If there’s one TV show set I’d love to be on the most, it would absolutely be Only Murders In The Building. Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez always look like they are having the best time making the comedy, and this was further proven when a wonderful moment from the set had Selena Gomez performing The Greatest Showman to her cast members like she was alone in her bedroom. What’s even better is Hugh Jackman took notice.

Gomez and the entire Only Murders in the Building cast and crew are currently shooting Season 6 in London, hopefully ahead of it being added to the 2026 TV schedule later in the year. Check out this cute moment with Selena Gomez that Steve Martin shared over on Instagram:

Oh, Selena Gomez slays “Never Enough,” and that’s without even using her beloved pipes. Check out what Jackman wrote in the comment section:

The star of The Greatest Showman who belted out many of movie musical’s memorable (and rankable) songs like “The Other Side” and “A Million Dreams,” gave Selena Gomez some props for how she performed the song while goofing off on the set of Only Murders In The Building. He even made sure the movie’s songwriters Pasek and Paul took a look as well. Here’s how Gomez replied to Martin’s post:

“Never Enough” is performed by Rebecca Ferguson’s character of Jenny Lind in the 2017 movie that also stars Zac Efron, Zendaya and Michelle Williams. The vocals for the hit song was provided by Loren Allred. We love to see the singer/actress showing her musical theatre kid energy. It’s honestly a wonder she’s never done Broadway!

There were also some other fun comments on the Only Murders In The Building moment. Check out what other fans are saying:

• “Convinced she is single handedly adding years to Steve and Marty’s lives.” - @heatherjevryday
• “It’s giving ‘Uncle Steve can I put on a show?!’ and I’m HERE FOR IT 😍🥰” - @peaceofcak3_
• “It’s giving proud dad 🥹” - @imstillhungrythough
• "Little girl who wants her uncle to rate her performance 😭😭" - @__dreamsofher
• "THE DRAMA OH SHE IS ICONIC" - @smgsophie

I knew Selena Gomez and her relationship with Steve Martin and Martin Short was adorable, but it’s videos like this that only make me love them even more. No wonder they were at Gomez and Benny Blanco’s wedding, cake snafus and all.

But given Jackman’s lovely response, should Gomez go full musical for a The Greatest Showman sequel? Back in 2024, he was open to the idea of reprising his role of P.T. Barnum, but no official plans have ever been revealed. That aside, I need more chaotic posts like this from Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez as they continue to film Only Murders.

Right now, it feels like the whole world is going crazy over a musical thanks to Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters, but a decade ago, work began on another film that would become a musical obsession all its own: The Greatest Showman

All of the songs from The Greatest Showman were written by the songwriting team of Pasek and Paul, the duo behind everything from Dear Evan Hansen to the recent live-action Snow White. The duo recently appeared alongside star Hugh Jackman for one of his Radio City Music Hall concerts, and they posted a clip to Instagram as part of their celebration, as it’s been 10 years since starting work on the film.

The Greatest Showman was a less-than-accurate biopic of P.T. Barnum, but it was a massive popular success. While the new movie was never at the top of the box office, it had a consistency rarely seen in modern film that kept it making money for months on end. This was in large part due to a soundtrack that produced numerous hits.

People are clearly still enthusiastic about The Greatest Showman, even a decade after its inception. Fans responded to the video clip, singing the praises of the movie and its music. Comments included…

• I love this so much. Y'all wrote some amazing songs, and I'm so happy y'all could be there to perform with Hugh. 😊❤️- stephaniegailwilliams
• This musical and soundtrack is just so inspiring and powerful ❤️- irishdanceraly
• I was there and so lucky to get to see you all perform, hear stories and see the love you all have for each other ♥️🥰😍 - karenplo
• Saw this live last weekend and you guys were amazing. Chills!!! ❤️-
• gabmilanesi_

The fact that The Greatest Showman even got made is certainly worth celebrating. The movie had to overcome numerous hurdles. At one point, Jackman considered backing out of the project entirely. There was even a fire on set that required Jackman to come to the rescue of Zac Efron. It might be an actual miracle that the movie even happened.

The Greatest Showman would go on to get sing-along screenings, which, as the previously mentioned KPop Demon Hunters showed this past weekend, is the true proof that your musical is a massive success.

The Great Showman was so successful that inevitable talk of a sequel sprang up. However, nothing has ever come of it. But who knows? With Jackman,Pasek and Paul all appearing together on stage at Radio City Music Hall, maybe that got the creative juices flowing to begin work on the follow-up, or on some other brand new project together. There are clearly a lot of fans who would show up to whatever this team did together.

Very few would argue against the fact that Hugh Jackman is one of our biggest movie stars. The man could cost solely on his portrayal of the world famous X-Men member Wolverine, which he recently revived for the 2024 summer blockbuster Deadpool and Wolverine. But even outside of the superhero genre, Jackman has been nominated for an Oscar (for Les Miserables), hosted the Oscars, collaborated with celebrated auteurs, and banked more than $7.5 billion in worldwide box office. And one massive contributor to that overall total was Michael Gracey’s 2017 musical The Greatest Showman… which Jackman almost left before it ended.

Michael Gracey is currently making the rounds in support of his latest musical endeavor Better Man, an unorthodox biopic of the UK singing sensation Robbie Williams that traces his career from his earliest days as a member of Take That, to some debilitating lows. During an exclusive interview with CinemaBlend, Gracey opened up about some of his own career hurdles, and told a story about Hugh Jackman taking a chance on him as a relatively unproven filmmaker… and then almost walking away from the project.

According to Gracey:

Obviously, it worked, because Hugh Jackman appeared in the original musical, based on the life of P.T. Barnum, and it ended up being one of the most financially successful films on Jackman’s resume. Powered by the original songs from Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, The Greatest Showman became a juggernaut, winning over fans and large audiences week after week until it earned $459 million worldwide against a reported $84 million. And it almost didn’t happen. At least, according to Michael Gracey. So I guess you can thank him for this song:

If you loved Hugh Jackman’s The Greatest Showman, you might want to consider giving Better Man a try, as it delivers on the same show-stopping musical numbers that Gracey did in the previous film. Only, by fashioning the spectacle around Robbie Williams’ music – and personality – Gracey has created a ribald piece of pop entertainment that’s unlike any movie out there right now.

And while you are at it, take a spin through our guide to the upcoming 2025 movies that will be reaching theaters in the next few weeks and months, to plan your next trip to the multiplex.

Despite Ryan Reynolds’ best efforts to slam Hugh Jackman at every opportunity amidst their faux feud — even making a dig at Jackman’s divorce in their 2024 blockbuster Deadpool & Wolverine — those around the Australian actor continue to be utterly charmed by him. That apparently includes members of Reynolds’ own household, as the actor recently admitted his daughter Betty is absolutely obsessed with all things Jackman, and The Greatest Showman is involved in the best way.

Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds have been friends for years, although they have a strange way of showing it. (The Wolverine star even threw a jab into a birthday tribute to Reynolds’ mom.) It’s a good thing nobody has to actually pick a side in this false rivalry, because it turns out Reynolds’ 5-year-old daughter Betty — yes, the one Taylor Swift named her song after — knows exactly where her loyalties lie, and it’s not with her dad. The Free Guy actor told EW:

That is pretty intense, but given that her love apparently stems from watching The Greatest Showman — aka one of the best movies on Disney+ right now — who could blame her?

Ryan Reynolds has said that his four children, who he shares with Blake Lively, have been known to rock out to the musical, and he shared the sweetest story, saying:

What a fantastic experience for Ryan Reynolds’ kids! I fully see how little Betty Reynolds would become obsessed with Hugh Jackman after that. The Tony Award winner admitted that re-enacting his own movie for his buddy’s kids might sound like a strange thing for a person to be caught doing, and he joked:

Ryan Reynolds shared another story of just how deep Betty’s love for the X-Men actor is from when the duo were filming Deadpool & Wolverine. He recalled:

Yeah, that is sweet, and Ryan Reynolds is never getting his daughter back. Betty fully belongs to Hugh Jackman. Or is it the other way around? Jackman laughed:

Ryan Reynolds obviously has the utmost respect for the Wolverine star, and I love that the whole family is close. If you want to watch these best friends battle it out on screen, Deadpool & Wolverine can be streamed with a Disney+ subscription, and that might just be the inspiration you need to start watching all of the Marvel movies in order.

With the second live-action The Lion King movie, Mufasa, on the horizon this holiday season, Walt Disney Studios is already reportedly lining up the next of the upcoming live-action Disney remakes behind the scenes by turning to 2010’s Tangled. While part of me is scoffing at yet another remake from the House of Mouse, I think the pick that is in negotiations to be the director is actually an inspired one.

The Director Is In Negotiations For Tangled

Michael Gracey, who made his directorial debut in 2017 for The Greatest Showman, is reportedly in negotiations to helm the live-action Tangled, per Deadline. While we haven’t heard much about the movie thus far, it was only a matter of time, right? It’s been rumored the studio has been developing the movie for over a year now, between some people sharing their opinions about who should play Rapunzel and Zachary Levi throwing in his thoughts for who should play a live-action Flynn Rider. It's also been popular among fans to hope for cameos from both Levi and Mandy Moore in a remake.

The Tangled remake is also reportedly being written by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, who previously wrote solid comedies like Someone Great, Unpregnant and Do Revenge, along with co-writing Thor: Love And Thunder with Taika Waititi.

While I'm Not Over The Moon About Another Remake, I'm Excited About This Possible Hire For One Big Reason

As a Disney fan, I can’t help but be curious about a Disney remake whenever they are in the works. However, considering the studio’s track record for these movies are pretty hit and miss, I don’t know how I feel about Tangled being the next one on the list. For one, it’s among the newer Walt Disney Animation movies, as it is less than 15 years old, so I just don’t see why we necessarily need an update to the movie in ways other titles like Snow White or Peter Pan might.

But hey if no one can stop the live-action Disney train, Michael Gracey is a solid pick. I’m especially excited that the Mouse House is looking to the director because he has shown he can 100% direct an awesome song and dance number with all he put together in The Greatest Showman, and I would want the live-action Tangled to place attention on its incredible music in ways that make it feel like a massive Hollywood musical.

The original Tangled has one of the most romantic Disney scenes in the studio’s history with “I See The Light.” In my opinion, the movie has one of the best couples as well, so it will be exciting to see that chemistry come to life as well. But most of all, I do want a focus on the musical element of the movie, and I think Michael Gracey can hit that home run.

Con artists have been popular characters for a long time in Hollywood. Some of the most loved films from Hollywood's earliest days feature them, like The Wizard of Oz and The Music Man. In honor of that long history, here is our list of some of our favorite movies about con artists and their sneaky ways. 

American Hustle

American Hustle was sometimes jokingly called "American Hair and Makeup" because of the elaborate examples of both in this movie set in the 1970s. That's appropriate too, as the movie is loosely based on a real con set up by the FBI to nab corrupt politicians. The hair and makeup in the movie are also just a great bonus that help make American Hustle a really fun movie. 

Heartbreakers

Heartbreakers is a classic con artist movie. Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt play a mother-daughter team who trick men into marrying and giving up their money. It's filled with little scams throughout, which is also a fun little bonus, and has a great twist at the end, that you'll just have to watch the movie to find out about. 

