As much as we refuse to let anyone else other than Julie Andrews herself to play the magical nanny again in the next “Mary Poppins” film, Disney has apparently eyed an actress for the lead role.
According to Den of Geek, Emily Blunt, who starred in Disney’s “Into The Woods” last year, is rumoured to be the frontrunner to play Andrews’ role in the new live-action remake of “Mary Poppins”.
A source involved in the casting process told Den of Geek that Blunt has emerged as the studio’s first choice for the role. Of course, this is only coming from Disney’s side and the actress herself may have not been contacted about the role yet.
Considering how it will be helmed by “Into The Woods” director Rob Marshall, there’s a very high chance that he will work with Blunt again.
Though Blunt is rumoured to be Disney’s frontrunner for the Mary Poppins role, several other names are thrown into the mix as well.
Earlier this week, Irish betting agency BoyleSports revealed that Anne Hathaway has 6/4 odds of landing the role of the unusual English nanny. Blunt has 5/2 odds while Amy Adams is 3rd favourite with 7/2 odds. Other actresses in “contention” include Kristen Bell (11/2), Anna Kendrick (10/1), Amanda Seyfried (12/1), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (16/1), Lea Michele (33/1), and Anna Camp (50/1).
If Blunt is not interested in the role, Hathaway could be the perfect actress to lead the movie as she has also played Mary Poppins in a “Saturday Night Live” skit. She previously showed her singing chops in “Les Miserables” as well.
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 this new movie.
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.
Sources: Den of Geek, Entertainment Weekly.
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