HAMILTON Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda in Talks For Emily Blunt's MARY POPPINS Sequel
When Hamilton won at the Grammys last week, it only increased my jealousy for anyone who has already seen it in person. The Broadway sensation was created by (and stars) Lin-Manuel Miranda, and even though he's popped up in movies and TV shows before, the success of the musical means that he's poised for breakout stardom. Variety reports that he's one step closer to becoming a household name, since he's in talks to star in Disney's Mary Poppins sequel opposite Emily Blunt.
If the deal goes through, Miranda will play Jack, a lamplighter character similar to Dick Van Dyke's Bert from the original 1964 movie, and he's expected to contribute to the music as well. Here's a quick breakdown of the premise:
The story is set in Depression-era London and revolving around a now-grown Michael Banks, who has children of his own. In tough times, big sister Jane returns and soon after, their beloved Mary Poppins comes back to help.
It should be noted that Miranda already has some Disney connections: he contributed some music to the cantina scene in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and he's working on the music for the animated film Moana.
Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (Hairspray, Smash) are writing new original songs and the film's score, while David Magee (Finding Neverland, Life of Pi) is writing the screenplay. All of this would probably go over a lot better with me if Rob Marshall (Chicago, Into the Woods) weren't directing, but I'm worried about this because of his involvement. I've never really liked one of his films, so despite being a mega-fan of Emily Blunt, I don't have a lot of faith in this project.
