“Mary Poppins Returns” director Rob Marshall was intent on meeting a bar at the highest height

After more than five decades, Disney is bringing the all-star nanny back with Mary Poppins Returns — and director Rob Marshall is *very* aware of how high the stakes are.

The highly anticipated sequel takes place 25 years after the events of the 1964 film, and will reunite the beloved caretaker with Michael and Jane Banks in Depression-era London, after a tragedy strikes the family. Marshall — whose previous credits include Chicago and Into the Woods — spoke with Entertainment Weekly all about his film, and continuing the iconic legacy set by the 1964 classic.

“The bar is so high for this, he told the outlet. “But to be able to walk in the footsteps of this beautiful story about a woman who brings magic to this family that’s looking for wonder and hope and joy in their lives…I feel a great responsibility and reverence every day. We all feel it. We’re just lifting it up to get there with the right intentions behind it.

Emily Blunt will assume the iconic role originated by Julie Andrews, and Marshall enlisted Lin-Manuel Miranda to play lamplighter Jack and create new songs for the musical. Emily Mortimer, Ben Whishaw, Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Julie Walters, and Angela Lansbury also star, and Dick Van Dyke will appear in a very special cameo.

Marshall revealed that Van Dyke, who played chimney sweep Bert in the original, told him that Mary Poppins Returns possesses the same spirit as its predecessor.

“Dick Van Dyke said that the thing he remembers the most about doing the original film was the spirit, and he said, ‘It’s exactly the same spirit here,’" said Marshall. “He was right here on Cherry Tree Lane and he said, ‘I feel like I’m home.’

Talk about high praise! We’re seriously struggling to contain our excitement over Mary Poppins Returns and can’t wait to see it when it hits theaters in late 2018!