Emily Blunt named Disney's first choice to play Mary Poppins in planned sequel

Emily Blunt is in talks to star in Disney's planned sequel of Mary Poppins. Rob Marshall is set to direct the follow-up, and is likely to be one of the people keen to get Blunt aboard. The theatrical director-turned-filmmaker previously worked with her on his 2014 musical fantasy Into The Woods, along with the the producers of this project too, John DeLuca and Marc Platt.

According to Variety, sources have hinted that the sequel will be set in Depression-era London, set 20 years after the first film (which was set in 1910) and will take story lines straight from PL Travers' children's books that chronicled Poppins' times and adventures with the Banks family.

Whether Blunt will accept the deals made or not is currently unknown, but its likely that scheduling will be an issue. Especially considering that in late January, news emerged that Blunt was pregnant with her second child with husband John Krasinski.

Undoubtedly one of Disney's most treasured classics, Mary Poppins saw Julie Andrews play the titular nanny who takes over care of children Jane (Karen Dotrice) and Michael (Matthew Garber) of the wealthy and uptight Banks family. While the twosome aren't too keen on the idea at first, they are pleasantly surprised by the arrival of the magical Poppins and embark on a series of fantastical adventures with her and her Cockney chimney-sweep friend, Bert (Dick Van Dyke). As the children grow close to Poppins, the siblings try to pass on some of their nanny's sunny attitude to their unfortunately preoccupied parents (played b David Tomlinson and Glynis Johns).

The film was a huge success when it was released in 1964, grossing $100m (£69.9m) at the box office, and earning five Academy Awards, including one for Andrews as best actress.

A Mary Poppins sequel marks just one of the projects that have had Disney revisiting well-loved classics over the years. The trend all started with Burton's twisted take on animated classic Alice In Wonderland in 2010, which grossed more than $1bn worldwide. Then came Angelina Jolie's Maleficent, which made $758m in 2015. Most recently, Cinderella was brought to the big screen again, starring Helena Bonham Carter and Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett.

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