Zac Efron is in negotiations to join Hugh Jackman in the P.T. Barnum biopic “The Greatest Showman on Earth”.
Described as a “contemporary musical”, the film will be written by Jenny Bicks, directed by Michael Gracey, and produced by Chernin Entertainment, Laurence Mark and Jackman.
Jackman will play Barnum, “the showman with a specialty in hoaxing a gullible public as he creates the three-ring Barnum & Bailey Circus that made him famous. Barnum had gained fame as a 19th Century impressario with tours of Tom Thumb and the singer Jenny Lind; he began calling it the “Greatest Show on Earth” near the end of his career” (via Variety).