Nothing beats the original! Dick Van Dyke stopped by the Today show on Thursday, September 29, and revealed he has mixed feelings about the upcoming Mary Poppins remake.
The legendary entertainer, 90, said that the 1964 Disney classic has a special place in his heart. “There was something about Mary Poppins that was … Something magical was going on,” he said. “It had something, a life of its own, and we just knew it was gonna be good.”
As for Mary Poppins Returns, which will star Emily Blunt as the whimsical nanny alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda and Meryl Streep, he’s not sure if it can match the success of the original P.L. Travers adaptation. “Sequels traditionally aren’t very good. Without Walt Disney and without the Sherman brothers to write the music, I have some doubts,” Van Dyke said. “But I talked to the director [Rob Marshall] and they said … it will be an homage.”
The production team even invited him to make a cameo! “I think they want me to come in at the end as the old banker and just sing a little song and do a little dance,” Van Dyke said. “Which I’d love to do! Oh, I’d love it.”
He also dropped a hint that Julie Andrews may be returning to the revival as well. “I think Julie may be in it,” he said of the Sound of Music star, who played the original Mary Poppins. (Andrews previously said it was “wonderful” that Blunt was taking on the role.)
The Chitty Chitty Bang Bang actor also talked to Al Roker about his secret to staying young and energetic after nine decades. “I married someone less than half my age, and everyone said it wouldn’t work,” he said of his wife Arlene Silver, who’s in her mid-forties. “But she keeps me young, and I keep teaching her things. The secret is not to slow down. You gotta keep moving.”
