Tom Hanks Rumored to Play Walt Disney in New Film About Behind-the-Scenes Drama of Mary Poppins

The Walt Disney Company is working on obtaining the Mary Poppins-themed screenplay Saving Mr. Banks, according to Deadline.com. Written by Kelly Marcel, the film chronicles the 14 years Walt Disney spent trying to acquire the film rights to Australian author P.L. Travers’ Mary Poppins novel. Oscar winners Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep are rumored to portray Disney and Travers, respectively.

Travers first published Mary Poppins, which tells the story of the Banks family and their enchanting nanny, in 1934 and went on to write seven sequels. Because of her treatment during filming, and the addition of an animated sequence, Travers refused to sell Disney the rights to any of the other Poppins properties after the original 1964 film. The movie adaptation, starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, earned five Academy Awards including a Best Actress trophy for Andrews and Best Original Song for "Chim Chim Cher-ee". The film received an additional eight nominations including Best Picture. 

The popular stage musical Mary Poppins, based on both Travers’ stories and the Disney film, had its world-premiere in September 2004 at the Bristol Hippodrome before transferring to the West End's Prince Edward Theatre. In November of 2006, Poppins flew across the pond and opened on Broadway, where it continues to run at the New Amsterdam Theatre.