Disney's upcoming follow-up to its classic musical "Mary Poppins" may have found its titular star, with reports indicating that Emily Blunt is in negotiations for the role.

Variety has the scoop that Blunt is in talks to take the high-profile part, and is currently trying to work out scheduling. Blunt and husband John Krasinski recently confirmed that they're expecting their second child, which could complicate filming.

The new "Poppins" project, which was announced last year, had initially been described as definitively not a direct sequel to Disney's original 1964 flick, which was based on the books by P.L. Travers. Rather, this upcoming flick would draw from other stories in Travers's eight-volume series, and pick up about 20 years after the first film's action, in 1920s Depression-era London, telling additional tales of Poppins's adventures with the Banks family. Variety's report does call this upcoming flick a sequel, but that may be more for convenience's sake than exact semantics.

According to the trade, Blunt "has always been the favorite" for the leading role, since she collaborated with "Poppins" director Rob Marshall and producers John DeLuca and Marc Platt on 2014 musical "Into the Woods." Disney is reportedly hoping to make a casting decision soon, so production can start promptly.

If Disney must continue its recent trend of converting all of its classics into new, live-action features, we think Blunt would be an inspired choice to pick up where the incomparable Julie Andrews left off. We'll take this casting news with some cautious optimism and a spoonful of sugar grain of salt for now.

[via: Variety]

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