An extra spoonful of sugar, Mary? Don't mind if I do. Turns out this holiday season will feature the return of Mary Poppins starring Emily Blunt and the big screen debut of Aquaman now with Julie Andrews among the cast.
According to a report from Entertainment Weekly, Julie Andrews has a previously undisclosed voice role in Aquaman as the mythic Karathen who is an undersea creature in possession of the key Arthur Curry will need in order to unite the people of land and sea. The legendary actress best known for her roles in The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins and Princess Diaries is now joining an impressive ensemble in the upcoming installment.
Andrews chose not to appear in Mary Poppins Returns to make way for Emily Blunt to shine instead of stand in the shadows of Andrews practically perfect iconic role. Considering Aquaman is now a box office competitor to that movie, it's a little bit weird, but she probably wasn't thinking about that when she decided to say yes to one project and no to the other.
Andrews will get her own unique moment to shine this December with her role in Aquaman, amongst an already-packed cast already introduced in the underwater superhero epic. Aquaman producer Peter Safran said they were looking for a classic British actress to take on Karathen and when they approached Andrews she was quite enthusiastic about playing her.
In the past decade, the 83-year-old actress has lent her voice to the Despicable Me films as Gru's mother and the Shrek films. Julie Andrews' last full-fledged appearance in a movie was in 2010's Tooth Fairy, but she also appeared in her Netflix children's show Julie's Greenroom last year. Considering her long and successful career at center stage, we don't blame her for being choosy on her recent projects. It will be a nice treat to see her bring her voice in Aquaman and if the movie wins big at the box office, she could potentially return as Karathen.
With the release of the final trailer for Aquaman, fans started to worry that the film was giving away too much prior to the release. Director James Wan assured them on Twitter that there's still much to be seen when it comes to theaters. The addition of Julie Andrews in Aquaman as a mythic sea creature certainly makes this point, as the news is quite the curve ball. There's a lot to be excited for about the DC superhero film, and we can add Andrews' appearance to the list.
Although Julie Andrews will not appear in Mary Poppins Returns, it does mark the return of Dick Van Dyke to screen in a rare role for himself. When Van Dyke heard of the Mary Poppins sequel, he immediately asked if he could join the cast. While Lin-Manuel Miranda is filling the spot as the lead co-star to Emily Blunt, he will make at cameo in the movie.
Mary Poppins Returns flies into theaters on December 19 alongside Aquaman making waves on December 21.