The Sting

Without a doubt, one of the best movies about grifting has to be The Sting. The superstar cast led by Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and Robert Shaw chew up the scenery in this fast-paced and delightful classic. The key ingredient in the movie is David S. Ward's script which effortlessly explains what could be a fairly complicated con to understand on the surface. 

The Wolf Of Wall Street

While The Wolf Of Wall Street may be more about the dangers of excess and ego, at its heart is the massive grift that Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his cohorts pulled off as they built their fraudulent company. Scams on Wall Street are nothing new, they just took them to a level previously unseen. 

The Grifters

Any list like this is going to have to include anymore called The Grifters. The movie, starring John Cusack, Anjelica Huston, and Annette Bening as a trio of con artists plays out like a '50s crime novel set in the early '90s. It has a "classic" feel to it and it's really fun. 

Ocean's Eleven

Some might call Ocean's Eleven a heist film, and it is. But it's also got a whole lot of grifting going on in it. Every one of the "eleven" has some hustle to their game, especially Danny Ocean (George Clooney). The smooth-talking burglar uses his wits more than his brawn to pull off their incredible heist. It makes for some incredible dialog and a some unforgettable moments. 

The Greatest Showman

It might not be totally fair to call PT Barnum a con artist, but there is a reason he is associated with the famous quote, "There's a sucker born every minute," though he almost certainly didn't actually say it. But as a showman, there was still a little grift in him. He just made it worth it to be to give them his money. 

Boiler Room

Years before The Wolf Of Wall Street, Ben Affleck, Giovanni Ribisi, and Vin Diesel teamed up for Boiler Room about a sketchy brokerage firm running basically the same scam Jordan Belfort ran that inspired the Scorsese movie. It's a raw look at the industry and its shifty ways. 

A Fish Called Wanda

Wanda Gershwitz (Jamie Lee Curtis) isn't the greatest grifter of all time, and her boyfriend Otto (Kevin Kline) has to be one of the dumbest ever. Teaming up with Ken and Archie (Michael Palin and John Cleese, respectively) doesn't help them much, either. Somehow, A Fish Called Wanda has become a little bit of a forgotten classic more than three decades after its release, but it's still wild and hilarious and we promise you won't be DISAPPOINTED with it. 

The Wizard of Lies

One of the worst, most destructive con men in history was Bernie Madoff. His decades-long con left many innocent people holding the bag. Two good happened after that. First, Madoff spent the last decade of his life having a miserable time in prison and second, HBO made a pretty darn good movie about the whole scam, starring Robert De Niro as Madoff. 

Six Degrees of Separation

The movie Six Degrees of Separation is based on a play by the same, itself loosely based on the life of grifter David Hampton, who scammed money out of Manhattan socialites by convincing them he was the son of actor Sidney Poitier. That's exactly what Will Smith's character, Paul, does in the movie.  And yep, if you're wondering it's the play that brought the term into the mainstream. 

The Talented Mr. Ripley

Tom Ripley, played by Matt Damon in The Talented Mr. Ripley is one of the more terrifying hustlers on this list. Through the tense movie, he proves he'll stop at nothing to get what he wants. This is not one of the "fun" movies about con artists. 

Focus

Will Smith plays a con man who Margot Robbie has the misfortune of trying to con. It sets up an interesting dynamic and while it's not the most original idea to ever come of Hollywood, its sleek production and snappy script make well worth anyone's time. 

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Now we come to an all-time classic. Steve Martin and Michael Caine play two con artists forced to come together to pull off some huge cons in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and it works well...until it doesn't and they find themselves on the other end of a grift. It's just the best comedy about con artists ever made, and one of Steve Martin's best movies too, don't you agree?

The Wizard Of Oz

This is a tricky one to place on here, but there is no doubt that on the surface, the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz is a perfect example of a scam artist. He's a pretty great one too, seeing as how he got the whole of Oz to believe his nonsense. He can't pull one over on Dorothy though, she's sees his scam almost immediately. 

The Usual Suspects

"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist," says everything you need to know about Verbal Kint aka Keyser Söze (Kevin Spacey). It's a line that sums up the entire movie in one breath. Verbal Kint is the ultimate confidence man, brimming with exactly that, confidence, after all, he pulls off his grift in the middle of a police station filled with cops looking for him. 

Saltburn

Like The Talented Mr. Ripley in the '90s, Saltburn takes things to absolute extremes when it comes to scams. Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) is diabolical in the planning and execution of his scam. The fact that he gets away with it only makes it that much more disturbing. 

Catch Me If You Can

There's a lot to unpack with Catch Me If You Can. The movie, with a great cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, is based on the autobiography of career criminal Frank Abagnale. It's a fantastic movie that fans can watch over and over, but it may in and of itself all be a scam. There is a lot of doubt in how much of the book - if any of it - is true at all. So meta. 

Matchstick Men

In Matchstick Men, Nicolas Cage plays a con artist who really has everything always going against him. It's a look into what happens when cons go wrong, really. Like a lot of movies about grifters, we root for the criminal, and Cage's performance and his character's bad luck make it easy. 

The Spanish Prisoner

The Spanish Prisoner is the name of one of the oldest and most widely used scams in history. The movie of the same name is basically Steve Martin's character pulling this grift on Campbell Scott's character. It's the same scam that we've all had attempted on us by Nigerian scammers promising great wealth by helping them with a lost rich relative. 

The Producers

Of all of Mel Brooks' amazing movies, The Producers might be the one that is most surprising in how it's endured over the years, with a wildly successful musical based on it and another movie based on the musical. In the end, the plot it just a good old-fashioned scam. 

The Prestige

Magicians are, at their heart, con artists. Any great magician will admit to it. It's how they use the power of deception that separates them from criminal grifters. That's why The Prestige finds its way onto this list. Competing magicians fooling each other with their tricks and illusions are nothing more than scams. 

Now You See Me

Now You See Me is a perfect example of magicians using their powers of persuasion and artistry for crime. The magicians in the movie use everything they've learned about magic and illusion to commit crimes but with a side trick of actually acting a bit like Robin Hood with the ill-gotten gains. It's complicated, but that's what makes it great. 

Curly Sue

Kids have been used in deceptions for centuries and in the movies we've seen it with movies like Curly Sue. It's a classic grifter movie, with James Belushi playing the most stereotypical con man of all time. And yet, the movie still works really well. Sure, it's a bit dated, but hey, keep a sharp eye for a young Steve Carell, who made his film debut here. 

Leap Of Faith

It turns out Steve Martin has a real knack for blaming scam artists. In Leap of Faith, he plays one of the oldest versions of a grifter on earth - the religious type. Martin stars as Jonas Nightengale, a con man who discovers that he can make serious money by pretending to be a faith healer, using every trick in the book to separate desperate people from their money. 

I Love You Phillip Morris

I Love You Phillip Morris is really a love story, but it's about a con man who is so in love with Phillip Morris he can't stop scamming people or breaking out of jail to be with him. Jim Carrey's performance as Steven, the con artist is one of the most underrated of his stellar career. 

The Good Liar

Romance scams, like the one in The Good Liar, are as old as time. When it's Ian McKellen playing the grifter though, you know it's worth checking out. He's just so perfect in the role of an aging hustler running his scam on a widow (Helen Mirren). 

The Frighteners

Director Peter Jackson's The Frighteners is a different kind of grifter movie. The main character, played by Michael J. Fox runs his scams with the help of a few ghosts that only he can see. It's honestly one of the most underappreciated movies by Jackson with fantastic performances all around.  

The Music Man

If you've never seen The Music Man, but you're a fan of The Simpsons, you are more familiar with the plot that you may be aware. One of the best Simpson's episodes of all time has to be "Marge Vs. Monorail" and it's basically all based on The Music Man. In the movie, the "Man" isn't selling a monorail, but he is selling the town a scam with his words and his songs. 

Maverick

Mel Gibson has a few forgotten hits, and Maverick is a great example of one that should be better remembered. Gibson plays a gambler and card sharp in late 19th Century America on his way to play in a poker tournament but finds plenty of ways to hustle on the way. 

White Men Can't Jump

Billy Hoyle (Woody Harrelson) sure knows how to hustle guys on the basketball court. He quickly becomes Sidney Deane's (Wesley Snipes) nemesis on and off the court. That is, until the two team up to hustle for even more money. 

Trading Places

While Trading Places is strictly about con men, the con that Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) and Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd) team up to pull on the Duke Brothers at the end surely makes it worthy of addition to this list. Like many on the list, it's really easy to root for the ones pulling the scam. 

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s faux feud is practically legendary at this point. Fans have long enjoyed watching the two throw verbal jabs at each other on social media and in person. Of course, their battle of wits only masks the true friendship that the two actors share. Their relationship has not only sparked some truly hilarious moments but some genuinely sweet ones as well. On that note, Reynolds recently shared a sweet story that involved him coming home to find his kids rocking out to The Greatest Showman alongside Jackman.

As of late, the two frenemies have been making the rounds in order to promote their new movie, the highly anticipated Deadpool & Wolverine. The two actors alongside director Shawn Levy took some time to speak with Sirius XM to discuss the upcoming Marvel movie. During the discussion, the interviewer brought up the fact that “The Greatest Show,” from The Greatest Showman, is part of the D&W soundtrack. After Hugh Jackman revealed his colleagues’ love for the circus-centric flick, Ryan Reynolds’ attested to it. He then proceeded to recall (in a video that's on YouTube) how his kids ended up having a truly bombastic viewing of the film alongside Jackman:

In my humble opinion, Ryan Reynolds comes off as someone who’s known to expect the unexpected. But I’m not sure that he would’ve ever imagined that he’d walk into his abode and find his fake frenemy acting out the 2017 musical film for his kids. It all sounds incredibly sweet, though, and surely that’s a cool and unique memory that the Reynolds kids will have. Also, it delights me to no end that Ryan views that moment as being both “heartbreaking” and “beautiful,” because he’ll never top it. I’m sure he’ll receive solace in that regard from his secret family, though. (Just kidding about that last part, of course.)

Nearly seven years after its release, The Greatest Showman remains a beloved title due to its winning cast of Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Zendaya and co. And, of course, the incredibly catchy songs – including the Oscar-nominated “This Is Me” – also make the film a fan-favorite. One might be tempted to think that when Jackman watched the movie with Ryan Reynolds’ kids, they streamed it with a Disney+ subscription. However, when skewering Reynolds during their recent interview, Jackman revealed just how he and the group watched the film: 

Hugh Jackman: By the way, we didn't rent it. We bought it on your account.

Ryan Reynolds: Oh, thank you. Thank you. I've been avoiding that for years.

HJ: Residuals.

RR: Yeah, I live to line your pockets, Jackman.

I’d say that Mr. Jackman is doing quite well financially, and one might assume that another Greatest Showman movie could line his pockets even more. Jackman himself is open to a sequel, but he apparently wouldn’t do it for the money. He’d be open to it if there’s a good idea for a story. Jackman’s no stranger to sequels after all, giving he’s once again returning as Wolverine for the latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Time will tell if a follow-up to his 2017 musical film will ever see the light of day. But, until then, Jackman has major bragging rights over Ryan Reynolds due to his jam session with his buddy’s kids.

