'The Greatest Showman' Sequel Gets Hugh Jackman's Support, But He Admits It Might Not Be Possible

Could a second part be on the cards?

Hugh Jackman has said he’d be up for making a sequel to ‘The Greatest Showman’, but admitted it might be a little tricky to get the wheels in motion.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Hugh remarked that if “a genuine opportunity” were to come up, he’d be happy to “get the top hat back out” to play circus leader P.T. Barnum again. 

However, he noted that due to changes in the film industry, the chances of it happening anytime soon were probably slim.

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Hugh Jackman in 'The Greatest Showman'
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“We have a situation in the business where the company that did it [20th Century Fox] has been sold to Disney,” he said. “So there are a lot of spinning plates right now.” 

He continued: “I’m not sure what they would do, but it did take a while to get the first one up, and it’s not to be underestimated how difficult it is to get a musical up and going.

“But it’s clear to me and to everyone that people love these characters. I loved this movie, I loved this character and it was one of the great joys of my life.”

It was first announced Hugh would be playing P.T. Barnum in ‘The Greatest Showman’ way back in 2009, with the film eventually casting the likes of Zac Efron and Zendaya, before hitting cinemas at the end of December 2017.

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Hugh Jackman
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Although it received mixed reviews, the film was a huge success, bagging Hugh a Golden Globe nomination, but its soundtrack was even bigger, eventually becoming the UK’s longest-running number one soundtrack album in 50 years.

The film’s biggest number ‘This Is Me’ peaked at number three here in the UK, and went on to win a Golden Globe and be nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars.

More recently, a “reimagined” version of the soundtrack was released, featuring new interpretations of its songs by artists like Kelly Clarkson, James Arthur and Years & Years.

Meanwhile, Hugh is set to tour the UK in 2019, in a one-man show that will see him perform hits from both ‘The Greatest Showman’ and ‘Les Misérables’, the latter of which also cast him in the lead role.