No spoonful of sugar necessary! Emily Blunt has received Julie Andrews’ blessing regarding her casting as Mary Poppins in the upcoming sequel to the classic 1964 film.
Blunt is set to introduce the magical English nanny to a new generation of youngsters when the Rob Marshall–helmed “Mary Poppins Returns” hits theaters December 2018. The story will reportedly pick up 20 years later in Depression-era London after Poppins and company chim chim cher-eed one final time.
“Rob said he was in the Hamptons, and he saw [Andrews], and he said, ‘It’s top secret, but Emily Blunt’s playing Mary Poppins,’” Blunt told Entertainment Weekly. “And she went, ‘Oh, wonderful!’”
“I felt like I wanted to cry,” she added. “It was lovely to get her stamp of approval. That took the edge off it, for sure.”
The Poppins we’ll see on the big screen, however, might be a far cry from Andrews’ more gentle interpretation of the now-iconic nanny. According to Blunt, the sequel is relying more heavily on the original source material, P. L. Travers eight-part children’s books series, which depicts Poppins as a bit rougher around the edges.
“We’re delving into the books a lot more, which is a different version of the character, I’ll say that much,” Blunt revealed. “She’s a little meaner, yeah.”
But that doesn’t mean the actress isn’t aware of what made filmgoers fall in love with Poppins in the first place. After all, few films have managed to have the staying power of the original adaptation.
“I feel a little more trepidation with this [character] because she’s so emblematic of people’s nostalgia,” Blunt admitted. “It’s such an important character in people’s childhood.”
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