It's been 54 years since Mary Poppins hit the big screen, and now Walt Disney Studios is releasing its sequel, Mary Poppins Returns. Directed by Rob Marshall, Mary Poppins will be played by Emily Blunt, and although I can't imagine anyone but Julie Andrews playing the part, by the looks of the trailer Blunt looks like she does a practically perfect job. Other actors include Meryl Streep (Mary's eccentric cousin), Colin Firth, Angela Lansbury, and most exciting of all, Dick Van Dyke (Mr. Dawes' son).
The plot is nicely summarized by i09:
She's [Mary] returned to Jane and Michael Banks, now played by Emily Mortimer and Ben Whishaw respectively, 25 years after the events of the first film. Jane is fighting for workers' rights and Michael is a widow, raising his three children in the original house on Cherry Tree Lane, which they're in danger of losing.
To help the family heal, Mary Poppins soars back into their lives, with the help of Bert's former protégé Jack (Lin-Manuel Miranda) and Topsy (Meryl Streep), Mary's cousin who lives in a flip-flopped world of opposites. There's a gorgeous animated sequence in the style of the original film, and what sounds like a delightfully questionable Cockney accent from Miranda. It wouldn't be a Mary Poppins movie without one.
The movie comes out December 19.
