A series about the real Mary Poppins has been announced.
A live-action series is in development, promising to show P. L. Travers's heroine as she was in the books: mysterious, capricious, strict, and at times even dangerous. No "spoonful of sugar" and none of the usual Disney sweetness. Only magic that can frighten.
The project is being developed under the leadership of producer Tom Winchester (known for his work on the first season of "Shōgun"). He obtained the adaptation rights directly from P. L. Travers's heirs. The series is backed by the independent company Pure Fiction Television, supported by See-Saw Films (the creators of "Slow Horses" and "Heartstopper").
Most importantly: this is not a remake of the film 1964 year with Julie Andrews and not a sequel to the picture 2018-th with Emily Blunt. The creators intend to return to Travers's eight original novels and reveal that strange, surreal world the writer invented. In the books, Mary Poppins is far from always being sweet. She can be sharp, vain, and utterly unpredictable. And the adventures into which she draws the Banks children often balance on the edge between a fairy tale and an uneasy dream.
With Disney preliminary talks are already underway, but the studio is not obliged to take part in the project. The rights to the books make it possible to make the series without it as well. For now everything is at the earliest stage: a showrunner is being sought, and there is neither an approved script nor cast.
Filming is still a long way off.
But the very idea already sounds very tempting.
Because the new Mary Poppins may turn out to be not merely the return of a beloved character.
It may be an introduction to a heroine whom most viewers actually never saw.
Not always smiling.
Not always kind.
Self-assured, mysterious, strict, at times utterly impossible — and yet capable of opening a door to where the familiar rules of the world suddenly cease to work.
Which means that this time the wind may bring a completely different Mary Poppins.
And yet the very idea already sparks interest. After decades of the "practically perfect" nanny, viewers may be shown the Mary Poppins that Pamela Travers herself considered the real one — complex, magical, and slightly frightening.
All that remains is to wait and see whether she will return with an umbrella in hand… and just what she will turn out to be this time.
