There is no doubt that Disney has given us some true classics over the years. Animated films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and more help define earlier eras for the House of Mouse while projects like The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast are more modern, but equally significant. But those are just the animated works. Disney has also delivered some brilliant live action works as well and now, the one that is arguably the most iconic is getting a television reboot — but it is going to be very different and much darker than the movie that was likely a beloved childhood staple.
According to Deadline, a new Mary Poppins television series is currently in the works. The series is in the works from Tom Winchester for Pure Fiction Television. Like Disney’s classic Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke film, the series will be based on P.L Travers’ original Mary Poppins story, but don’t expect this series to be bright and cheerful and fully of iconic songs like “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” The new series is being planned to be darker, more surreal, and scarier — on purpose.
According to the report, the new series in development is going to go back not to just to the general Mary Poppins idea and first book, but specifically to Travers’ original eight Mary Poppins novels and Winchester is actually developing the series on behalf of the Travers estate trustees. This is significant because Travers was herself openly critical of Disney’s 1964 film and how it presented her work. The conflict between Travers and Disney was itself later turned into the film Saving Mr. Banks, which overall told the story of making the film. Travers’ specific concerns were that Disney’s movie sanitized the character and she also objected to other elements of the film.
For those familiar with Travers’ Mary Poppins series, her criticism makes sense. While most people are familiar only with the magical, cheerful, likeable Mary Poppins from the Disney film, the character in the novels is very different. In the books, Mary Poppins is stern, vain, and a far darker figure than anything we ever saw on screen. She would gaslight the children about her magic and there were also some very dark and genuinely frightening moments across the series — a notable one in which readers encounter characters that eat their own fingers comes to mind. The books were anything but animated birds and cheerful songs. This new television series seems to be embracing that to not only be closer to Travers’ vision but expand the overall story by delving into the rest of the books. The result will, presumably, be a story that is at times genuinely frightening.
Of course, while the idea of a darker and more accurate Mary Poppins is exciting, it is still worth noting that, at this point, the series is just in the development stage. The report also indicated that while Disney does not have to approve the project, Winchester is hoping that they will be involved — and at this point there are early discussions taking place though the entire project is said to be in the pitch phase. We might never actually get to see this darker Mary Poppins — but if we do it might just be exactly what we need.
Do you want to see a darker Mary Poppins or is Julie Andrews forever your gold standard? Let us know in the comments!
