Walt Disney Pictures is preparing for another jolly holiday with ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ and they’ve already added some major talent to bring the nanny that is practically perfect in every way back to the big screen. Behind the camera, Academy Award winner and Tony Nominee Rob Marshall is set to direct a script written by David Magee that features new music from ‘Hairspray’, ‘Catch Me If You Can’, and ‘Smash’ composer Marc Shaiman and lyricist Scott Wittman. On the flip side, Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda are set to star in the highly-anticipated sequel. And most recently, the legendary Meryl Streep joined the cast as well. But the big names continue to roll out for this project as the studio may have found one of the Banks children.
Variety reports that Ben Whishaw is currently in talks with Disney to be the latest addition to ‘Mary Poppins Returns’. Best known for playing Q in the most recent James Bond films and voicing the titular bear in ‘Paddington’, Whishaw has also made an impact with films such as ‘The Tempest’, ‘Cloud Atlas’, ‘The Danish Girl’, and ‘In The Heart of the Sea’. But for the Mouse House’s new adventure based on the stories of P.L. Travers, the actor will play the grown-up Michael Banks, who, along with his three children and his sister Jane, will be reunited with Poppins after a personal loss in Depression-era London.
With so much pressure on this sequel to be good because of the original’s legendary status, it’s no surprise that Disney is pulling out all the stops to make ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ the absolute best it can be. And now that it’s clear that the studio is pursuing some of the top actors and actresses out there right now, it will be really interesting to see who else joins the cast as production looms closer and closer, especially when it comes to whether or not Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke will make cameo appearances in the film.
What do you think about Ben Whishaw playing Michael Banks in ‘Mary Poppins Returns’? Who do you think would make a good Jane Banks opposite Whishaw? Share your thoughts and theories in the comment section.
‘Mary Poppins Returns’ hits theaters on December 25, 2018.
Despite being a “professional writer”, Ben likes run-on sentences far too much. For more of his attempts at being funny and the occasional insightful thought, follow him on Twitter and Instagram.