“Mary Poppins Returns” Has Begun Production
It’s official! The next Lin-Manuel Miranda Disney project has begun production. Miranda has been teasing fans by visiting iconic locations from the original Mary Poppins film, but now work has started on Mary Poppins Returns. With this announcement, Disney has also released additional information on casting and plot:
“The story follows Michael (Ben Whishaw) and Jane Banks (Emily Mortimer), who are now grown up. Michael is living with his three children (Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh, and Joel Dawson) and housekeeper Ellen (Julie Walters), in the house on Cherry Tree Lane! After Michael has a personal loss, Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) comes back into the lives of the Banks family. She is joined by a street lamplighter named Jack (Lin-Manuel Miranda), and an eccentric cousin named Topsy (Meryl Streep). And we are so excited that Dick Van Dyke will play a role in the film as Mr. Dawes Jr., the chairman of Fidelity Fiduciary Bank, which is now run by William Weatherall Wilkins (Colin Firth).”
Along with a casting announcement, the creative team has also been announced and features both Disney and Hollywood royalty. Rob Marshall (Into the Woods, Chicago) is directing the film, John Deluca (Chicago) and Marc Platt (La La Land) are producers, the screenplay is written by Life of Pi writer David Magee, and Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman of Hairspray are writing brand new songs for the film. And according to Oh My Disney:
“…They are joined by director of photography Dion Beebe, ASC ACS (Memoirs of a Geisha), production designer John Myhre (Memoirs of a Geisha, Chicago), costume designer Sandy Powell (The Young Victoria, The Aviator, Shakespeare in Love), hair and make-up designer Peter Swords King (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), set decorator Gordon Sim (Chicago), production sound mixer Simon Hayes (Les Misérables), and editor Wyatt Smith (Doctor Strange, Into the Woods). The film is choreographed by Marshall and DeLuca with Joey Pizzi (Chicago) serving as co-choreographer.”
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