If you didn’t already know, Disney has been in the process of remaking the beloved 1964 classic, Mary Poppins, with much anticipation from fans both young and old.

The original film was a combination of live-action and animation that starred Julie Andrews, 83, as Mary Poppins, and featured Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, and Glynis Johns in supporting roles. The original musical-fantasy film was a huge success, garnering 13 Oscar nominations and winning 5 of those Oscars, and being selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.

With so much to live up to, it is no surprise that Disney was hoping to convince Andrews to make an appearance in their upcoming re-make, Mary Poppins Returns, but much to their dismay, it seems that Andrews could not be convinced.

Julie Andrews Says, “No Thanks!”

According to a source from Disney, “Everyone wanted Julie on board because she IS Mary Poppins. But even though there was talk of a million dollars on the table for her to make a cameo, she shut down all offers. She wasn’t interested in appearing, no matter how big a financial carrot was dangled in front of her.”

Yes, Disney offered Andrews a cool million to simply make a brief appearance in their updated version of the film, which is said to take place 25 years after the original and will star Emily Blunt as the new (and possibly improved) Mary Poppins character. Early trailers for the film look very promising and are garnering quite a bit of hype!

The re-make will also feature big celebrity names such as Colin Firth, Meryl Streep, Emily Mortimer, Ben Whishaw, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

While Andrews will not be making an appearance in Mary Poppins Returns, her reason for declining Disney’s offer may not be what you think. It seems that Andrews declined Disney’s “financial carrot” in an attempt to show her full support for Blunt taking on the cherished role of Mary Poppins.

Andrews reportedly explained her decision not to appear in the film to the director, Rob Marshall, saying, “This is Emily’s show. I don’t want it to be, ‘Oh, here comes that Mary Poppins’. I don’t want that. I really want her to take this and run with it, because she will be brilliant. I know it’ll be cared for.”

However, one of the stars from the original, Dick Van Dyke, will in fact be making an appearance in Disney’s re-make, though there are no reports of anyone offering him millions! In fact, while making the original film, Van Dyke reportedly had to pay Disney to let him appear in the movie. Van Dyke recently explained the situation, saying, “I said, ‘I’ll do it for nothing.’ Actually, I had to give him $4,000 dollars. I had to pay him to do the part.”

We certainly hope that this time around Van Dyke isn’t paying to appear in the film, as we’d imagine that Disney will make a pretty penny when the highly anticipated re-make, Mary Poppins Returns, hits theaters on December 19, 2018.

Were you a fan of the original Mary Poppins? Do you plan to go see the re-make? What are some of your favorite Disney movies? Share your thoughts and join the conversation below!