‘Mary Poppins Returns’ Details Revealed By Lin-Manuel Miranda
When it was announced that Chicago directorRob Marshallwould behelming a reboot ofMary Poppins, I wasn’t interested. Don’t get me wrong; I like the original Walt Disney adaptation quite a bit, but for me what makes the film is the music by theSherman Brothers. And I was very skeptical that they would be able to recapture that magic, even with thepitch perfect casting ofEmily Bluntas the titular hero.
But when it was revealed thatHamiltoncreatorLin-Manuel Mirandawould be co-starringin a role similar to the oneDick Van Dykeplayed in the original, I finally got invested. If Lin-Manuel Miranda would be providing his songwriting skills for thisMary Poppinssequel, it could end up being something special.
And now Miranda is finally talking about the upcoming Mary Poppins sequel Mary Poppins Returns, giving us a little tease as to what we might expect. Hit the just to learn some new Mary Poppins Returns details.
Lin-Manuel Miranda talked toVarietyrecently for a cover story, and revealed some details about the upcoming Mary Poppins sequel Mary Poppins Returns:
“It’s straight up a sequel. Michael and Jane Banks have grown up, and they find themselves in their own spot, and Mary Poppins comes back to take care of Michael’s kids. I play a lamplighter named Jack who sort of grew up apprenticing to Bert. So I know if Mary Poppins shows up, it’s gonna get awesome. I perform that function in the movie, of saying: ‘Y’all don’t know about Mary Poppins. When Mary’s around, cool sh– happens.'”
So yes, basically Miranda is playing a new character that serves somewhat the same purpose that Dick Van Dyke’s Burt did in the original. From what we have heard previously, he will be playing a lamplighter named Jack. I think this is the first confirmation that the characters of Michael and Jane Banks will return for this new story, although we assumed as much.Ben Whishaw(Cloud Atlas, Skyfall) has been rumored to be up for a role in the movie, likely as Michael Banks, played byMatthew Garberin the originalRobert Stevenson-directed picture.
DirectorRob Marshallhas saidthat he is “working from the other [seven] books, not touching the iconic brilliance of Mary Poppins,” adding that this movie “is an extension” of the first film with “all this new material.”
“It was the Harry Potter of its time — and they were never turned into anything further than that adventure.”
The story will be set 20 years after the events of the first film, in Depression-era London. Pulling fromP.L. Travers’ original novels, the film will chronicle the further adventures of that “practically perfect” nanny.
Miranda hadn’t met up with Van Dyke but would love to meet him, admitting that he cried like everyone else did when Dick showed up on ‘The Wonderful World of Disney: Disneyland 60’ special and started stepping in time.
Meryl Streepalso has a role in the film, as someone named Topsy, who becomes a cousin to Mary Poppins through marriage after Topsy marries Arthur Turvey, which changes her name to Topsy Turvey.
The movie is being produced byJohn DeLucaandMarc Platt. Mary Poppins Returns will hit theaters on December 25th, 2018.
