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Emily Blunt and Lin-manuel Miranda Shoot for the Stars in Mary Poppins Returns—the Most Magical Musical Movie of the Year.

- Marc Snetiker

Everybody’s walking around with their cheeks a little pinker…and you just know they’ve got a secret.” That’s the picture Meryl Streep paints of the set of Mary Poppins Returns, Disney’s high-stakes, high-magic sequel to the 1964 classic. Any number of elements of the original Mary Poppins—its indelible songs, its star performances by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke—have made the first film nothing less than a crown jewel for the studio. But Streep, among those who will bring Mary back to audiences this December, feels like they’re sitting on something with more than a little shine of its own. ¶ Emily Blunt plays Mary Poppins, heaven-sent (or at least from that direction) to help a grown-up Jane (Emily Mortimer) and Michael (Ben Whishaw) Banks raise Michael’s three children in 1930s London. Lin-Manuel Miranda, Broadway’s Hamilton hero, costars as Jack, a lamplighter privy to Mary’s magic. Both were recruited by director Rob Marshall, the helmer of movie musicals like Chicago and Into the Woods; with an award-winning creative team, Marshall culled from Poppins author P.L. Travers’ eight-book series to custom-build a new adventure for his two leads. ¶ Blunt, 35, and Miranda, 38, know Mary Poppins Returns is once-in-a-lifetime stuff. As the pair sat down for tea with EW in Manhattan, they chatted about the biggest roles of their careers, their charmed onscreen connection, and the moviemaking experience neither is ever likely to forget.

Is it true you began your first day on Mary Poppins Returns with an animated dance number?

EMILY BLUNT Believe it or not, day one.