Walt Disney Pictures continues through the casting stage on it’s upcoming big screen sequel, Mary Poppins Returns. Already set to star Emily Blunt as Poppins, Lin-Manuel Miranda as a lamplighter named Jack, and Meryl Streep as Poppins’ cousin Topsy, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Ben Whishaw (SPECTRE, The Zero Theorem, Paddington) will play the grown-up Michael Banks.
Reuniting the director and producing team behind Disney’s hit film musical Into the Woods, Mary Poppins Returns 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.
Look for Mary Poppins Returns to hit the big screen December 25, 2018.
