With Emily Blunt on board to play the titular, magical nanny, casting is beginning to heat up on Disney and Rob Marshall’s Mary Poppins sequel, and today Variety brings word that Lin-Manuel Miranda is in contention to play the role made famous by Dick Van Dyke in the cherished 1962 classic.
Best known for stage show Hamilton, Miranda has opened talks with the House of Mouse to join the long-rumored sequel as Jack, a lamplighter that is essentially a modern incarnation of Van Dyke’s Bert. Beyond walking the boards on Broadway, Miranda recently wrote and performed two musical numbers for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, particularly for the scene involving Maz Canata’s castle, while upcoming animation Moana also features on his decorated résumé.
Now, he’s on the verge of dipping his toe into the whimsical world of P.L. Travers. Marhsall, best known for fellow musical Into the Woods, is partnering with old cohorts John DeLuca and Marc Platt for the Mary Poppins follow-up, and it’s a partnership that will bring a new chapter of Travers’ work to the big screen – the author did pen eight novels, after all – as opposed to an out-and-out remake.
Said to be set 20 years after the beloved original, there’s no word yet on an official title or release window for Disney’s Mary Poppins sequel. Should the studio hew close to Travers’ literary series, the studio’s follow-up could bear the title Mary Poppins Comes Back, which released in 1935 as the first continuation of Miss Poppins’ whimsical journey.
All we know for now is that Blunt and, potentially, Miranda are on board to star. Nevertheless, we’ll keep you updated as this story develops.
