Since the Mary Poppins Returns song “The Place Where Lost Things Go” was nominated for Best Original Song at the upcoming Academy Awards, many had hoped to see Emily Blunt recreate the emotional moment live during the telecast. While the song will be performed during the show, Blunt reportedly won’t be the one belting out the ballad on stage.
While the Oscars tradition typically has the original voices of Best Song nominees showcase the memorable tunes being recognized during the award show, Emily Blunt will not be one of them, per Deadline’s interview with Academy president John Bailey following Monday’s Oscar nominee luncheon.
The Academy recently teased a “surprise special guest” on Twitter to get fans excited and guessing about the upcoming performance. Speculation of the original Mary Poppins, Julie Andrews, is overwhelmingly the guess for hopeful fans who reacted to the tweet since Blunt will not be not be performing, but we’ll have to wait and see.
A couple weeks ago, there was reportedly no plans for the Mary Poppins Returns song to be performed. At the time, the plan was that the Oscars would only feature “Shallow” and “All the Stars” at the show from A Star is Born and Black Panther, and leave out the three other three Best Original Song nominees.
Thankfully, it’s now been confirmed that all five songs will be performed during the 91st Academy Awards. Jennifer Hudson will officially be singing “I’ll Fight” from documentary RBG, along other nominees “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and “The Place Where Lost Things Go," though specific performers have not been detailed.
According to the Academy president, the development of the show airing in just under three weeks “is still in flux” as celebrity presenters have started to be revealed to offset the Oscars’ upcoming hostless show. The Academy faced challenges to nab a host for the telecast this year when original pick Kevin Hart stepped down following social media backlash to past controversial jokes and tweets.
The first batch of thirteen presenters was announced Monday, including Marvel Cinematic Universe stars Chris Evans and Brie Larson and Crazy Rich Asians leads Awkwafina and Constance Wu. You can also count in Daniel Craig, Tina Fey, Whoopi Goldberg, Jennifer Lopez, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Amandla Stenberg, Charlize Theron and Tessa Thompson on the stage during the award show.
Emily Blunt could be in attendance to celebrate Mary Poppins Returns’ four nominations for Best Production Design, Costume Design, Original Score and Song – but her snub for a Best Actress doesn’t guarantee her participation in Hollywood’s big night.
On the other hand, fans of Star is Born should get excited for the performance of “Shallow,” which Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper have teased their performance for, following the movie's eight nominations. The 91st Academy Awards will air on February 24 at 5 p.m. PST on ABC.
