Update (February 18, 2016): Five months after rumors first surfaced, we’re now hearing that Emily Blunt is finally in talks to play Mary Poppins in Disney’s forthcoming sequel.
The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Disney and Emily Blunt are now in active talks for the actress to take on the role of Mary Poppins. The film is set 20 years after the original. The movie will be directed by Rob Marshall, who worked with Blunt on Disney’s Into the Woods in 2014.
Original story (September 16, 2015): Yesterday, news broke that nothing is sacred Disney is dusting off its Mary Poppins property, planning what is very decidedly not a sequel (but it’s totally a sequel) of the 1964 classic, based on original Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers’ later works.
Unsurprisingly, fans of the original movie had very strong reactions to this news, especially since it appears to be against Travers’ own wishes. But it’s happening, guys, so we better get used to it!
The big question, of course, is who Disney will pick to replace the irreplaceable Julie Andrews. There are few actresses whose metaphorical feet are big enough to fill her shoes, but just maybe, Disney’s alleged frontrunner would be up for the challenge!
Our friends at Den of Geek has the scoop: an insider claims that Disney wants Emily Blunt, who made her musical debut in last year’s Into the Woods, to play the titular role.
It’s not hard to imagine that this insider scoop is legit, since Into the Woods director Rob Marshall will be helming the new Mary Poppins musical.
Related: Emily Blunt out of the running for Captain Marvel?
And it’s not like there are any big upcoming projects that might hinder Blunt’s involvement — she recently denied claims that she’s been in talks with Marvel about Captain Marvel, leaving her schedule wide open beyond 2016.
Of course, at this point, the interest is purely from Disney’s side; Den of Geek cautions that Blunt has not yet been approached.
Here’s a description of the Mary Poppins reboot, from Entertainment Weekly‘s original announcement:
“The new Poppins film will take place in Depression-era London, some 20 years after Disney’s classic Mary Poppins, and will draw from existing Poppins tales in the rest of author P.L. Travers’ 1934-1988 children’s book series … The new project (which is decidedly not being developed as a sequel) will explore Mary’s further adventures with the Banks family and beyond as illustrated by Travers’ seven additional novels.”