It’s “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” time for Disney as the studio is planning to develop a new original “Mary Poppins” musical.
The new live-action musical film will be based on P.L. Travers‘ book, with Rob Marshall attached to direct.
Less than a year ago, rumours ran wild that legendary director Tim Burton will be recreating 1964 American musical fantasy film “Mary Poppins”. The rumour emerged after reputable movie site Movie Pilot posted up a supposed Mary Poppins film poster.
At that time, “Lord of the Rings” star Cate Blanchett was said to have signed on to star as the titular character while “Maleficent” star Sam Riley would play Burt the Chimney Sweep.
The rumour, however, was quickly debunked by eagle-eyed fans, who noticed that it was a mock film poster, with Cate Blanchett’s “photoshopped” onto the body of Doctor Who‘s latest assistant, Clara Oswald (played by Jenna Coleman).
But it’s happening after all, it seems!
Entertainment Weekly reported that the story will be set in Depression-era London, which is about 20 years later than the original “Mary Poppins” movie. However, it will not be envisioned as a sequel to the 1964 film.
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Since the original film was based on the first installment of Travers’ 8-book series, the new movie will, instead, “explore Mary’s further adventures with the Banks family and beyond as illustrated by Travers’ 7 additional novels.”
The new “Mary Poppins” film will be written by David Magee (of “Finding Neverland” and “Life of Pi” fame). Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, who previously worked together on “Hairspray” and “Smash”, will compose original songs and a new score. After working together on Disney’s “Into the Woods“, producers John DeLuca and Marc Platt will reunite for “Mary Poppins”.
The Travers estate will collaborate with Disney and Marshall on this new film. The studio has earned the support of Richard Sherman, who co-composed songs like “Chim Chim Cher-ee” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” for the original “Mary Poppins” with his late brother Robert.
Marshall, DeLuca, and Platt have plenty of movie musical experiences. Marshall, who teamed up with Disney for “Into the Woods”, earned an Oscar nomination in 2003 for “Chicago”. He also collaborated with DeLuca on 2009’s “Nine”. As for Platt, he is a key producer of Broadway’s “Wicked” and is currently producing Fox’s “Grease: Live” and an upcoming original musical, “La La Land”.
However, all 3 of them have a lot to live up to as the original feature was one of the most successful Disney films in history. It earned 5 Oscars and was nominated for 8 more.
Who’s ready to have a “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” good time with Mary Poppins again? ;)
Source: EW.
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