Disney's not exactly long-awaited sequel Mary Poppins Returns has just added Ben Whishaw to the cast, playing an adult Michael Banks. He joins Emily Blunt as Mary Poppins, Meryl Streep as her cousin Topsy, and Lin-Manuel Miranda as a lamplighter named Jack. Directed by Rob Marshall, the film takes place years later in Depression-era London where Michael and Jane Banks, along with his three kids, are visited by Poppins after a terrible tragedy. Mary Poppins Returns opens Christmas Day 2018.
Oscar-winner Patricia Arquette and Rainn Wilson will star in the comedy, Permanent, written and directed by Colette Burson, creator of one of my favorite shows, HBO's Hung. Set in 1983, the film is a coming-of-age story about a family who are obsessed with their hair. Veteran actor Michael Green co-stars along with 12-year-old newcomer Kira McLean.
Scott Eastwood, who was most recently seen in Suicide Squad, will star in Ecstasia, the long-developing sci-fi film directed by Wayne Kramer (The Cooler). Eastwood joins co-star Matilda Lutz (Rings) in a story set in a world where love no longer exists except through an artificial implant. Lutz and Eastwood play a couple in the final days before their love disappears. [Variety]
