Hugh Jackman has quite a lot of movies on his slate, and one that he’s been kicking around for a while (over two years, in fact) is a biopic of P.T. Barnum, called The Greatest Showman On Earth. That film has moved a little closer to actually happening following the hiring of Michael Gracey to direct, according to Variety.
Gracey is on a bit of a roll, as despite having never helmed a feature film before, in the last couple of weeks the veteren effects man has been signed up to direct both Disney’s The Order Of The Seven (which relocates the Snow White story to an action-packed 19th Century China) and now the Barnum movie.
The Greatest Showman On Earth is envisioned as a musical about the life of P.T. Barnum (Jackman), who was known for his elaborate hoaxes before creating the three-ring circus. The story will also look at his pining for Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind.
The project will remain in development for a while though, as Hugh Jackman is also committed to The Wolverine and Les Miserables, which are likely to shoot first. However there is a slight ticking clock on the flick, as Sony is developing a rival Barnum movie, so Greatest Showman will want to get off the blocks before that one.