Zac Efron May Join Hugh Jackman In P.T. Barnum Musical 'The Greatest Showman on Earth'

A consummate entertainer on the screen and stage, Hugh Jackman was a logical choice to play ringmaster P.T. Barnum in The Greatest Showman on Earth, a project that has been in development at 20th Century Fox since 2009. Since then he's been the only big name attached while various X-Men and Wolverine films took precedent. But now as Jackman is wrapping up his  X-Men run the circus musical is moving ahead with a big name joining the show.

According to Variety, Zac Efron is in talks to join Jackman in The Greatest Showman on Earth, which centers on Barnum's creation of the three-ring Barnum & Bailey circus.  In the late 19th century Barnum was known largely as a promoter of celebrity hoaxes, and used his talent for fooling the public into the building of what he called "the greatest show on Earth" with acts such as dwarf General Tom Thumb and Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind. 

Jenny Bicks (Sex and the City) wrote the script for Michael Gracey to direct. Expect plenty of musical numbers, too, which should be amazing with Jackman and Efron performing them. Last we heard the film was going to shoot this summer but that's obviously not going to happen. Don't expect Fox to wait too long after Jackman finishes shooting The Wolverine 3, though. Efron will be seen next in the R-rated comedy Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates and has Baywatch arriving next year.