Today’s Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious news for those who love nostalgia is that Disney is planning to revisit the world of Mary Poppins in a live action musical directed by Rob Marshall.
Variety is reporting that the new Mary Poppins will not be a reboot of the 1964 film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, but will continue the adventures of Poppins and the Banks family 20 years after the events of the original film. Author P.L. Travers published Mary Poppins novels up until 1988, and the new film will draw from that material.
While this seems like Disney continually dipping into the well of their previously established properties, which in the last year has given birth to plans for live action remakes of everything from Pinocchio to Winnie the Pooh to Dumbo to Mulan, the move instead seems inspired by the success of Marshall’s film adaptation of the stage production Into the Woods, which earned nearly $200 million worldwide.
This Mary Poppins reboot would be Marshall’s sixth film, and is produced by John DeLuca and Marc Platt, who also worked on Into the Woods.
Disney last revisited Mary Poppins with the film Saving Mr. Banks in 2013, the story of how P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) came to sell her beloved novel to Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) to transform into the famous film.
Considering that Mary Poppins will now be 20 years older from the original films, start those campaigns now to get Julie Andrews sliding up banisters again!