We’ve just received an official release from Disney that shooting has officially started on Mary Poppins Returns, the long-awaited sequel to the original classic.
Production has commenced at Shepperton Studios just outside of London. The film, which stars Golden Globe® winner Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda and is directed and produced by Oscar® nominee, Emmy® and DGA Award winner Rob Marshall, is scheduled for release in December 2018.
The film also stars: Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer and Julie Walters with Colin Firth and Meryl Streep. In addition, Dick Van Dyke plays Mr. Dawes Jr., the chairman of Fidelity Fiduciary Bank, which is now run by William Weatherall Wilkins (Firth).
Mary Poppins Returns is set in 1930s depression-era London (the time period of the original novels) and is drawn from the wealth of material in PL Travers’ additional seven books. In the story, Michael (Whishaw) and Jane (Mortimer) are now grown up, with Michael, his three children and their housekeeper, Ellen (Walters), living on Cherry Tree Lane. After Michael suffers a personal loss, the enigmatic nanny Mary Poppins (Blunt) re-enters the lives of the Banks family, and, along with the optimistic street lamplighter Jack (Miranda), uses her unique magical skills to help the family rediscover the joy and wonder missing in their lives. Mary Poppins also introduces the children to a new assortment of colorful and whimsical characters, including her eccentric cousin, Topsy (Streep).
