Emily Blunt, the woman chosen to carry Julie Andrews’ umbrella in “Mary Poppins Returns,” joined director Rob Marshall at the D23 Expo to present a roaring crowd with a sneak peek of the upcoming sequel to the classic 1964 musical.
Marshall and Blunt presented a montage of never-before-seen footage from the film, with music provided by a live orchestra.
Instead of full musical numbers, the scenes included Lin-Manuel Miranda flying a kite with two children on a cloudy day as Blunt’s Poppins descends from the sky on her umbrella. Other shots included some tap-dancing and Poppins making objects float in the air.
Taking place 25 years after the first film, “Mary Poppins Returns” sees the titular nanny (Emily Blunt) return to pay a visit to the now grown up Jane and Michael Banks (Emily Mortimer and Ben Whishaw), the latter of whom has three children, Annabelle, Georgie, and John.
But the Banks household is far different than how it was when Mary left it. It’s 1935, the peak of the Great Depression, and multiple tragedies have struck the family and left them without joy. It’s up to Mary to help guide them to brighter days once again with another round of magic and music.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Colin Firth, Meryl Streep, Dick Van Dyke and Angela Lansbury also star in the film, which is directed by Rob Marshall.
The film premieres Christmas Day 2018.
The studio has not released the footage from its D23 presentation but it did release a short GIF introduction of Blunt in character.