Rumor: Emily Blunt Tops Disney's Shortlist For New MARY POPPINS Movie

Disney earned some ire online earlier this week when it was announced that director Rob Marshall is making another Mary Poppins movie set twenty years after the first film (but it's somehow not a sequel, even though it involves Mary and the Banks family). You can get all of the details here, but one of the last things I said in my write-up was that I can't imagine anyone being able to capture the perfection of Julie Andrews' performance in the original movie. But apparently Disney has a big imagination, and if this newest rumor is to be believed, the studio is eyeing Emily Blunt for the role.

Den of Geek has the report, which claims "Blunt is on Disney's radar for the movie, and that she may even be the frontrunner for the role." The actress worked with Marshall on Into The Woods, she has some pipes, and she's being considered for prime parts after her terrific work in Edge of Tomorrow (and, if early reviews are true, the upcoming Sicario), so this sounds like one of those common sense rumors that may not end up being true, but has enough pieces in place for it to conceivably be true. Either way, I'd be interested to hear what Blunt thinks about taking on such an iconic character. I love her work, but following Julie Andrews in that role has to be daunting for anybody.