A new Mary Poppins series is going back to P. L. Travers's books — the stranger, darker nanny Disney left out

Well, here we go again—Mary Poppins is back in the news, and this time, it’s not just another sunny singalong. Disney+ are lining up a new television series, but it’s not what you’re expecting if your only reference point is Julie Andrews gliding down on an umbrella grinning like the cat that got the cream. They’re digging deeper—right back to P. L. Travers’ original books, which, believe me, are not all spoonsful of sugar and jolly holidays.

Plans are underway for a TV reboot of Mary Poppins, with early discussions happening at Disney, but the series will draw heavily on the slightly weirder, darker side of the character straight from Travers’ books.

A Stranger Nanny Than You Remember

So, here’s the pitch: Tom Winchester is developing and producing this new Mary Poppins series for Pure Fiction Television. Winchester’s managed to secure the rights by going straight to the trustees of Travers’ estate—not Disney, which is how this project is getting off the ground without immediately being knee-deep in Mouse copyright lawyers. They’re still talking with Disney though, which might be keen given their long-standing obsession with all things Poppins, but so far nothing’s signed and sealed. It’s all at that lovely early ‘let’s have a meeting’ stage.

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The big twist? This won’t be the saccharine version from Disney’s 1964 film. Instead, they’re promising something a lot closer to Travers’ original eight-book saga, where Poppins is more enigmatic, sometimes downright unsettling, and the magical bits tend to carry a whiff of menace. If your only exposure is the films, you might be a bit thrown—these stories get properly surreal, and Travers’ Mary was never the twinkly sort.

The Mary Poppins television project is in development, but remains at the pitch stage with no deals yet finalised.

Previous Turns and Disney’s Tricky History

Worth remembering, Travers was famously unimpressed with what Disney did to her creation the first time round. The rift made it all the way to the big screen with Saving Mr. Banks in 2013 (Emma Thompson as Travers, Tom Hanks chasing her round as Walt Disney). Meanwhile, Disney’s been trying to recapture that first film’s lightning for decades: 2018’s Mary Poppins Returns saw Emily Blunt step in as the ever-smug nanny, with a parade of familiar faces—Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Julie Walters, Dick Van Dyke, Angela Lansbury, Colin Firth, Meryl Streep, and David Warner.

• The new Poppins series will lean into the surreal, oddball side from Travers’ original books, rather than the cheery Disney image.
• Tom Winchester is producing, and has optioned the rights from the Travers estate trustees—not directly through Disney.
• Disney aren’t required for rights, but discussions are underway for possible involvement, with nothing agreed yet.
• The series is at a very early stage—nothing cast, nothing greenlit, just early development and hopes for a less sanitised Poppins.
• Previous adaptations: Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke led the beloved 1964 film; Emily Blunt starred in the 2018 sequel with an all-star cast.
• Travers was always a critic of Disney’s original vision, a point dramatised in 2013’s Saving Mr. Banks.

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