Broadway star Lin-Manuel Miranda to join Disney's "Mary Poppins"

PanARMENIAN.Net - “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda is in talks to co-star with Emily Blunt in Disney’s “Mary Poppins” sequel, Variety reports.

Miranda is in talks to play Jack, a lamplighter resembling the character of Bert, famously played by Dick Van Dyke in the 1964 classic.

John DeLuca and Marc Platt will serve as producers on the pic, with “Into the Woods” helmer Rob Marshall directing the film. Marshall will also produce.

Insiders confirm the new film will take place in Depression-era London (when the books were originally written and 20 years after the first film was set) and will take story lines from P.L. Travers’ books focusing on Poppins’ continued adventures with the Banks family.

The original film starred Julie Andrews and Van Dyke in the story of a nanny who came to work for a banker’s unhappy family in Edwardian England. The film was a huge hit, grossing $100 million at the box office, and earned five Oscars, including one for Andrews as best actress.

The studio already has strong ties with Miranda, who helped compose original music for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” as well as its upcoming animated tale “Moana.”

Miranda is not only the star of “Hamilton” — he also penned the musical’s script and songs. He’s expected to play a part in developing new songs for the “Poppins” sequel as well.