The Greatest Showman 2 plot, cast, release date & everything you need to know
Despite the constant proliferation of post-credit scenes and ambiguous endings, there are some movies that just don't need sequels. As for The Greatest Showman (2017), the film based on the true story of circus master PT Barnum, was neatly wrapped up with a nice bow.
But money talks, and with The Greatest Showman having earned a whopping $435 million at the box office, it was no surprise that a sequel was in the works, even if PT Barnum's story was finished being told. And before you say we're just being cynical, The Greatest Showman's own director confirmed it.
He said: "When a movie becomes as big a success as this, it’s only natural there is demand for a sequel. So those discussions have started and we are working on one right now."
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But just what could they be working on? Here's everything we can say about The Greatest Showman 2 so far.
The Greatest Showman 2 cast: Will Zac and Hugh return?
Zac Efron added further fuel to the fire on The Graham Norton Show on 26 April, saying "Hugh (Jackman) is working on all sorts of things including a one-man show. What’s next? I don’t know but I hope there is a sequel."
Whether Hugh Jackman would return, however, remains unclear. Despite Efron's statement, Jackman told BBC Radio 2 he "knows" producers are "working on a treatment" for The Greatest Showman 2, but added: "The real answer is "could be", I'm not sure. I'm being completely honest with you, there is talk of something going around but no one is really sure... They're working on a treatment for something."
Jackman speculated: "I would like to be part of it for sure, and I don't know if it would be centred on my character. The other thing is, it did take eight years to get it made and that wasn't all eight years of convincing people. It takes a long time to write stuff."
The Greatest Showman 2 plot: What's it about?
Given that The Greatest Showman was a complete story with a beginning, middle and end, the fodder for a direct sequel doesn't jump out at us. Of course, Barnum was a man with a full life and there are plenty of elements of it that could be focussed on film.
However, not all of them lend themselves to the musical style that fans of The Greatest Showman are bound to be expecting. For instance, he served two terms in the Connecticut legislature which doesn't seem like the same kind of song-and-dance subject material as the circus (insert a politics = circus joke here).
If they could pull off a feel-good entertaining political musical in the Greatest Showman vein, there's no denying we would be very impressed.
Another facet of Barnum's life was his penchant for debunking spiritualists and mediums. A story about him searching out and uncovering hoaxes could be a fun one.
Perhaps it will focus on Zac Efron's (fictional) Phillip Carlyle, keeping Jackman in a supporting role as it edges further out into fantasy? Or maybe we'll get a side story that could have occurred in the middle of the first film, focusing on some specific incident during Barnum's time running the circus.
Despite the criticisms that the first film received for papering over Barnum's more unsavoury characteristics, the sequel is unlikely to address them. While eventually supporting the abolition of slavery, there's no doubt that he took despicable advantage of people of colour (and the show's 'freaks') to make huge amounts of money.
If The Greatest Showman 2 is able to win over the first film's detractors in terms of its relationship to the truth, we'll eat our top hat.
Admittedly, the original film was very happy to play with the facts of Barnum's life in the name of entertainment. For instance, the characters played by most of the cast, including Efron and Zendaya, were fictional, Barnum wasn't an orphan and never had any sort of romance with Jenny Lind.
So, we wouldn't be surprised if the film departs significantly from the truth. Jackman and Gracey are clearly more interested in putting on a show.
The Greatest Showman 2 release date: When is it out?
There's no official word yet, but we can make some educated guesses as to when The Greatest Showman 2 could arrive.
The previous film was released roughly a year after shooting began, so there's no way the film will be with us before March 2020.
And considering how well the first film performed when it was released in December 2017 – an even greater feat when you considered that it was up against Star Wars: The Last Jedi – another Christmas release seems likely. So, if plans get off the ground soon, we could be looking at a December 2021 release. You'd better get working, Mr Jackman!
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