by Daniel Crooke
Between stints of slicing and dicing the big screen – let alone the ADR booth – as Wolverine, Hugh Jackman’s carved out a comfortable career for himself over the years as a jack-of-all-trades song-and-dance man. In fact, his greatest feats of awards success have all revolved around his fleet feet and tenacious tenor: a Tony Award for The Boy From Oz, his sole Oscar nomination for Les Miserables, and, of course, his instantly iconic turn hosting the 2008 Academy Awards. In light of Entertainment Weekly’s recently released photo spread from his upcoming P.T. Barnum (original!) musical The Greatest Showman, the question begs itself. Will Jackman land once more with Oscar for his latest tripping of the light fantastic?
More images and info after the jump...
Stuck in development for nearly a decade, The Greatest Showman finally graces theaters later this year on Christmas Day with an all-star cast including Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Zendaya, and Rebecca Ferguson. Following the infamous circus maestro’s rags-to-riches story from childhood to his first career successes, and set to a soundtrack of pop-influenced songs by recently Academy-ordained (and Tony nominated) La La Land duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, it sounds like we’re in for some prototypical biopic structure but with a fresh, vibrant hook.
By the looks of the Lite-Brite costumes, cotton candy hairstyles, and bold visual flair in these photos, first-time director Michael Gracey aims to exhume the salacious, otherworldly realm of the circus’s mid-19th entury roots without sparing an ounce of the razzle-dazzle. While Jackman’s teal vest and striped trousers look a bit too Fantastic Beasts for me, what do you make of these first four images from The Greatest Showman’s three-ring circus?