You can see the two delightful leading men at their best (and worst) in Deadpool & Wolverine, which opens in theaters on July 26 as part of the 2024 movie schedule.

Zac Efron got his start in the musical theatre side of Hollywood, but across two decades of his career thus far, the actor has proven to have many more tricks up his sleeve than just High School Musical’s Troy Bolton. Heck, he was just part of the 2024’s Oscar season buzz for his role in The Iron Claw. Efron recently spoke to why his role in 2017’s The Greatest Showman brought him back to musicals at a time when he wasn’t “looking for” it.

Efron, of course, broke out in a huge way when he starred in the Disney Channel phenomenon High School Musical when he was 19. The movie would kick off a musical trilogy and lead the actor to also star in the Hairspray remake in the early '00s. But it took the actor a decade before he would put his dancing shoes on for The Greatest Showman again. Here’s why, in his words:

As the actor shared, he was convinced to return to the genre by the movie’s director, Michael Gracey, who actually made his directorial debut with The Greatest Showman. Zac Efron became enraptured in Gracey’s passion for the musical and signed on, even to his own surprise. Efron went on to play a playwright named Phillip Carlyle, and he had the opportunity to work closely with Hugh Jackman and Zendaya, among the movie’s other cast members. Plus, The Greatest Showman was a huge hit, becoming one of the highest-grossing movie musicals ever, per The Wrap.

Efron spoke about The Greatest Showman while looking back at a few key movies from his career with Vanity Fair. Take a look:

The actor’s comments come as his latest movie, A Family Affair, is the most streamed movie right now among those with a Netflix subscription. While at the film’s premiere, Efron told The Hollywood Reporter that he thinks “it’s just a matter of time” before he does another musical. A Family Affair, which pairs Efron with Nicole Kidman (who is also movie musically-inclined), does have a small moment that has Efron singing in the car, but when CinemaBlend spoke to the rom-com’s director, he told us Efron declined singing a musical number in the movie.

While Zac Efron certainly has the musical theatre chops, perhaps it comes down to the right song and moment to bring back his song and dance moves! You can check the actor out in A Family Affair on Netflix now.

For starters, I am not necessarily saying that any of these movie characters are outright “bad,” nor am I trying to make a case against any of the films they lead. However, I personally believe that these characters are deeply flawed for one reason or another — either because of the way they are written, the way their respective actors portray them, or even just their moral weaknesses — and what makes matters worse is that they are supposed to the protagonists of their stories. Please bear with me as I explain my reasoning for why these characters make the movies they lead just a bit more of a struggle to follow.

Rick Deckard (Blade Runner)

One of my all-time favorite actors is Harrison Ford who has played some of the most charming characters in cinematic history, but I do not believe Rick Deckard is one of them. Ford does not give a bad performance at all in Blade Runner, but his role — a cop assigned to “retire” artificial humans in a dystopian future — is the least interesting and likable character in Ridley Scott's 1982 film, the real hero of which is Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer), if you ask me.

Rose (Titanic)

On The Ringer podcast, The Rewatchables, Bill Simmons and Van Lathan spend more than 10 minutes discussing why Rose (Kate Winslet) is the worst character from James Cameron's Titanic. The spoiled socialite's unimpressed reaction to first seeing the titular ship, her reluctance to immediately explain Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) saved her life as he is being arrested, and her hogging the makeshift lifeboat (a door) that likely could have prevented Jack's death are just a few reasons.

Scott Pilgrim (Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World)

Michael Cera's title character from Edgar Wright's hilarious and visually stunning 2010 comic book movie is a smug, selfish, and lazy oaf whose troubles — notably having two unassuming girlfriends at once — are no one's fault but his own. I will say, however, that a main point of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is that the protagonist is deeply flawed and, through defeating Ramona's (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) evil exes, thankfully learns to be a better person.

Bella Swan (Twilight)

It is a shame that Kristen Stewart's stint in the Twilight movies cast cursed her with an undeserving reputation for wooden acting because, in retrospect, it was clearly not her fault. In fact, you could say the future Academy Award nominee's performance as the cinematic version of Bella Swan perfectly suits the role’s astonishing lack of personality and emotional depth in a romance about vampires.

Raleigh Beckett (Pacific Rim)

Charlie Hunnam has turned in many wonderful performances in his career, especially in the Sons of Anarchy cast as Jax Teller. Yet, he gives a decidedly one-note performance in 2013’s Pacific Rim as the hero of Guillermo del Toro’s monsters vs. machines epic, Raleigh Beckett, who certainly does not have his aggressively generic and unmemorable characterization.

Jupiter Jones (Jupiter Ascending)

There are many reasons why The Wachowskis' Jupiter Ascending is one of their most infamous flops and among them is Mila Kunis' title role. The young house cleaner who discovers she is the heir to a royal, intergalactic kingdom is written as not much more than a disengaging damsel in distress.

Jake Sully (Avatar)

The reason why anybody went to see 2009's Avatar, or rewatches it to this day, and showed up for the 2022 sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, was to experience the wondrous world of Pandora. The groundbreaking success of James Cameron's franchise has absolutely nothing to do with its hero, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), whom many regard as one of the most generic action movie protagonists you could imagine.

Julianne Potter (My Best Friend's Wedding)

As the Queen of Rom-Coms, Julia Roberts has played many charming and lovable characters, but Julianne Potter is not quite one of them. The whole plot of My Best Friend's Wedding sees her conspire to ruin the impending nuptials of her lifelong buddy, Michael O'Neil (Dermot Mulroney), after realizing she wants to have him for herself.

Luke Skywalker (Star Wars: A New Hope)

I really, truly hate to include one of the most beloved heroes from George Lucas' galaxy far, far away on this list, but it is a decision that I believe many die-hard fans of the Star Wars movies might be able to understand. They may especially agree that Mark Hamill's performance as Luke Skywalker in the 1977 original is not exactly one of his best and the farmer-turned-resistance-fighter's characterization — specifically at that time — is a bit bland and, at times, annoying.

Ariel (The Little Mermaid)

Is there a single character who represents the most egregious tropes associated with Disney Princesses more than Ariel in 1989’s The Little Mermaid? For one, she literally and willfully silences herself all for the chance to be with her crush, which is far from role-model behavior, as far as I am concerned.

Teth-Adam (Black Adam)

Let alone the fact that Teth-Adam was originally created for DC Comics as a Shazam villain, Dwayne Johnson gives a tonally uneven and one-dimensional portrayal of the extremely powerful Kahndaq "champion" whose verbal rejection of being called the hero of his story grows tiresome. Personally, I would have rather seen a movie that centers on the members of the Justice Society of America than what Black Adam turned out to be. 

Christine McPherson (Lady Bird)

Greta Gerwig's feature-length directorial debut, 2017's Lady Bird, is one of the sharpest coming-of-age dramedies of its time, anchored by a spellbinding, Oscar-nominated performance by Saoirse Ronan. Yet, even the acclaimed A24 movie's biggest fans agree that Ronan's title character (whose real name is Christine McPherson) is often too rude and self-absorbed to enjoy watching.

Bruce Wayne (Batman Forever)

When it comes to the best Batman actors, the bottom of the list, for me, is occupied by Val Kilmer. The normally charismatic and dynamic actor implants little to nothing of his signature talents in 1995's Batman Forever, resulting in one of the most bland and forgettable portrayals of the Dark Knight on record.

Cinderella (Cinderella)

I realize that Cinderella is, essentially, the ideal fairy tale character, and her age-old story inspires people to not give up on their dreams. However, her depiction in the 1950 classic does not have much of a distinct personality, causing it to be one of the few Disney animated movies that pales in comparison to its live-action remake, in my opinion. 

Sam Witwicky (Transformers)

To be fair, Shia LaBeouf really puts his heart and soul into playing Sam — an awkward, nervous teen caught up in a war between shape-shifting alien robots. However, the performance is just a little too convincing and often tends to distract from the true mechanical heroes of 2007's Transformers.

Evan Hansen (Dear Evan Hansen)

While the cinematic adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen certainly has its fans (many of whom already loved the original stage musical), its toughest critics agree the title role is a hard person to warm to by the end. The consensus has less to do with actor Ben Platt (reprising his Tony Award-winning role) being nearly twice Evan's age, and more with how he allows himself to benefit from a classmate's suicide after being mistaken for his friend.

Dante Hicks (Clerks)

I am sure there are many convenience store workers who strongly empathize with Dante (Brian O'Halloran), but his incessant whining and lack of gratitude for his girlfriend, Veronica (Marilyn Ghigliotti), kind of makes it hard to. Not to mention, in competition with Randal (Jeff Anderson), Jay (Jason Mewes), and Silent Bob (writer and director Kevin Smith), he is easily one of the least memorable characters from 1994's Clerks despite being the center of it all.

Sandy Olsson (Grease)

No one can deny that the late, great Olivia Newton-John is phenomenal in Grease, as both an actor and a musical performer. Yet, you could make the argument that her role, Sandy Olsson, is not a great character, especially for the way she submits to changing her personality to be more like her crush, Danny Zuko (John Travolta), while he gets to stay the same at the end.

Adam Jones (Burnt)

If not for a charismatic actor like Bradley Cooper in the lead role, the otherwise delicious food movie, Burnt, might not have been worth taking a bite out of. Cooper's character, a talented chef named Adam Jones, pretty much revels in treating people like scraps and boasts little to no redeeming qualities.  

Leo (Mute)

Duncan Jones, director of acclaimed sci-fi films Moon and Source Code, did not receive as much love in 2018 for his Netflix original futuristic noir, Mute. Much of the complaints were centered around Alexander Skarsgård's lead role, Leo, whose otherwise intriguing trait as a non-speaking character becomes a disadvantage as the role offers just about nothing else of interest to the table.

Steven (The Cable Guy)

Jim Carrey's demented performance is meant to convince you that his character is the "villain" of 1996's The Cable Guy. However, in retrospect, the pathetic, self-centered, hypocritical Steven (Matthew Broderick) is the one we should really be rooting against. 

Newt Scamander (Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them)

For a film in which the main draw is watching wondrous creatures run amok, it makes sense that the lead performance would be as understated as Eddie Redmayne's portrayal of Newt Scamander. Yet, even some major Harry Potter fans agree that the Magizoologist is, ultimately, too awkward and dull of a protagonist to carry Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Tom Hansen ((500) Days Of Summer)

To be clear, my main reason for including Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character from 2009's (500) Days of Summer in this list is because many often misinterpret the point of his arc in the modern romantic-comedy classic. Tom is so obsessed with living the perfect love story that he selfishly ignores Summer's (Zooey Deschanel) request to keep things casual and blames her for their breakup.

Ford Brody (Godzilla)

If I am being honest — and the same goes for many examples of disaster and/or monster movies, really — the human characters are easily the weakest part of 2014's Godzilla. However, the otherwise talented Aaron Taylor-Johnson's lead role as Lt. Ford Brody makes less of an impact on the story than anyone else. To be fair, though, I imagine it was hard to stand out amid Bryan Cranston's brief, but memorable, performance as his father.

