'Mary Poppins Returns' Cast News, Release Date: Angela Lansbury Tapped to Play Balloon Lady
The ensemble cast of "Mary Poppins Returns" has added a new name to its roster: Angela Lansbury. The veteran actress will be playing the role of the Balloon Lady, whose original name in the P.L. Travers novel series was Balloon Woman.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Lansbury's Balloon Lady will make her appearance at a park when Mary Poppins and the Banks children take a trip there. The film will depict the return of Mary Poppins, now played by Emily Blunt, as she helps the Banks children navigate their grown-up lives in a critical time.
Ben Whishaw and Emily Mortimer will play the adult Michael and Jane Banks. The sequel will pick up 20 years after the events of the original "Mary Poppins" film, which starred Julie Andrews in the titular role. Michael now lives with his children and their housekeeper, Ellen (Julie Walters), on Cherry Tree Lane.
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"After Michael suffers a personal loss, the enigmatic nanny Mary Poppins re-enters the lives of the Banks family, and, along with the optimistic street lamplighter Jack, uses her unique magical skills to help the family rediscover the joy and wonder missing in their lives," Walt Disney Studios revealed.
Joining Blunt's Mary Poppins is her eccentric cousin, Topsy, played by three-time Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep. "Mary Poppins Returns" will be the third film that features both Blunt and Streep, with the first two being "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Into the Woods."
Tony Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda will play the role of Jack, a street lamplighter. Speaking with The New York Times, Miranda, who is an American, revealed that he has been preparing for his role as a British lamplighter by working on his accent.
"I'm watching British stand-up comedy — East End guys — and I'm also listening to a lot of music, like Billy Bragg," he said.
Dick Van Dyke, who starred in the original 1964 film as Bert, was highly criticized for his Cockney accent. But it looks like Van Dyke is being given a second chance as he is set to make a cameo appearance in the upcoming sequel.
"Mary Poppins Returns" is currently in production, with a release scheduled for Dec. 25, 2018.
