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The release of Mary Poppins Returns is still over a year out, but that doesn’t stop us being excited. Disney‘s long-awaited (as in more than 50 years) sequel to Mary Poppins, stars Emily Blunt as the titular nanny, opposite Lin-Manuel Miranda as lamp-lighter Jack. The first Mary Poppins movie took its inspiration from P.L. Travers’ first two books, but there were six more volumes and Disney have chosen to return once more to the Banks family at Cherry Tree Lane.
This time, the setting is depression-era 1930’s London, and Jane and Michael Banks are now adults (played by Emily Mortimer and Ben Whishaw, respectively). Michael has three children of his own, Annabelle, Georgie, and John. After the sudden loss of Michael’s wife, the Banks family is slowly falling apart, and the house at Cherry Tree Lane is on the brink of foreclosure. With Jane despairing over how to handle her brother’s grief and his increasing emotional distance from his children, Mary Poppins comes to save the day.
The new set photos and concept art, via EW, give a great look at what’s to come in the movie, and it looks every bit as magical as the first Mary Poppins film. Rounding out the cast is Meryl Streep as Mary’s cousin, Topsy, Julie Walters as housekeeper Ellen, Colin Firth as bank manager William Wetherall-Wenkins, Angela Lansbury as a balloon seller, and Dick Van Dyke as George Dawes Jr., a role he played in the original movie as well.
Blunt really does look perfect for the role of Mary Poppins, as she graces the cover of EW. In the picture below, she is leaping into action with Miranda and their three young charges.
Above, Mary reintroduces herself to Jane and Michael, while Georgie and John look on. Just seen, is the handle of her infamous talking, magical umbrella. Below, concept are shows the abandoned park that Jack favors as a hangout, the lamplighter on the banks of the Thames at night, and Cherry Tree Lane, which looks exactly as the original set, though a little more polished. Finally, Meryl Streep can be seen in musical rehearsal with Marc Shaiman, who wrote the original score for Mary Poppins Returns.
Mary Poppins Returns flies into theaters on December 25th, 2018.
Featured Image: Disney