Frodo Baggins (The Lord Of The Rings)

By the end of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) does achieve the end goal by destroying the One Ring, but is he really the true hero of this saga? When you look at how often Samwise (Sean Astin) came to his rescue and compare him to the fearless Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), the hobbit really does come up short.

P.T. Barnum (The Greatest Showman)

Hugh Jackman's portrayal of P.T. Barnum in The Greatest Showman is, for the most part, extremely charming, and that is precisely the problem. The otherwise dazzling 2017 musical is not at all historically accurate, especially in the way it depicts the founder of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, who, in real life, was a greedy schemer known for exploiting an enslaved woman for his show.

Valerian (Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets)

Luc Besson's highly inventive, visually stunning, and admirably optimistic utopian adventure, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, could have gone down in history as a modern sci-fi classic. Unfortunately, the one-note, generic, frustratingly unimpressionable title hero, played by the otherwise very talented Dane DeHaan, resulted in an ultimately forgettable experience.

Albert Stark (A Million Ways To Die In The West)

Writer and director Seth MacFarlane also stars in 2014's A Million Ways to Die in the West as Albert Stark — an aimless, perpetually dissatisfied oaf whose main character trait is lengthy complaints. If the character was not just, essentially, a live-action, human version of one of MacFarlane's Family Guy roles, Brian Griffin, he might have been stronger protagonist for the Western-Comedy. 

Jack Burton (Big Trouble In Little China)

I can't deny that I have nothing but love for Kurt Russell's hilarious performance as California trucker Jack Burton in Big Trouble in Little China. Yet, did you ever notice just how imbecilic he is, not to mention, the fact that he achieves not a single heroic act until he kills Lo Pan (James Hong) at the end? His bumbling nature does give the many Asian cast members their chance to shine as the true heroes, but even that only further earns him a lower ranking among Russell’s best characters.

Howard Rattner (Uncut Gems)

Adam Sandler gives one of his most electric performances as Manhattan jeweler Howard Rattner in the Safdie Brothers' 2019 thriller, Uncut Gems. Honestly, if a less likable movie star had played the selfish, self-destructive gambling addict than the charismatic comedy icon, we would have no reason to root for him and the story could have suffered as a result.

Mimi (Psycho Goreman)

The ancient extraterrestrial warrior (voiced by Steven Vlahos and portrayed physically by Matthew Ninaber) may be the title character of Psycho Goreman, but the true protagonist is Mimi (Nita-Josée Hanna). However, as far as I am concerned, the 2020 horror-comedy would have been much more enjoyable if the young girl who awakens "PG" were not such a spoiled, rotten, loudmouthed bully.

Britt Reid (The Green Hornet)

Director Michel Gondry's 2011 reboot of The Green Hornet reimagines L.A. news publisher Britt Reid (producer Seth Rogen) as an absent-minded man-child whose vigilante aspirations seem completely out of place with his character. While this does work as a parodic commentary on Kato (played here by Jay Chou) always being the more obviously capable one in the 1960s series (which starred Bruce Lee in the role), it is a one-note joke that quickly loses steam.

I promise that my intention was not to ruin any of these main movie characters for you, but at least offer some additional perspective regarding how they fit into their stories.

Zendaya has been a professional actress and singer since her Disney days, and now she's become one of the most popular and bankable stars in the business. This is partly thanks to her Emmy-winning performance in Euphoria (which can be streamed with a Max subscription), and has resulted in her going between TV to film. And, there are six Zendaya movies which stand out as the best in her career... so far.

It seems like the sky's the limit for her career, and she's been wildly busy over the past few years in particular. While I'm psyched to see what upcoming movies she's involved in (hopefully including Spider-Man 4), there are a handful of film titles which stand out as her best. Alexa, play her song "Replay."

Malcolm & Marie

Malcolm & Marie was released in 2021 for those with a Netflix subscription, and was a fascinating, two-person character study. Directed by Euphoria's Sam Levinson, the black and white movie is a 106-minute story about a dysfunctional couple, played by Zendaya and John David Washington. 

We follow as Malcolm and Marie come home from a night out, and have a long (slightly drunk) argument about the state of their relationship. Plus, Malcolm & Marie's ending puts in doubt who won said argument. With no other actors or scene changes, the movie shows what a truly compelling actress Zendaya is, despite over a decade age difference between her and her co-star. It would be just the start of her collaboration with Sam Levinson. 

The Greatest Showman

Throughout her time as a Disney star (and her recording artist career), Zendaya proved she is a talented singer and dancer. So, landing a role in the movie musical The Greatest Showman seemed like the perfect project for her. As a surprise to no one, she absolutely shone while playing trapeze artist Anne Wheeler. 

The Greatest Showman features music by Pasek & Paul, and is a fictional take take on P. T. Barnum's life and career. Zendaya's Anne is part of the side love story of the film, with her and Zac Efron's Phillip Carlyle being star-crossed due to being in an interracial relationship. She crushed her role, especially her big duet, "Rewrite the Stars," from the Greatest Showman soundtrack. Luckily, for fans of this megahit movie, they can re-watch it over and over again with a Disney+ subscription. 

Space Jam: A New Legacy

Space Jam: A New Legacy was a somewhat controversial movie as soon as it was announced. Since the Michael Jordan-led 1996 hit was so beloved, there were some major shoes to fill... even with Lebron James at the top of the call list. When it finally released in theaters and on streaming with a Max subscription, we were introduced to another memorable Zendaya movie character. 

While the new Space Jam movie might have failed to reach its sky-high expectations, there were some wins throughout its runtime. Chief among them was the decision to cast Zendaya as Lola Bunny, a character that made her debut in the '96 flick. I wouldn't be at all surprised if she got more voice acting gigs in the future. 

Dune: Part Two

Denis Villeneuve's Dune is considered one of the best sci-fi movies of all time, so its sequel, Part Two, was wildly anticipated ahead of its release. While Dune 2 got delayed, it finally hit theaters in March of 2024. Zendaya's character, Chani, went from a cameo to a leading player, and it's definitely one of the 27 year-old actress' best movie credits to date.

Dune 2 follows as Paul Atreides joins the Fremen, and eventually is hailed by extremists as the Lisan Al Gaib a.k.a. the messiah. Despite the high concept and sci-fi setting, Zendaya brought a surprisingly real take to Chani, serving as Paul's lover and guide to the fremen. She also stands up against him during Dune: Part Two's ending, which sees Paul seemingly begin a Holy War. Her performance is, apparently, going to inspire how Villeneuve will approach the third Dune movie. For now we'll have Chani's first two appearances in the burgeoning franchise to re-watch. 

Spider-Man: No Way Home

Another big reason why Zendaya has become such a successful movie star is thanks to her performance in the Tom Holland Spider-Man trilogy, which has been shot and produced in quick succession. She made her debut as Michelle in Homecoming, a brand new character that happens to also go by the name MJ. She went on to reprise that role in the two sequels, with her part and importance to the overall MCU increasing with each new appearance.

As a result, it should be no surprising that Spider-Man: No Way Home is on the list of Zendaya's best movies, and is her more significant appearance as MJ. Throughout the blockbuster, she and Ned get involved in Peter's multiversal adventure, directly putting themselves in danger as a result. Unfortunately, Spider-Man: No Way Home's ending saw everyone who loves Peter forget him, including MJ. We'll just have to wait and see if/when she returns in an upcoming Marvel movie, and how she gets her memories back. 

Challengers

Perhaps it should be no big surprise that Zendaya's most recent film is on this list of her greatest movie roles. Directed by Call Me By Your Name filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, Challengers is a sports drama about Zendaya's character, Tashi Duncan, and her two friends/lovers, played by Josh O'Connor and Mike Faist. 

The trailer for Challengers definitely teased the sexy, intense tone of the movie, and Zendaya has been receiving universal praise for her performance in the sports drama movie. The role is complicated and adult, showing that she's got a place in the film world beyond genre work like Spider-Man and Dune. It should be fascinating to see how it is received moving forward, and if she's able to get any award nominations for her performance as Tashi. One thing is clear: tennis icon Venus Williams is a fan, and vice versa.

With Zendaya continuing to book new work, it seems like only a matter of time before another major movie credit joins this list. We can definitely count on this, though: her career is only just beginning. 

Movies based on true stories and real history have been staples in Hollywood since its earliest days. Getting the history incorrect has been a tradition as well. It’s important to note that just because a movie isn’t 100% true, doesn’t always mean it’s a bad movie. 

There are many reasons filmmakers may choose to omit facts or change the story for cinematic reasons, but it’s still important that those changes be noted. Other times though, those missing facts or changed moments ruin the film completely. 

Braveheart (1995)

Mel Gibson’s Braveheart is the king of historically inaccurate movies. Fans love the battle sequences, but those sequences are nowhere close to how they were in history. There are too many historical inaccuracies to note here, but one important one is the portrayal of the Battle of Stirling Bridge, in which there is no bridge in the movie. William Wallace used the river and the bridge brilliantly to win the battle, instead, audiences get a giant melee on an open field. 

Pearl Harbor (2001)

There are a lot of reasons to criticize 2001's Pearl Harbor, but for brevity’s sake, let’s just say that there was no one in history who was in the Battle of Britain, and at Pearl Harbor, and who took part in the Doolittle Raid, as Ben Afflect’s character did in the movie. It’s frankly insulting that they would make such a character, diminishing those who did participate in each event. On the other hand, it is about Pearl Harbor. Sort of. 

1492: Conquest Of Paradise (1992)

1492: Conquest Of Paradise is… not a good movie. It’s easy to go on and on about Christopher Columbus’ reputation, and how he is portrayed in the movie as a hero, but rather than do that, we’ll focus on one glaring historical mistake. No one with any kind of education in 1492 believed the world was flat. The idea that Columbus’ ideas were not widely accepted or even heretical is hogwash, like this movie. 

Tombstone (1993)

1993’s Tombstone is one of the best Westerns ever made. That doesn’t mean it’s historically accurate. The movie relies on the myth of Wyatt Earp more than fact. It makes for a doozy of a watch, but don’t go teaching it to kids about how life was in the Wild West. 

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

Biopics are notorious for changing the facts to suit the story and the reputation of the people they portray. Bohemian Rhapsody is no exception, even though it deserved the awards it won. The worst moment for fans of Queen and those who know their history comes at the end of the movie. It ends with Queen’s epic performance at LiveAid, but that wasn’t the first time they’d played together in years as depicted, nor was Freddie Mercury aware that he had HIV/AIDS at the time. They crammed a lot in at the end. 

The Imitation Game (2014)

No one can watch The Imitation Game and call it a bad movie. No one, that is, except historians. There are numerous examples of a good story getting in the way of historical accuracy throughout the movie, from Alan Turing’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) personal life, to his personality quirks, indeed even to how he worked, and what he worked on, at Bletchley Park. Just for starters, he had a lot of friends and worked closely with everyone on his team. There are plenty of more examples, but we can leave it that for now. 

Cool Runnings (1993)

It seems a little silly to have a movie like Cool Runnings on this list, but despite being a really fun movie, it takes a lot of creative license. For one, the team was not shunned by the bobsled community, they were celebrated. They also were never in medal contention, as the movie implies. Finally, it was pressure from the whole bobsled world that got their appeal approved to even compete, not the work of one man, as depicted. Still, it’s a wonderful movie. 

