Ladies and gentlemen, and anyone else interested in a biopic about circus founder P.T. Barnum: We have the first trailer for Michael Gracey’s The Greatest Showman, starring Hugh Jackman as the politician, businessman, and notorious hoaxster. The trailer for the film, which was written by Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon, is full of pluck, complete with a soaring ballad scoring the downtrodden Barnum’s rise from failed businessman to, well, greatest showman. Because of that heavy-handed tune, we don’t hear Jackman sing, but when he does, it will be with words from La La Land lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Michelle Williams wordlessly and cheerfully supports her onscreen husband, who recruits Zac Efron as the resident hardbody, or strongman, or maybe trapeze artist—we can’t really tell from the trailer, but he does end up in the hospital. And Zendaya, who might now be contractually obligated to appear in everything with swinging, is right there beside him.
The Greatest Showman enters the spotlight on December 25.