Fans of The Greatest Showman have been campaigning on social media for a sequel ever since the original movie’s meteoric rise back in 2017. While there have seemingly no talks for a follow-up to what is really a very self-contained story, that hasn’t stopped the film’s stars from expressing their willingness to return for another round of musical fun in the future. Now Hugh Jackman has once again teased the potential for a second installment of the story of PT Barnum and his family.
The Greatest Showman was one of those movies that really built its reputation thanks to the word of mouth of audiences. For that reason, the film opened in December 2017 to a lowly $8.8 million debut, but went on to take a total of $430 million worldwide, produce a massive number 1 album and songs that have been a constant presence in pop culture for the last five years. While it would seem that a sequel or spin-off would be a no-brainer, there has been no movement on the idea, even if Hugh Jackman would certainly be open to reprising his showman role. He recently told Variety:
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Of course, this is still something of a disappointing response to those desperate to see Jackman’s musical abilities on the big screen again, but in reality, the movie ends on a pretty definite note, and that suggests that it would be a brave person who attempts to recapture the magic of the movie again.
“There’s always a chance, I’ve done a few sequels in my time. There’s no plan, there’s no script that I know of, yet.”
The Greatest Showman Continues to Resonate With Movie Fans Around The World
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Movie musicals can live or die by several equally important components. Whether it is the songs, the stars, or the story, The Greatest Showman defied all odds to become a massive box office hit, beating out well-known big screen adaptations of musicals such as Cats, West Side Story and Phantom of the Opera, and came within $10 million of beating 2012’s epic version of Les Miserables, which also featured Jackson in the lead role.
As the movie still continues to inspire and bring joy to people, that was never more evident than in a video shared by Hugh Jackman in which TikTok user CharlieMoose posted a video in which his grandfather, who suffers from dementia, was seen tearing up at the end of the film while calling it “one of the best” films he has seen. In true Jackman style, he reached out to let Charlie know how much the video had touched him.
As Jackman has said, there are currently no plans for a sequel to The Greatest Showman happening with Disney or 20th Century Studios, but there are not many original musicals that gain the kind of attention the film generated, and fewer that people are still talking about years later. That means that, as Jackman hinted himself, there is always a chance.