Napoleon (2023)

Director Ridley Scott makes great movies, but historians love to jump all over the liberty he takes with the facts. Napoleon is no different, as many historians have come down hard on the film's inaccuracies. The criticism is something Scott simply doesn’t care about, and he strongly denounced those who called him out, telling them to, “Get a life.”

Argo (2012)

Argo is the perfect example of a great movie, that takes a lot of liberties with the actual history. The Best Picture Oscar winner tells the story of the CIA creating a fake movie as a cover to get hostages out of Iran. The problem with the movie is that most of the people involved, including President Jimmy Carter, say that the role of the Canadian government, especially Ambassador Ken Taylor, played by Victor Garber,  was greatly diminished in the movie and that they deserve most of the credit. 

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)

Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood isn’t supposed to be the “true” story of the Sharon Tate murder, but it’s still worth noting on this list. It’s presented honestly, as an alternate history where Tate is saved from the Manson Family, but obviously, that’s tragically not what happened. 

JFK (1991)

Oliver Stone’s 1991 epic JFK is a little tricky here. The movie famously focuses on Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) and his investigation into John Kennedy’s assassination. The investigation has been criticized as being mostly conspiracy theory, therefore making it fairly inaccurate. However, the movie is actually pretty accurate to Garrison’s investigation. So that makes it both accurate and inaccurate, a rarity here. 

Apocalypto (2006)

Mel Gibson’s directorial follow-up to The Passion of the Christ took him all the way to the other side of the world with Apocalypto. Set about 500 years ago during the Mayan Empire, Apocalypto is a fascinating movie, but many scholars have called it out it for unfairly portraying the Mayans as far more barbaric than in reality. While there were examples of human sacrifice in Mayan history, for example, it wasn’t as common as the film implies. 

Gladiator (2000)

Remember, historical inaccuracies don’t automatically make for poor movies and Gladiator is a perfect example. It’s a great movie, with amazing performances and set pieces. But it plays very fast and loose with the facts, including, most notably, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) killing his father, Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris). 

U-571 (2000)

Few movies produce as much anger in historians than U-571. This is especially true of British scholars. Even then-Prime Minister Tony Blair declared the movie “an affront” to British sailors during World War II. Why? The entire plot of the movie revolves around Americans capturing the first German Enigma Machine in 1942. The problem? The Brits had captured one a full year before, months before the Americans even entered the war. Oops. 

Battle Of The Bulge (1965)

1965’s Battle of the Bulge, about the battle of the same in World War II is so historically inaccurate that Dwight Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander at the time of the actual battle, was described as “outraged” by the movie. I think that’s all we need to say. 

Dunkirk (2017)

Dunkirk is another tricky one here because most of the inaccuracies are because Christopher Nolan wanted to make a great movie, as well as tell a true story. The biggest problem most scholars have is a lack of soldiers on the beach. In reality, it was 10s of thousands of soldiers. Nolan didn’t want to use CGI, so the beaches look far less crowded than the reality. There is also the stunning scene at the end with the plane flying over the beach after running out of fuel, which is physically impossible. Still, it’s an amazing movie and much of it was very accurate. 

Gods And Generals (2003)

Among the most criticized films on this list is the 2003 Civil War epic Gods and Generals. The Southern Poverty Law Center said it “glorifies the Confederacy” and serves to further the “Lost Cause” narrative of neo-Confederates. Even the author of the book that the movie was based on denounced it. 

Mississippi Burning (1988)

This has to be the most heartbreaking movie to include on this list is Mississippi Burning. The incident it portrays is one of the most important moments of the Civil Rights movement when two Jewish and one Black civil rights workers were murdered in Mississippi in 1964. It’s a critical story to be told. Yet, it was so fictionalized in the movie that many Civil Rights activists denounced and boycotted it. 

The Patriot (2000)

Roland Emmerich 2000’s film about the American Revolution, The Patriot, starring Mel Gibson as a widowed father of seven children who is reluctant to join the fight is so offensively inaccurate that even Gibson himself called it “sheer fantasy.”

Amadeus (1984)

1984’s Amadeus won eight Academy Awards, and for good reason, it’s fantastic. It’s not, however, a true story. It may be based on the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but very little of what happens in the movie happened in real life. It was meant to be a fantastical version of his life, sure, but it’s important to remember that often myths, like the ones this movie creates, become historical beliefs in the future. 

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Like Quentin Tarantino’s other movie, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, his Inglourious Basterds is presented as alternate history. Everyone knows that Adolf Hitler died in a bunker like a coward at the end of World War II, not in a gun battle in a theater, as the movie shows. That’s ok, there’s nothing dishonest about Tarantino’s presentation, but it’s still nowhere close to historically accurate. 

The Death of Stalin (2017)

Okay, so The Death of Stalin is a really tricky one. On one hand, it really does accurately portray the chaos and power-grabbing battle that happened with the high-ranking officials in the Communist Party in the Soviet Union after Stalin died. On the other hand, it’s a comedy and a farce, meant to be funny. It is, of course, hilarious and wonderful, but the characters are very different from how they were in real life. Still, a fantastic movie. 

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

A Beautiful Mind is fairly accurate in its portrayal of mental illness, as it shows the harrowing way that the film’s protagonist, John Nash (Russell Crowe), dealt with his schizophrenia. On the other hand, much of the events of Nash’s life are not accurate, or even fabricated. So this one gets a 50% in its accuracy. 

The Revenant (2015)

The Revenant, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is a story so wild that audiences would be forgiven for thinking the whole thing was made up. It’s not though, much of what is seen in the movie is true. It’s an insane story, which makes it all the more curious that the filmmakers would not be accurate with Hugh Glass’ private life, where there is no evidence he had a Pawnee wife or children, as the movie claims. 

The Untouchables (1987)

Sean Connery won an Academy Award for The Untouchables, and Robert De Niro’s performance as Al Capone is among the very best of his career. The movie is really fun to watch and is completely rewatchable. It’s not, however, historically accurate at all. Virtually every event in the film is complete fiction. 

300 (2006)

Okay, okay, we’ll obviously acknowledge that 300 is supposed to be a fictionalized version of history, but like other alternate histories, or whatever you want to call 300, it’s important to point out that King Xerxes was not an 8-foot-tall God in real life. We’re just saying. 

The Greatest Showman (2017)

While Hugh Jackman’s performance in The Greatest Showman is truly wonderful, very little about the character resembles the real-life P. T. Barnum. Barnum was cruel to his animals and many of his human performers. He was also a teetotaller, which Jackman’s character was not. A wonderful movie with terrible history.  

The Great Escape (1963)

1963’s The Great Escape is one of the greatest war movies of all time. It’s legendary reputation is based on the wonderful storytelling and great performances from a slew of Hollywood’s biggest stars of the day. While it’s based on a true story of Allied airmen breaking out of a POW camp, how it went down in real life bears little resemblance to how the movie shows. 

Elizabeth (1998)

Cate Blancett’s performance in Elizabeth from 1998 is great. Like, really great. The movie’s history, however, is a total mess. The timelines are totally off, many of the locations are wrong, and some events are totally made up. There’s more historically wrong than right in the movie. Still, it’s worth watching for Blancett. 

Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)

It’s impossible to imagine that 1998’s Elizabeth isn’t the most inaccurate movie about Queen Elizabeth I of England, and yet, its sequel Elizabeth: The Golden Age, is actually an even worse offender. Cate Blanchett is wonderful, again, as she was in the first, but the plot of the movie is even less based on real history than the first. It’s completely frustrating and, unlike the original, completely forgettable, despite Blanchett. 

Captain Phillips (2013)

This is a movie we didn’t want to put on this list because it’s a white-knuckle adventure that is very much based on a true story. Still, it has to be on this list because the crew members of the Maersk Alabama, the ship captained by Capt. Phillips (Tom Hanks), insist the movie does not show how the real events really happened. It seems they disagree that Richard Phillips was not the hero he is portrayed as. 

The Green Berets (1968)

Leave it to John Wayne to make a pro-Vietnam War movie in 1968, at the height of the conflict. With war protests raging across America, Mr. Patriotism John Wayne stepped in to make a piece of pro-war propaganda that extolls the virtues of the US’s involvement in a civil war in Southeast Asia. It is inaccurate and doesn’t represent the mood of the country in any way. 

While many of the movies on this list are excellent movies and we don’t want to discourage you from watching and enjoying them, it’s always good to know how close to the real history they are. 

One of the top reasons I have returned to stream Ahsoka with my Disney+ subscription each week is not necessarily its cosmic action sequences or even Rosario Dawson’s performance in the title role. My favorite character in the latest TV series set in the Star Wars universe is actually Sabine Wren, as played by Natasha Liu Bordizzo.

The young Mandalorian warrior is easily the biggest role to date for the actor, who was born in Australia to a Chinese mother and a father of Italian descent, according to the Daily Telegraph. However, this is just the latest of many impressive performances that have made her one of the most promising up-and-coming Asian actors in Hollywood. See for yourself by browsing our picks for the best Natasha Liu Bordizzo movies and TV shows below — starting with her introduction to a galaxy far, far away.

Ahsoka (2023)

Years after the Galactic Empire was overthrown, a Jedi Master and Clone Wars veteran (Rosario Dawson) senses that the peaceful New Republic is threatened by an old enemy’s imminent return.

Why it is worth watching if you like Natasha Liu Bordizzo: In my opinion, Bordizzo’s charming performance as a live-action version of the rebellious Sabine Wren makes her the standout of the Ahsoka cast in creator Dave Filoni’s spinoff of The Mandalorian that also serves as a companion to the acclaimed animated animated shows, Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels.

Stream Ahsoka on Disney+.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword Of Destiny (2016)

A legendary warrior (Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh) returns, seeking to prevent a coveted weapon that belonged to a renowned swordsman from falling into the hands of an evil warlord (Jason Scott Lee).

Why it is worth watching if you like Natasha Liu Bordizzo: Bordizzo made her acting debut (and put her real-life martial skills got good use) in the role of Shu Lien’s apprentice, Snow Vase, in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny — the long-awaited, Netflix exclusive sequel to Ang Lee’s modern Kung fu masterpiece that was directed by celebrated stunt choreographer Yeun Woo-Ping.

Stream Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword Of Destiny on Netflix.

The Greatest Showman (2017)

A poor entrepreneur named Phineas Taylor Barnum (Hugh Jackman) puts together a band of talented and obscure outcasts to star in a new, revolutionary form of entertainment.

Why it is worth watching if you like Natasha Liu Bordizzo: In this musical inspired by a true story that — despite some historical inaccuracies — captured the hearts of millions with its marvelous visuals and dazzling original songs, Bordizzo gives another scene-stealing performance in the Greatest Showman cast as a talented acrobat named Deng Yan.

Stream The Greatest Showman on Disney+.
Rent or buy The Greatest Showman on Amazon.

Detective Chinatown 2 (2018)

A police-academy-reject-turned-private-investigator (Liu Haoran) is tricked by his cousin (Wang Baoqiang) into participating in an international contest for detectives being held in New York City, only to discover that the competition has an ulterior motive.

