The long developing musical “The Greatest Showman” is on the way, and Hugh Jackman will break out his acting, singing and dancing chops starring as the famed circus icon P.T. Barnum. Since 2009, Jackman has called ‘Showman’ a dream project and 20th Century Fox hopes to make an awards season splash this winter. This will be Jackman’s first musical since 2012’s “Les Miserables. “
After seven years in development, the biopic-turned-musical will finally find its way into theaters on Christmas Day. “Everyone was saying there hasn’t been an original musical in 23 years,” Jackman told EW regarding his passion project. “So the prevailing thought in Hollywood was, unless you have a brand people know, it’s not a done thing. So it just took a long time.” The film, set in the 1800s, will feature entirely original songs, but with a contemporary pop twist. “I have an almost-12-year-old daughter,” said Jackman. “I wanted [the movie] to be as exciting for her as Katy Perry’s new song.”
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The film will stick to its biographical roots, following Barnum from his poverty-stricken youth to the launch of his pilot show in New York City. Joining Jackman is Michelle Williams as Barnum’s wife Charity and Zac Efron as Barnum’s business partner who eventually falls in love with a trapeze artist played by singer/actor Zendaya. The star-studded cast is rounded out by Rebecca Ferguson, Paul Sparks, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen.
“The Greatest Showman” is a joint written effort between Michael Arndt, Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon. Michael Gracey will make the jump from commercials with his directorial debut and the film will open on December 25th.
