When a Hollywood studio decides to make a sequel to a much-beloved classic decades after its initial release, the overwhelming response is usually skepticism. It’s a testament to the incredible cast that Disney has assembled for Mary Poppins Returns, then, that most of the buzz around the film has been overwhelming excitement. From Emily Blunt’s Julie Andrews doppelgänger to Lin Manuel-Miranda’s chimney sweep - pretty much the part he was born to play, right? - Mary Poppins Returns is the exception that proves the rule, an unnecessary sequel that nevertheless melts away all skepticism.
With all the excitement over Mary Poppins Returns brewing lately, a lot of fans have been wondering if the O.G. Poppins, Julie Andrews, will be making a cameo appearance. As it turns out, Andrews is in full support of the sequel, but she won’t be in it, and she has a very good reason why.
Chim chiminey, chim chiminey, chim chim cheree, Emily Blunt’s Mary Poppins looks so darn lovelyyyy. (Sorry, never sorry.) As you might have guessed from my dumb little rhyme there, today brings some new photos from Mary Poppins Returns, Disney’s upcoming musical sequel in which Blunt steps into Julie Andrews’ whimsical shoes as the magical British nanny.
Doug Liman’s Edge of Tomorrow sequel, maddeningly titled Live Die Repeat and Repeat (as a reference to the first movie’s “Live. Die. Repeat.” tagline), is probably going to be even more mind-bendingly weird than its predecessor. While talking about it recently, Liman revealed that the movie is “a sequel that’s a prequel,” whatever that means, and it’ll also have a fun new characters that’s going to “steal the movie.”
While Doug Liman may be hard at work promoting his upcoming war thriller The Wall, that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten about an Edge of Tomorrow sequel. Last October, Liman promised that the movie was still moving forward, with the director even going so far as to suggest that the second film would “revolutionize” how people thought about movie sequels. And now Liman has dropped a few exciting updates, including a new title for the film and the promise of returning stars Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. The short version? It’s happening, dopey name or not.
When word got out that Emily Blunt had been cast as the title character in Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns, the overwhelming response from most people was, “Well, sure.” Blunt has proven herself to be genre agnostic over the years, as likely to wow audiences in a science-fiction or action film as she is in a light-hearted comedy. That alone would make her an ideal candidate for Mary Poppins — as the rare actress capable of convincing audiences that she’d do justice to an iconic character — but she also bears a physical resemblance to Julie Andrews to boot. You couldn’t ask for better casting.
After months of rumormongering and speculating and debating over whether Lin-Manuel Miranda has what it takes to make the jump to the big screen from Broadway, sequel Mary Poppins Returns has finally begun shooting. Disney sent out an official press release yesterday announcing that the production was officially underway at Shepperton Studios in Burbank, California, with a project release date of Christmas Day in 2018. (Nothing gets people in the mood for a movie-musical quite like the holidays, it would seem, as director Rob Marshall’s last film Into the Woods found a release date in late December as well.) And along with the news that the gears are now turning, the press release provided a full cast list and more comprehensive description of the plot as well.