Michael Gracey has been named by Variety as the director of the long-in-development 20th Century Fox project The Greatest Showman on Earth.
Set to star Hugh Jackman in the lead, the film will offer a musical take on the life of P.T. Barnum, specifically focusing on the creation of his three-ring circus and his infatuation with “Swedish Nightingale” Jenny Lind.
Originally announced two years ago, the plan was to team Jackman with his former Academy Awards singing partner Anne Hathaway and the script (From Sex in the City writer Jenny Bicks) was being prepared for her to play the Lind part. Whether she remains interested is currently unclear.
Gracey only recently signed on for the Walt Disney live-action “Snow White” tale, The Order of the Seven, which he’ll film first. Jackman, meanwhile, appears in the upcoming Real Steel and is slated to headline both The Wolverine and Les Miserables.