Why it is worth watching if you like Natasha Liu Bordizzo: Bordizzo went on to join yet another franchise of action-packed, Chinese-language imports — but one that is campier in tone — in the role of NYPD officer (and the central character’s love interest) Chen Ying in Detective Chinatown 2.

Stream Detective Chinatown 2 on Tubi.

Hotel Mumbai (2018)

The staff at a renowned hotel in India risk their lives to keep their guests safe during a terrorist attack.

Why it is worth watching if you like Natasha Liu Bordizzo: Based on a true event that took place in 2008, director Anthony Maras’s Hotel Mumbai is a harrowing, yet inspiring thriller in which Bordizzo stars as a tourist who becomes embroiled in the siege on the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.

Stream Hotel Mumbai on Max.
Rent or buy Hotel Mumbai on Amazon.

The Society (2019)

A group of teens find themselves mysteriously cut off from the rest of the world and left to their own devices in their well-to-do small town, where every other resident, including the adults, have inexplicably vanished.

Why it is worth watching if you like Natasha Liu Bordizzo: Bordizzo’s second collaboration with Netflix was the short-lived, coming-of-age sci-fi series The Society, in which she starred alongside Kathryn Newton's Allie as her friend, Helena Wu, with whom she butts heads over how to lead their group to safety.

Stream The Society on Netflix.

Crazy About You (2019)

In hopes to win back his ex-girlfriend (Megan Smart), a man (Angus McLaren) accepts a challenge from a wealthy media mogul (John Cleese) to walk the coast of Western Australia almost completely naked for charity.

Why it is worth watching if you like Natasha Liu Bordizzo: During the main character’s naked walk in director Alan Lindsay’s Crazy About You, he meets and forms and unexpected bond with a beautiful backpacker played by Bordizzo, which certainly complicates things in this uniquely plotted and thoroughly charming rom-com.

Stream Crazy About You on The Roku Channel.
Rent or buy Crazy About You on Amazon.

Most Dangerous Game (2020)

A desperate soon-to-be father (Liam Hemsworth) agrees to participate in a game that pits him against a group of highly skilled hunters for 24 hours.

Why it is worth watching if you like Natasha Liu Bordizzo: Once again, Bordizzo got to put her real-life martial arts skills to good use while chasing after Hemsworth’s character in the first edition of Most Dangerous Game — a modern take on Richard Connell’s prolific short story that was originally released on the short-lived streaming platform Quibi, as a TV series.

Stream Most Dangerous Game on Amazon Prime.

Wish Dragon (2021)

A teenager (Jimmy Wong) becomes the master of a magical creature with the ability to grant wishes (John Cho).

Why it is worth watching if you like Natasha Liu Bordizzo: The titular creature in Wish Dragon helps our hero, Din, reconnect with his childhood friend, Li Na, who is voiced by Bordizzo in this refreshing Netflix exclusive animated film made in collaboration with Sony Pictures Animation.

Stream Wish Dragon on Netflix.

The Voyeurs (2021)

After moving into their first apartment together, a young woman (Sydney Sweeney) and her boyfriend (Justice Smith) become dangerously obsessed with a married couple (Ben Hardy and Bordizzo) from across the street.

Why it is worth watching if you like Natasha Liu Bordizzo: Bordizzo gives one of her more intriguing performances yet in The Voyeurs — a sexy Amazon Prime original thriller from writer and director Michael Mohan.

Stream The Voyeurs on Amazon Prime.

Day Shift (2022)

A cash-strapped estranged husband and father (Jamie Foxx) spends his days searching for and slaying vampires hiding in Los Angeles.

Why it is worth watching if you like Natasha Liu Bordizzo: Bordizzo would return to the Netflix horror scene by joining the Day Shift cast as Heather — a kindly neighbor of Foxx’s character — in this comedic creature feature that also stars Dave Franco and Snoop Dogg.

Stream Day Shift on Netflix.

The Force is strong with Natasha Liu Bordizzo, who has nowhere to go but up at this point in her career. We'll continue keeping you apprised on what's going on with her career.

Michelle Williams hasn't made a whole lot of sequels over the course of her career – with Andy Serkis' Venom: Let There Be Carnage being the only time that she has reprised a role on the big screen – but fans evidently shouldn't take that history as an indication of a reluctance on her part. Obviously there are some movies that simply don't need follow-ups, but one that the actor very much wants to see happen is The Greatest Showman 2.

Williams plays Charity Barnum, the wife of Hugh Jackman's P.T. Barnum, in the original 2017 musical, and apparently it's a character she'd happily return to if she were to be called upon. As she shared in a career retrospective interview with Vanity Fair, one of the big draws for her is simply the opportunity to have more of the music in the world. She explains,

Fans of The Greatest Showman will know that this is far from the first time that a star has pushed for the idea of a sequel. In 2019, Zac Efron said that it was a project that was in early stages of development and expressed hope that it would happen. Hugh Jackman has been asked about a Greatest Showman 2 multiple times, and while he often makes jokes about how many sequels he's made, it also seems to be an idea in which he'd be interested.

It should also be noted that this isn't even the first time that Michelle Williams has expressed enthusiasm for the possible follow-up feature. Last spring, she was quoted saying that she would make The Greatest Showman 2 "in a heartbeat."

Adding to her thoughts about the original in the Vanity Fair interview, Williams said,

Directed by Michael Gracey, The Greatest Showman is loosely based on the true story of how P.T. Barnum created the world famous Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. It's certainly not because of box office receipts that a sequel hasn't happened, as the film was a worldwide hit in its theatrical run – ultimately earning $435 million globally.

The Greatest Showman's remarkable cast includes not only the aforementioned Michelle Williams, Hugh Jackman, and Zac Efron, but also Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and more. Perhaps one of the greatest challenges will be finding opportunity in the schedules of all those talented people.

While we wait for more updates about The Greatest Showman 2, check out our 2023 Movie Release Calendar to discover all of the films scheduled to arrive in theaters and on streaming in the coming 12 months.

While we know Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman for their feuding off-screen or fighting as Deadpool and Wolverine on screen, now, both of them are also known as song and dance men. While Jackman is known for his ability to tap dance and sing his heart out on both the stage and screen, Reynolds is not so known for those skills, at least until he signed on opposite Will Ferrell in Spiritied. Turns out Jackman actually gave his pal some advice when it came to learning how to sing and dance, however, the tips seemed to backfire a bit (unsurprisingly, considering their hysterical history of bickering). 

Reynolds' latest entry in the 2022 movie schedule is in the Christmas musical Spirited.  If you've seen the Spirited trailer, you should know he sings and dances in the holiday movie, and in an interview with Big Issue the actor revealed how his pal Hugh Jackman attempted to help him prepare for the musical... though he's now lightly roasting himself and his pal for the advice.

It sounds a Reynolds/Jackman dance lesson is full of all the same tomfoolery and squabbling we’ve become accustomed to with these two. I can just picture the Wolverine actor trying to get Reynolds to dance after saying “...and 5, 6, 7, 8” and the  comedian being absolutely clueless. Despite Jackman’s extensive musical resume, it seems like he was not able to successfully pass his knowledge along to the Free Guy actor. 

Aside from some minor roasting, Reynolds did speak about the “sage” advice his frenemy gave him about working on a musical. He said The Greatest Showman star said that he needed to make sure he enjoyed the process of making the film, explaining “if you enjoy it, we’ll enjoy it.” Or, as he put it: 

Not only is it great advice generally, but it’s coming from someone with a stellar musical background. On the screen, the Wolverine actor has starred as lead characters in acclaimed musicals like The Greatest Showman and Les Misérables. He also has quite the list of stage credits, including his most recent role in The Music Man on Broadway, his Tony award-winning role in The Boy From Oz, and his West End debut in Oklahoma!. So, Reynolds had an expert at his disposal to learn how to dance, but alas it didn’t seem to work out; at least he got some good life advice out of it.

Clearly, Reynolds figured it out, because he does dance his heart out in Spirited, which can be steamed with an Apple TV+ subscription. Now, I’d really love to see the two of them together in a musical! Although that feels like a farfetched dream. Luckily though, we will get to see Jackman and Reynolds together as their iconic X-Men characters when Deadpool 3 hits theaters in 2024.

Disney+ is still a relatively new streaming service compared to the likes of Netflix and Hulu, but that doesn’t mean it doesn't have some awesome movies that you can stream right now. 

From superheroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to intergalactic battles in the Star Wars movies, there is so much to stream with so many Disney+ prices and plans to choose from. It’s up to you to decide what the best movies are to watch. Here is what is available to stream right now. 

Hocus Pocus (And Hocus Pocus 2) (1993, 2022)

In Hocus Pocus, A trio of comedic witches (played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy) are resurrected by a teenager on Halloween night in Salem, Massachusetts. Now, it’s up to the kids to somehow banish the witches for eternity before they steal the souls of the children around them to stay young forever. 

And in Hocus Pocus 2, the sisters are raised again, with a new generation of high schoolers, and are given a supposed fake black flame candle, but turns out, it’s very real. And now, the Sanderson sisters want even more power. The sequel, which stars the original trio, including Bette Midler, is full of witchery and fun, so be sure to check it out.

Stream Hocus Pocus on Disney+.
Stream Hocus Pocus 2 on Disney+. 

Flubber (1997)

If you’re looking for a Robin Williams classic, look no further than Flubber. This iconic comedy starring the famous comedian tells the story of a professor who discovered “flubber,” but in discovering this, he ends up missing his wedding. Now, in order to win his fiance back, he tries to use this new invention, but it ends up taking a turn. As someone who grew up watching Robin Williams movies all the time, this was always one of my guilty pleasures - and I’m sure you’ll love it just as much as I do. 

Stream Flubber on Disney+.

Cinderella (2015)

Out of all of those live-action Disney remakes, Cinderella is by far one of my favorites. Based on the movie of the same name (which was based on the fairytale), Cinderella starring Lily James tells the story of a young, kind woman who is given one chance to go away to a ball for one night, only for her to meet a handsome prince. What more can you want? It’s a classic love story – featuring a great performance from Cate Blanchett. 

Stream Cinderella on Disney+. 

Hamilton (2020)

Watch Lin-Manuel Miranda’s beloved musical come to life in Hamilton, a recording of the Broadway production. This story of Alexander Hamilton spans years, from his early days in the American Revolution to his marriage to Eliza Schuyler, and later, to his time as the Secretary of the Treasury  of the United States - all set to some awesome contemporary music. 

Stream Hamilton on Disney+.

The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) (2024)

Welcome to the Eras Tour, otherwise known as the concert I’m sure you’ve heard so much about during both 2023 and 2024. Taylor Swift released the concert film of her legendary Eras Tour, simply titled The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) to Disney+. Showcasing her concert at SoFi Stadium, this movie will make you get up on your feet, sing and dance along, and probably make you want to listen to every single Taylor Swift album. 

Stream The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) on Disney+.

The Art Of Racing In The Rain (2019)

Based on the novel of the same name and starring This Is Us cast member, Milo Ventimiglia, and actress Amanda Seyfried, this story follows a race car driver, Denny, and the unbreakable bond that he shares with his dog, Enzo, a golden retriever that learns lessons not only from racing, but from his owner as well. 

Stream The Art of Racing in the Rain on Disney+. 

