The next 12 months will be actress Emily Blunt’s biggest yet. Next Friday, March 23, she reprises her role as the voice of Juliet in “Gnomeo & Juliet” spinoff/sequel/follow-up “Sherlock Gnomes”. Fellow original castmates James McAvoy and Michael Caine return, joined by Johnny Depp as the voice of the title detective.
“Gnomeo”, released by Disney in Feb. 2011, was a fun adaptation on the classic Shakespeare story – as well as a box office hit, grossing nearly $200 million worldwide. “Hello Hello”, an original tune performed by Elton John and Lady Gaga, earned a Golden Globe nomination.
“Sherlock”, released by Paramount, twists-up the works of Arthur Conan Doyle. And it looks to be the first fully-animated hit of 2018, taking advantage of kids off from school on Easter break. Elton John also returns with new songs.
Just two weeks later, on April 6, comes “A Quiet Place” – a horror thriller Blunt stars in, along with her husband, John Krasinski, who also directs. It’s about a family who can’t make a sound, otherwise they may be separated or killed. The film was screened this past weekend at the SXSW Film Festival to rave reviews.
Starting in the spring, she’ll be filming “Jungle Cruise”, based on the popular Disney theme park attraction, alongside The Undisputed King of Hollywood these days, Dwayne Johnson. No release date has been set yet (but it should be, at the earliest, Summer 2019).
And then… there’s “Mary Poppins Returns”. The highly-anticipated sequel to Disney’s 1964 classic opens Christmas Day, and with it, brings… easily… the most high-profile role of Blunt’s career to date. The Mouse House is hoping for big things, as a studio executive told Deadline’s Pete Hammond at this year’s Oscars that the musical will get a heavy campaign for next year’s show, especially for Blunt who “knocks it out of the park”.
Blunt, who just turned 35, is best known for memorable roles in “The Devil Wears Prada”, “The Young Victoria”, “Edge of Tomorrow” and most recently “The Girl on the Train”, but she’s never received an Oscar nomination. One for playing the iconic nanny seems like a slam dunk. Here’s hoping her performance is practically perfect in every way.