Director Rob Marshall and actress Emily Blunt took the stage at D23 Expo 2017 on Saturday to present the first-ever footage from Mary Poppins Returns, a followup to Disney's 1964 classic.
The footage was a rough teaser of shots and title cards and largely dialogue-free, as the film only finished filming a few weeks ago. However, the footage was accompanied by a live orchestra performing original new music from the film conducted by its composer, Marc Shaiman.
The footage showcased the daily lives of Michael Banks (Ben Whishaw) and Jane Banks (Emily Mortimer), the children in the original film who are now all grown up. The magic they had encountered in their youth has clearly left them as adults living through the Great Depression. Michael, a widower, is raising his three children (played by Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh and Joel Dawson) on his own in the family home he inherited on Cherry Tree Lane. They're teetering on a crisis thanks to the ruthless manager of Fidelity Fiduciary, William Weatherall Wilkin (Colin Firth).
The footage also included glimpses at Julie Walters as the Banks’ housekeeper Ellen, Meryl Streep as Mary’s eccentric cousin Topsy, Angela Lansbury as the Balloon Lady, and Dick Van Dyke (sho starred in the original film in a different role) as Mr. Dawes Jr., the retired chairman of the bank now run by Firth’s character.
These domestic scenes then give way to a scene of Jack, a street lamplighter played by Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda, flying a kite in the park with one of the Banks children. When they look up in the sky and the clouds part, they are stunned at the sight of Mary Poppins, umbrella in hand, hovering overhead.
From there on out, there's more whimsy, color and humor as we see Mary begin to bring back the joy and wonder that had been missing in the Banks' lives.
“I needed to try to pay homage to [original Mary Poppins star] Julie Andrews, but carve out a new space for myself,” said Blunt of trying to make the character her own. “And we were very loyal to the books.”
Blunt said that Mary Poppins is more acerbic, odd and vain in the books, and they pay more homage to that in the new movie.
"As a kid, I found the idea that this magical mysterious person whisking into their lives and making everything right again really comforting," said Blunt. "I think children have really responded to that lack of sentimentality she has as well, that she’s rude and eccentric and odd."
Marshall said, “I was incredibly honored to be approached by Disney about directing a sequel. This is a brand-new original film musical from top to bottom, which is very rare, and it is a wonderful opportunity to create something specifically for the screen.”
Marshall revealed that he was unaware that Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers had penned seven other novels featuring the character until he was approached about this movie. Mary Poppins Returns draws from the material in these additional books.
Mary Poppins Returns will be released in theaters Dec. 25, 2018.
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