‘Mary Poppins Returns’ Will Star Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda

Into the Woods Emily Blunt James Corden
Emily Blunt and James Corden in a scene from ‘Into the Woods’ (Photo by: Peter Mountain. © 2014 Disney Enterprises, Inc)

Disney’s set a December 25, 2018 theatrical release date for Mary Poppins Returns and confirmed Emily Blunt (Into the Woods) and Hamilton‘s Lin-Manuel Miranda will take on starring roles. Per Disney, Emily Blunt will be playing Mary Poppins while Miranda will play a new character who’s a street lamplighter named Jack. The sequel to the beloved classic movie Mary Poppins has Into the Woods director Rob Marshall attached to helm the project and Oscar nominee David Magee (Life of Pi, Finding Neverland) is on board to write the script based on The Mary Poppins Stories by P.L. Travers.


Marshall, John DeLuca, and Marc Platt are producing Mary Poppins Returns. Five-time Oscar nominee and Tony Award winner Marc Shaiman is working on a new score and will write original songs along with Tony Award winner Scott Wittman (Hairspray).

“I am truly humbled and honored to be asked by Disney to bring P.L. Travers’ further adventures to the screen. The iconic original film means so much to me personally, and I look forward to creating an original movie musical that can bring Mary Poppins, and her message that childlike wonder can be found in even the most challenging of times, to a whole new generation,” stated director/producer Marshall.

The Plot: Drawing from the wealth of material in P.L. Travers’ seven additional novels, the story will take place in Depression-era London (when the books were originally written) and follows a now-grown Jane and Michael Banks, who, along with Michael’s three children, are visited by the enigmatic Mary Poppins following a personal loss. Through her unique magical skills, and with the aid of her friend Jack, she helps the family rediscover the joy and wonder missing in their lives.