-new score and Shaiman and Emmy nominee and Tony Award winner Scott Wittman writing original songs.
Blunt has been cast as Mary Poppins and Miranda will play a new character, a street lamplighter named Jack. Drawing from the wealth of material in P.L. Travers’ seven additional novels, the story will take place in Depression-era London (when the books were originally written) and follows a now-grown Jane and Michael Banks, who, along with Michael’s three children, are visited by the enigmatic Mary Poppins following a personal loss. Through her unique magical skills, and with the aid of her friend Jack, she helps the family rediscover the joy and wonder missing in their lives.
“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,” says Marshall.
P.L. Travers introduced the world to the no-nonsense nanny in her 1934 book “Mary Poppins,” which Disney adapted for the screen and released in August, 1964. The film, which was directed by Robert Stevenson and starred Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, won five Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Andrews. However, the subsequent adventures of Mary Poppins remained only on the pages of P.L. Travers’ seven additional books, which she published between 1935 and 1988.
What do you think of Disney making a sequel to this beloved classic? Also, are you hoping for a cameo by Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews? I know I am.
(Emily Blunt photo – Georges Biard [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons)
Wow really exciting! And yes, i do hope for cameos by Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews!!
I’ve always felt that certain movies were fine without sequels or re-makes. Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, the Wizard of Oz, heck even the original Muppet Movie was fine as a stand alone classic.
Having said that, this seems to be in good hands. It draws on the PL Travers stories, has a good director and stars who can both sing and act. I’ll reserve judgment, but am cautiously optimistic.
Sorry, but I think they should just leave it alone and let the original strand as the only Poppins movie. They can do a sequel, have great acting and songs, but I doubt it will feel anything like the original movie. No one has a voice like Julie Andrews! Just trying to make a buck, I guess.
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