Long-in-development project finally lands a director.
Commercials director and visual effects wizard Michael Gracey is set to direct Hugh Jackman in ‘The Greatest Showman on Earth,’ reports THR.
The project, written by Jenny Bicks (‘Sex and the City’), is a musical biopic of legendary showman P.T. Barnum, with the story following the entrepreneur as he founds a travelling circus. A focal point of the movie will be Barnum’s obsession with Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind, often known as the “Swedish Nightingale.”
Anne Hathaway was originally being courted for the role of Lind when the project was first announced back in 2009, it is unknown if the actress is still being lined up for the project.
‘The Greatest Show On Earth’ is the second project Gracey has been attached to this month, it was only two weeks ago that Walt Disney Pictures tapped the director to helm their China-set retelling of ‘Snow White’ titled ‘The Order of the Seven.’