diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/__init__.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/__init__.py
index e8f5b9a6ed..490ea959a4 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/__init__.py
@@ -31,10 +31,12 @@ except ImportError:
 
 __all__ = ['LookupBase']
 
+
 class LookupBase(with_metaclass(ABCMeta, object)):
     def __init__(self, loader=None, templar=None, **kwargs):
         self._loader = loader
         self._templar = templar
+        # Backwards compat: self._display isn't really needed, just import the global display and use that.
         self._display = display
 
     def get_basedir(self, variables):
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/file.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/file.py
index 26b10fce01..abc77c601d 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/file.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/file.py
@@ -20,6 +20,14 @@ __metaclass__ = type
 from ansible.errors import AnsibleError, AnsibleParserError
 from ansible.plugins.lookup import LookupBase
 
+try:
+    from __main__ import display
+    display = display
+except ImportError:
+    from ansible.utils.display import Display
+    display = Display()
+
+
 class LookupModule(LookupBase):
 
     def run(self, terms, variables=None, **kwargs):
@@ -29,7 +37,7 @@ class LookupModule(LookupBase):
         basedir = self.get_basedir(variables)
 
         for term in terms:
-            self._display.debug("File lookup term: %s" % term)
+            display.debug("File lookup term: %s" % term)
 
             # Special handling of the file lookup, used primarily when the
             # lookup is done from a role. If the file isn't found in the
@@ -38,7 +46,7 @@ class LookupModule(LookupBase):
             # itself (which will be relative to the current working dir)
 
             lookupfile = self._loader.path_dwim_relative(basedir, 'files', term)
-            self._display.vvvv("File lookup using %s as file" % lookupfile)
+            display.vvvv("File lookup using %s as file" % lookupfile)
             try:
                 if lookupfile:
                     contents, show_data = self._loader._get_file_contents(lookupfile)
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/template.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/template.py
index 5fc10d7f52..439b805979 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/template.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/template.py
@@ -23,6 +23,14 @@ from ansible import constants as C
 from ansible.errors import AnsibleError
 from ansible.plugins.lookup import LookupBase
 
+try:
+    from __main__ import display
+    display = display
+except ImportError:
+    from ansible.utils.display import Display
+    display = Display()
+
+
 class LookupModule(LookupBase):
 
     def run(self, terms, variables, **kwargs):
@@ -32,10 +40,10 @@ class LookupModule(LookupBase):
         ret = []
 
         for term in terms:
-            self._display.debug("File lookup term: %s" % term)
+            display.debug("File lookup term: %s" % term)
 
             lookupfile = self._loader.path_dwim_relative(basedir, 'templates', term)
-            self._display.vvvv("File lookup using %s as file" % lookupfile)
+            display.vvvv("File lookup using %s as file" % lookupfile)
             if lookupfile and os.path.exists(lookupfile):
                 with open(lookupfile, 'r') as f:
                     template_data = f.read()
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/url.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/url.py
index 51ab0303dc..d40bb54c39 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/url.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/url.py
@@ -24,16 +24,23 @@ from ansible.plugins.lookup import LookupBase
 from ansible.module_utils.urls import open_url, ConnectionError, SSLValidationError
 from ansible.utils.unicode import to_unicode
 
-class LookupModule(LookupBase):
+try:
+    from __main__ import display
+    display = display
+except ImportError:
+    from ansible.utils.display import Display
+    display = Display()
 
 
+class LookupModule(LookupBase):
+
     def run(self, terms, variables=None, **kwargs):
 
         validate_certs = kwargs.get('validate_certs', True)
 
         ret = []
         for term in terms:
-            self._display.vvvv("url lookup connecting to %s" % term)
+            display.vvvv("url lookup connecting to %s" % term)
             try:
                 response = open_url(term, validate_certs=validate_certs)
             except urllib2.HTTPError as e: