Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer to Portray 'Banks' Siblings in Disney's MARY POPPINS RETURNS

Variety reports that Emily Mortimer and Ben Whishaw have signed on to the cast of Disney's MARY POPPINS RETURNS. The actors will join previously announced cast members Emily Blunt, Meryl Street and Lin-Manuel Miranda in the film. As BWW reported last week, Dick Van Dyke will reportedly make a cameo in the movie as well.

Mortimer will portray Jane Banks, while Whishaw, fresh off his run in the recent Broadway revival of THE CRUCIBLE, will play her brother Michael. The siblings appeared as Poppins' charges in the original 1964 film and will be seen as adults in the upcoming installment, set 25 years after the original.

MARY POPPINS RETURNS will be directed by Rob Marshall and produced by Marshall, John DeLuca, and Marc Platt. The screenplay will be written by Oscar nominee David Magee and the story will be based on "The Mary Poppins Stories" by P.L. Travers. Marc Shaiman will compose an all-new score with Scott Wittman writing original songs.

The film is set to hit theaters on Christmas Day, 2018.

Mortimer has starred in two HBO shows, "The Newsroom" and "Doll & Em," and will soon be seen in "The Sense of an Ending." Whishaw is best known for his role as 'Q' in the James Bond franchise.

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