Walt Disney Pictures has found the heir-apparent to Dick Van Dyke for their Mary Poppins sequel, as Variety reports that Lin-Manuel Miranda, of Broadway phenomenon “Hamilton,” will take the part of Jack, a lamplighter similar to “Bert” in the original. The actor, who recently co-wrote (with J.J. Abrams) and performed two songs in Maz Canata’s castle for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, will be joining Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow, Sicario), who will take over the role made famous by Julie Andrews. The movie will reteam Blunt with her Into the Woods director, Rob Marshall.
Originally, the central character in a series of children’s books by P.L. Travers, Mary Poppins was famously adapted for the screen in 1964. Dick Van Dyke co-starred in the Robert Stevenson film, which told the story of a magical nanny who comes to care for a British family, the Banks.
The original Mary Poppins was set in the year 1910 and it is believed that the sequel will take place in the 1930s. As reported when the project was first announced last fall, the aim is for the new film to borrow story elements from Travers’ eight Mary Poppins books, including the first literary sequel, Mary Poppins Comes Back. Time will tell if Disney winds up using that as the new film’s official title.
The real world story behind Disney’s Mary Poppins was itself the focus of John Lee Hancock’s 2013 feature, Saving Mr. Banks. Scripted by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith, Saving Mr. Banks stars Emma Thompson as Travers and Tom Hanks as Walt Disney.
The Mary Poppins sequel will be produced by John DeLuca and Marc Platt, who also worked with Marshall on Into the Woods.
