Emily Blunt Says ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ Director Told Her She Was The Only Choice For The Lead Role

Landing the lead role in Mary Poppins Returns was not a hard task for Emily Blunt. In fact, in Vogue‘s December issue, Emily graces the cover dressed up as her lead character in the film and explains how the director, Rob Marshall, helped her land the job.

“Rob basically said, ‘If you don’t want to do this with us, we are going to find something else, because we won’t do it if you don’t want to,'” Emily revealed. Rob was so sure that he wanted to cast Emily as the beloved nanny that he told her “there wasn’t even a possible other choice” for the role.

Eventually, Emily accepted the job and showed Rob just how perfect she was for the film. “She’s incredibly warm and funny, and has a great deal of vulnerability as well,” he gushed. “And at the same time, she’s British, and can sing, and dance.”

Rob wasn’t the only one who felt that Emily was born to play Mary Poppins. Once fans saw Emily’s breathtaking cover photo, they immediately noted how amazing she looked online. “Can we do @Disney themed photo shoots for every magazine cover? Thank you. This is spectacular, as is Emily Blunt. (and all things Mary Poppins),” one fan said on Twitter. Another wrote, “This photoshoot legit choked me up.”

Even Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson gave Emily a shout-out on Twitter for such a phenomenal photo shoot. “Holy s–t incredible shot @annieleibovitz! Blunty shot this cover while we were shooting Jungle Cruise together in Hawaii. Wait till you see this film. The kinda movie you didn’t know you needed in your life, until you realize it’s exactly what you needed. #MaryPopPop,” he said in the caption.

Mary Poppins Returns is set to arrive in theaters on Dec. 19, 2018. We can’t wait!