Flamin’ Hot (2023)

Directed by Eva Longoria, Flamin’ Hot is a biographical dramedy that tells the story of the alleged creator of the Flamin’ Hot Cheeto, one of the most popular snacks of all time, and his rise to success. The movie is a fun time, and features some great music – one song was even nominated for Best Original Song at the 2024 Academy Awards, “The Fire Inside.”

Stream Flamin’ Hot on Disney+. 

West Side Story (2021)

In this remake of the classic 1961 musical, based on the Broadway musical of the same name, two people from opposing cultures fall in love and have to find a way to be together despite their rival gangs fighting each other for territory in the 1950s. Nominated for several Academy Awards - and won in the case of Ariana DeBose as Anita - this remake  is one to remember and should be the example of how to properly redo a classic movie.

Stream West Side Story on Disney+. 

10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

Directed by Gil Junger, this classic teen rom-com is one you can’t miss. 10 Things I Hate About You, starring Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles, is based on the Shakespeare comedy, The Taming of the Shrew, and follows a bad boy who dates an antisocial girl in order to help out his friend date the antisocial girl’s sister. 

Stream 10 Things I Hate About You on Disney+. 

The Parent Trap (1998)

The Parent Trap follows two twins (played by Lindsay Lohan) separated due to divorce who suddenly find and meet each other at summer camp. They team up, switch places and head back to their parents' homes, with the intent of somehow trapping them together so that they can fall back in love and all be a happy family again. 

Stream The Parent Trap on Disney+.

Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions, Olivia Rodrigo: driving home 2 u, And Other Great Documentaries

Did you know that Disney+ has several documentaries on a variety of interesting subjects? Maybe you want to learn the process behind one of Taylor Swift’s latest albums, Folklore, in Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions. Maybe you want to feel all the feelings while watching Olivia Rodrigo’s documentary, Olivia Rodrigo: driving home 2 u. Whatever you want, the  world is your oyster. 

Stream the documentaries and more on Disney+. 

Enchanted (2007)

Enchanted follows a young woman who is suddenly magically placed into the real world, away from her animated one. Now, she must find a way to get back to her home and to the love of her life - but this human world is far more than she bargained for, and she might find another prince in the city of New York. The movie even received a Disney+ sequel in 2022.

Stream Enchanted on Disney+. 

Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995)

In Mr. Holland’s Opus, a composer who is frustrated with his work finds fulfillment in his life as a high school music teacher, taking the job to just pay rent at first, but finding that teaching the love of music to children is better than anything in the world. 

Stream Mr. Holland’s Opus on Disney+. 

Bridge To Terabithia (2007)

This fantasy drama will make you sob and smile at the same time. Bridge to Terabithia follows the story of two children getting closer to their teenage years who bond over a fantasy world they create in the woods near them, where they go to escape their lives, away from bullies, messed-up family, and more. 

Stream Bridge to Terabithia on Disney+.

A Goofy Movie (1995)

Get ready to stand out! A Goofy Movie is a classic Disney film that follows the story of Goofy and his son, Max, going out on a crazy adventure across the United States in an effort to bond – which only brings on more hijinks. As a late ‘90s/early ‘00s kid, this is the movie that brings me back. 

Stream A Goofy Movie on Disney+. 

Chip ‘N’ Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022)

While there are plenty of great kids shows on the streaming platform, I’m going to highlight a new one that came out in 2022. Chip ‘N’ Dale: Rescue Rangers follows the titular chipmunks, Chip and Dale, on an adventure unlike any other - going on a quest to discover what happened to their missign co-star, Monterey Jack. With a talented Chip ‘N’ Dale voice cast, featuring big-time names like Andy Samberg, John Mulaney, Kiki Layne and more, this is one you and your kids will enjoy. 

Stream Chip ‘N’ Dale: Rescue Rangers on Disney+.  

Father Of The Bride (1991)

If you’re looking for a classic romantic comedy, check out Father of the Bride. Starring Steve Martin, this film tells the story of a man who is experiencing the age-old terrifying quest that every father of a daughter goes through – their marriage, and all of the hijinks that follow. Truly, a hilarious ride, and it even has a 2022 remake now on Max. However, just check out the original.

Stream Father of the Bride on Disney+. 

Avatar (2009) And Avatar: The Way Of Water (2022)

There’s no time like the present to check out the original Avatar. The classic sci-fi film follows humans as they travel to a distant planet in order to mine the resources to save Earth. There, they meet the mysterious Na’vi, the natives of Pandora. 

And, if you happen to enjoy the first Avatar, the sequel is available to watch on Disney+, too, following the story of Jake Sully and his family as they travel to a different tribe of Na’vi to avoid humans hunting them down. 

Stream Avatar on Disney+.
Stream Avatar: The Way of Water on Disney+.

Remember The Titans (2000)

In this fantastic sports film, Remember the Titans tells the story of a high school football team after an African-American is hired as their coach. Now, for the first time in the school’s history, they have a fully racially integrated team. But even with this bold step, there are still several people that feel integration shouldn’t happen - even on the football team itself. 

Stream Remember the Titans on Disney+. 

Freaky Friday

Starring Lindsey Lohan and the fabulous Jamie Lee Curtis, Freaky Friday tells the story of a mother and daughter with communication issues, but when a crazy night causes them to switch bodies, they must live out their days as if nothing has happened, while trying to figure out how to switch back. 

Stream Freaky Friday on Disney+. 

The Greatest Showman (2017)

If you want to check out a great modern musical, watch The Greatest Showman. Starring Hugh Jackman, the musical tells the story of P.T. Barnum, the legendary ringmaster of Barnum’s American Museum - later creating Barnum & Bailey Circus. Zac Efron and Zendaya also star. 

Stream The Greatest Showman on Disney+. 

Free Guy (2021)

You really can’t get better than Ryan Reynolds, and Free Guy is the best example of that. In this video game film, Reynolds stars as Guy, an NPC in a video game that ends up becoming the main character in more ways than one, teaming up with an unlikely ally in order to take down the game’s overlord – otherwise known as the developer. It’s a fun ride, no matter what. I need to see a sequel.

Stream Free Guy on Disney+.

Hidden Figures (2016) 

In this inspiring biographical film, Hidden Figures tells the story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn, and Mary Jackson, three brilliant African-American women who worked for NASA, and were the brains behind many of the operations there, like sending astronaut John Glenn into orbit. 

Stream Hidden Figures on Disney+. 

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (2008 – Present)

Fly into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a near endless collection of amazing Marvel movies. Begin at the start with Robert Downey Jr.’s, Iron Man, or enjoy one of its latest entries and soar into space with The Marvels.  Or head into the wonderful Avenger’s Endgame to watch the cast kick butt and take names. You won’t be disappointed no matter what you pick. 

Stream The Marvel Cinematic Universe on Disney+.

Pixar Films (1995 – Present)

Do you feel like crying? Because Pixar will happily make you do it. Check out some of Pixar’s amazing animated films, from revisiting the classic Toy Story from 1995, to some of its newest entries like the Disney+ original, Turning Red. Or maybe you want to check out Elemental, Pixar’s latest 2023 release, which is now streaming on the platform.

Stream the Pixar films on Disney+. 

Disney’s Animated Films 

Disney is known for its wonderfully animated and joyous films, and there are plenty to watch on Disney+. From the very beginning of Disney film history with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to some of its newest hits such as the Frozen series or Encanto. Watch as you dive into the fantasy worlds of places like Tangled, or perhaps fly up into the air with the superhero film, Big Hero 6. No matter the genre, Disney will satisfy your needs. 

Stream all of Disney’s Animated Films on Disney+. 

Star Wars Saga 

Do you have what it takes to be a Jedi? Ask yourself that while you watch the Star Wars saga. Iconic films such as Star Wars: Episode 4 - A New Hope are available to stream, as well as recent releases in the Star Wars universe, as well, such as Star Wars: Episode 7 - The Force Awakens. Be sure to also check out the Star Wars Disney+ originals, like The Mandalorian or the prequel series, Andor, once you’re watching all those lightsaber battles. 

Stream the Star Wars saga on Disney+. 

Pirates Of The Caribbean Movies (2003 – 2017)

Sail away on the seas and drink some rum with The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Johnny Depp stars in the film series, telling the story of Jack Sparrow, and his misadventures on the sea, and the crazy characters that he runs into. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley star in several of the films, as well. 

Stream the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise on Disney+. 

With so many amazing movies to watch, you’ll have endless hours of entertainment ahead of you. Now if you don’t mind me, I’m going to re-watch every MCU film for the umpteenth time.  

Hugh Jackman will likely always be known first and foremost as Wolverine, but the man has had a few box office hits that were not X-Men related, and one of the biggest was The Greatest Showman. There have been fans wondering if we might get a sequel to the movie almost as soon as the first one arrived, and Jackman isn’t shutting the door on the idea, though he recently made it clear there is no plan for such a movie at this point.

Hugh Jackman spoke with Variety at the Toronto International Film Festival, where he was asked about comments from his Greatest Showman co-star Michelle Williams, who said she would love to be involved in a sequel due to how much people, including her own family, loved the first movie. Jackman made it clear that he certainly wasn’t against sequels, but it doesn’t sound like such a film is actively being pursued at this point. Jackman said…

It’s at least theoretically possible that there’s a project in development that Hugh Jackman isn’t aware of. He wasn’t a producer on the first film, just the star, so things could be in early stages working out a plan before going back to him. The movie was made by 20th Century Fox, which was its own studio at the time, but is now owned by Disney. The new studio may be even more interested in a sequel, but certainly the change in ownership changes a lot about making such a movie.

Hugh Jackman has joked that he’s totally against sequels, which is, of course, not at all true. He has said simply that if the story is good, he’ll be interested, so it would seem that all the world needs for The Greatest Showman 2 to become a reality is a story that gets Hugh Jackman excited. The rest will follow, as long as the soundtrack is as hot as the original Greatest Showman. 

It’s hard to understate how much people loved The Greatest Showman. The first movie wasn’t simply a box office hit but one of those few films that became a hit through steady box office returns over an extended period. The film was never number one at the domestic box office, it never did better than number three. However, it saw consistent returns over a period of time, spending more than two full months in the domestic top ten.

The Greatest Showman had a pretty satisfying ending, so no sequel is necessarily needed, but the movie, despite being about a real-life person, was also mostly fiction, so there’s really nothing standing in the way of creating a reason to continue the story. And if the soundtrack is as big a hit for the sequel, we’ll have a dozen new songs that Greatest Showman fans will never stop singing. 

Every generation seems to have a songwriting duo that has soundtracked the most beloved musicals of its time. For the current one, those names are clearly Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who have collaborated to compose the music of the wildly popular works Dear Evan Hansen, La La Land and The Greatest Showman. Their latest project is the upcoming 2022 movie Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, where they adapted the children’s story into a big musical about a singing croc. 

