It has been confirmed that theater legend Angela Lansbury will have a part in the new Mary Poppins movie as the Balloon Lady. This makes Lansbury the second 91 year-old to join the film’s cast, with Dick Van Dyke (also 91) signing on to appear (but not as his iconic Burt character).
The film is being directed by Rob Marshall (Chicago, Into the Woods) and has an all-star cast including Emily Blunt, Lin Manuel Miranda, Meryl Streep and Colin Firth. The story takes place 20 years after the original one, in Depression-era London, where adult Jane and Michaels Banks and their three children encounter an ageless Mary Poppins.
Mary Poppins Returns is expected to be released Christmas Day 2018 (54 years after the original Mary Poppins 1964 release).
Lansbury, who previously voiced Mrs. Potts for Disney’s original Beauty and the Beast, has had a long extensive career in which she has been nominated three times for Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards, and won an honorary award in 2014. She also won four Golden Globes for her role in television series Murder, She Wrote, and won two Golden Globes for Supporting Actress.