Emily Blunt Likely To Accept Mary Poppins Role
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- September 19, 2015
- Mark Hodge
Disney has reportedly selected Emily Blunt to take on the role of magical nanny Mary Poppins.
According to Den of Geek, the British actress has been offered the role, which is based on author P.L. Travers' character, and is likely to accept.
The role was of course made famous by Julie Andrews who appeared in Disney's seminal classic Mary Poppins (1964) which won five Academy Awards and is still revered as one of the best family movies of all time.
The new movie will be based on one of Travers' many novels and will not be a direct sequel to the original.
However, news that Disney is developing another Mary Poppins feature film is likely to cause a stir in an industry which is often accused of lacking originality.
The report reveals that director Rob Marshall (Chicago, Into The Woods) has been hired to take the reins, which seems like a fairly obvious choice.
The Oscar winner is Hollywood's go-to-guy for musicals and he has a strong relationship with Disney and has recently worked with Blunt.
There were rumors that Anne Hathaway was a frontrunner, probably due to the fact that she resembles the character and won an Academy Award for a musical part.
However, it seems the studio want to hire an English actress to follow in Dame Julie's footsteps.
This news shouldn't come as a big surprise. In 2013, Disney released Saving Mr. Banks, starring Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson, which was about the development of the 1964 picture and its relationship with the author.
That movie grossed $112.5 million worldwide from a modest $35 million outlay and was critically acclaimed.
From a financial point of view, Travers' subject matter is tried and tested at the box-office and has been completely unexploited since the 1960s – another Poppins movie was always going to happen.
Stay tuned for more Mary Poppins news.
