Emily Blunt Covers Vogue Magazine As Mary Poppins

Disney's bringing back one of it's most memorable franchises this year in Mary Poppins Returns, [...]

By Matthew Aguilar

Disney's bringing back one of it's most memorable franchises this year in Mary Poppins Returns, and star Emily Blunt takes to the skies on the cover of Vogue.

The new cover has Blunt clad in all red save for her blue hat, holding her umbrella as she soars high in the clouds, and you can see the cover below. For Blunt, Mary Poppins is someone who comes to your aide when you need them most, and in that way, she's a superhero.

"She's a superhero," Blunt told Vogue. "You could say she's some sort of angel. She recognizes what people need, and she gives it to them, yet they discover something about themselves in the process." With a rather Mary Poppins–like firmness, Blunt concludes, "I don't think she concerns herself with what she is. There's nobody else like her—which she quite likes."

She had previously worked with director Rob Marshall on Into The Woods, and when he brought spoke to her about playing Mary Poppins he made it clear she was his only choice.

"Rob basically said, 'If you don't want to do this with us, we are going to find something else, because we won't do it if you don't want to,' " Blunt said.

"For me, there was no one else but Emily," Marshall said. "There wasn't even a possible other choice. She's rare in this world because she's incredibly warm and funny, and has a great deal of vulnerability as well. And at the same time, she's British and can sing and dance."

Thankfully Blunt said yes to the role, though after telling a friend about her acceptance of the part she admits "And then I remember a feeling of slight panic creeping in."

While Blunt's co-star Lin-Manuel Miranda prepped for the movie by watching the original, Blunt took a different approach and decided not to watch it.

"I knew that if I watched Julie Andrews's version, maybe I would take the edge off of what my instincts were telling me to do," Blunt said. "Also, I didn't want to be completely intimidated by the brilliance of her voice."

Blunt had just finished up The Girl on the Train when she started Mary Poppins, and that turned out to be a perfect transition for her.

"It was medicinal, singing these happy Mary Poppins songs after what I'd been through every day," Blunt said. "Poor Violet; she'd been rattling around inside me while I played this alcoholic train wreck. But then I think she benefited from all the singing."

Mary Poppins Returns hits theaters on December 19, 2019.

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