When CinemaBlend recently visited Sony Pictures Studios in Los Angeles, California to get a first look at the live-action/animation hybrid musical, the movie’s co-directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck spoke to how Pasek and Paul made Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile their next song-and-dance feature film. In Gordon’s words: 

As the directors shared to CinemaBlend and a small group of other outlets, they’d never made a musical before, previously collaborating on comedies like Blades of Glory, The Switch and Office Christmas Party. However, they had some major talent on their hands in the form of the songwriting duo, who helped them realize a lot of the storytelling would be through the movie’s music, most of which is sung by Shawn Mendes embodying the singing crocodile. Speck then said this: 

When the characters in Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile burst into song, they are actually supposed to be singing, rather than in other musicals, where it’s not always necessarily happening in this way. For the fall release, a big part of Lyle’s character is being a talented singing croc, and the numbers performed are in service of this, while in something like Oscar-winning musical La La Land, some of the time it’s more symbolic than physically happening. Gordon also said this: 

The directors shared that there are eight original songs and some reprises in Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile composed by Pasek and Paul, making it a full-blown musical. The movie also stars Javier Bardem, Constance Wu and Winslow Fegley, who also are part of the major musical numbers, as the Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile trailer has teased as well. 

Following the duo’s catchy catalogue, including The Greatest Showman hit “This Is Me” and La La Land’s “City of Stars,” we’re curious which Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile songs will say with audiences. The family friendly movie hits theaters on October 7. 

A tried and true genre in the film world is musicals, which have succeeded at the box office and Awards Season for decades. One of the most recent blockbuster hits that have hit theaters over the past few years is Michael Gracey’s The Greatest Showman starring Hugh Jackman. And after chatter about a sequel, Jackman has responded to the possibility of reprising his role as P.T. Barnum.

The Greatest Showman did great at the box office when it hit theaters in 2017, and the hit songs by Pasek & Paul continue to be popular in the years since its release. Since then fans have been hoping to see either a stage adaptation or a movie sequel, with Michelle Williams recently confirming that she’d be interested in playing Charity Barnum again. Hugh Jackman was asked by People if he’d be interested in a musical sequel, first joking before giving an honest answer by saying:

Someone cue the soundtrack, because it looks like Hugh Jackman is ready to “Come Alive” if the right story for The Greatest Showman 2 comes together. And with Michelle Williams eager to make more memories she can share with her family, perhaps a big screen sequel could come together after all. Although with Disney now in charge of 20th Century Fox and its properties, the decision ultimately comes down to the House of Mouse.

While Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams might be down to reunite as the Barnums in The Greatest Showman 2, actually making the project happen would be a long process. If a story is locked down, songwriters Pasek & Paul (Dear Evan Hansen, La La Land) would need to write all new bops for the cast to sing. The pressure would presumably be high, considering how popular tracks like “This is Me” continue to be.

Speaking of the cast, it might be difficult to get the all-star names of The Greatest Showman in one place for a sequel due to their busy schedules. Aside from Jackman and Williams, the ensemble includes Zac Efron, recent Emmy winners Zendaya and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Dune’s Rebecca Fergusen. 

Of course, there’s still no indication that Disney has any plans for a second Greatest Showman movie. But Hugh Jackman continues to be a super bankable actor, so it doesn’t seem totally out of the question. For his part, the X-Men alum is flexing those musical muscles while starring in the revival of The Music Man on Broadway.

The Greatest Showman is currently available to stream on Disney+. Be sure to check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

The Greatest Showman may have hit theaters way back in 2017, but the story still resonates with fans. The Hugh Jackman musical was another entry to the exceedingly popular movie musical genre. Now that films like In The Heights and West Side Story have taken off, could we see a sequel to The Greatest Showman? Michelle Williams is on board, and she has a sweet reason for wanting to reunite with Hugh Jackman. 

In an interview with Variety, Michelle Williams revealed the lovely reason she’d like to make a sequel to The Greatest Showman with Hugh Jackman. She said: 

Cute, right? Many of the songs on the soundtrack for The Greatest Showman have the joyful, positive messages that Michelle Williams - and fans around the world - found so appealing. Written by La La Land composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, tracks like "A Million Dreams", "Come Alive", and "From Now On" quickly rose through the ranks of Spotify playlists everywhere. "This is Me," the film’s most famous track, was even nominated for Best Original Song at the 2018 Oscars. 

Despite the film's success, there are currently no plans to create a sequel to The Greatest Showman. It could be due to the fact that the stars are tied up with other projects: Michelle Williams is set to collaborate with Steven Spielberg on The Fabelmans, and she’s currently tied up with the Venom franchise. Meanwhile, Hugh Jackman is breaking in his dancing shoes eight times a week in The Music Man on Broadway. 

That doesn’t mean fans should hang up their circus hats - in addition to Michelle Williams, Hugh Jackman has also expressed an interest in returning to the world of The Greatest Showman. If movie producers can rewrite the stars, maybe fans will see it translated to the big screen. 

The Greatest Showman portrays a fictionalized version of the life of P.T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman), a circus ringleader with lofty aspirations. Along with his wife Charity (Michelle Williams), Barnum gathers a group of societal outcasts to form a troupe of showstopping performers. The cast included mega-stars like Zendaya, Zac Efron, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Rebecca Ferguson. 

There may not be any plans for a sequel, but you can brush up on the lyrics to The Greatest Showman with your Hulu subscription. 

While most people interested in celebrity relationships are focused on people who are dating, for my money this is no greater celebrity couple than Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. The two have built their friendship on publicly acting like they can’t stand each other. Ryan Reynolds is now continuing the battle by going after Jackman, and his popular film The Greatest Showman, by acting like the two things are one in the same.

While promoting his own new movie The Adam Project, Ryan Reynolds spoke with Yahoo, or more specifically, spoke with a couple of the kids of an interviewer at Yahoo. One of them asked Reynolds why he was so mean to The Greatest Showman, and while she was asking why he liked to pick on the movie, Reynolds pretended like she was referring to Jackman, by a name he now asks people to call him. Reynolds went off…

While it’s all part of the joke, it feels like projection when Ryan Reynolds hears a kid ask why he’s mean to The Greatest Showman and assumes she’s talking about Hugh Jackman the man and not the movie. It’s certainly true that a lot of the jokes that Reynolds has thrown Jackman’s way were specifically in response to that movie, so if you look at it from a certain perspective it looks like Reynolds’ false animosity could be focused on the film. 

Reynolds once used music from The Greatest Showman in a TikTok video poking fun at Jackman. Reynolds had made custom socks with the actor’s face on them for Jackman’s birthday. The Greatest Showman was an insanely popular movie when it came out, which likely made it an easy target for Ryan Reynolds. It’s a reference everybody would get. The music was everywhere for a while. It was one of those pop culture things you knew about even if you never saw the movie. 

Maybe Ryan Reynolds just likes to poke fun at Jackman’s work on musicals. The Music Man, the Broadway show where Hugh Jackman is currently appearing, has been the focus of a lot of Reynolds’ jokes in recent months as well. While the relationship is based on these two disliking each other, we know the opposite is the truth, which is what makes it all so much fun. Still, I’d love to see what Hugh Jackman says about Reynolds in front of children.

While some actors stick to one or two specific genres, others will shift from one genre to the next, from big action franchises to musicals to dramas. In the latter category is Rebecca Ferguson, an actress who has been making strides in some of the biggest movies to date, like the Mission: Impossible franchise, The Greatest Showman, and more. 

Starting off her career in the Swedish TV industry and moving over to Hollywood later in life, Rebecca Ferguson is becoming one of the most recognizable faces in film for how many movies she has appeared in. From epic films such as Dune to modern musicals that will have you on your feet, Ferguson has done it all - and will surely only continue to do more. Here is where you can watch some of the best Rebecca Ferguson movies that are streaming or available to rent right now.  

The Greatest Showman (2017) 

If you’re looking for an epic musical, be sure to check out The Greatest Showman. The film follows the story of P.T. Barnum and his troupe of strange performers as they put together what would later be called one of the greatest shows on Earth, showing how to embrace your differences and turn them into something better. 

Rebecca Ferguson plays Jenny Lind in The Greatest Showman, and while she isn’t using her actual singing voice for the role, there is something about her performance that makes me smile every time I watch it. She perfectly captures that grace that a singer like Jenny Lind would have, and has a smile that would charm any man (or woman) off their feet. All of The Greatest Showman cast is talented, but I especially love Ferguson. Plus, the music is so catchy. 

Stream The Greatest Showman on Disney+. 
Rent The Greatest Showman on Amazon. 

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation And Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2015-2018) 

Move over, Tom Cruise, because Rebecca Ferguson is making strides in the Mission: Impossible franchise. In this classic action series, Mission: Impossible follows Ethan Hunt, who is an agent of the Impossible Missions Force, and often goes on adventures that are dangerous, death-defying, and full of excitement. 

Since 2015, Ferguson has appeared in two Mission: Impossible films so far, Rogue Nation and Fallout, but she’s already set to appear in the next two entries into the series as well. Her character, Ilsa Faust, is a badass MI6 agent and works with Tom Cruise’s character, and honestly, I could watch them beat people up any day. I wish we got to see her in more action roles like this because Rebecca Ferguson packs a damn punch. I can’t wait until the next Mission: Impossible movie just to see her rather than Tom Cruise. 

Stream Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation on Paramount+. 
Stream Mission: Impossible - Fallout on Paramount+. 
Rent Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation on Amazon. 
Rent Mission: Impossible - Fallout on Amazon.

Florence Foster Jenkins (2016) 

In this biographical film, Florence Foster Jenkins tells the story of the titular character, Florence, who is a New York heiress known for her absolutely horrendous singing, but is one of the sweetest women alive. When her dreams are cut off at a young age, she takes it upon herself to still somehow make it in this world. 

This movie is a delight, through and through, and that’s partially thanks to the brilliant cast. Rebecca Ferguson plays Kathleen Weatherley, a mistress of one of the characters, and her performance in her role is not only brilliantly done, but her scenes with the lead, Meryl Streep, are some of the best of the movie. Something else I love about this film is the costume design, as it truly feels like we are transported back in time to the 1940s. Definitely a great film to watch if you haven’t already. 

Stream Florence Foster Jenkins on Paramount Plus.
Rent Florence Foster Jenkins on Amazon. 

Life (2017) 

In this awesome sci-fi horror movie, Life follows a group of astronauts who are among the first to discover life on Mars, however, this discovery soon leads to their doom, as there are dark entities that don’t want them there. 

I know that Life received mixed reviews, but I love the heck out of this film, mainly for its amazing cast, Rebecca Ferguson plays one of the astronauts and her chemistry gels so well with the rest of the actors. And let’s talk about the casting for a second - Life has such a small cast but they’re all so talented, with names like Ryan Reynolds, Jake Gyllenhaal, and more. I think it’s so effective for a horror movie cast to be so small as it really shows off their talents, and that’s exactly what Rebecca Ferguson got to do in this movie. 

Rent Life on Amazon. 

The Girl On The Train (2016) 

Next up, we have an exciting psychological thriller called The Girl on the Train. In this movie, a divorcee who has had a rough time in life finds herself in the middle of a missing person’s investigation and turns her ordinary world upside down, changing it forever. 

I’m telling you, Rebecca Ferguson can really do it all. From the moment she steps on the screen in this film, she is electric in her role as Anna, and her scenes with Emily Blunt’s character, Rachel, are filled with so much tension that I’m on the edge of my seat every time I watch this movie. While I do think there are certain moments that could have been executed better from the novel, I think it’s a thrilling film that will entertain anyone who is a fan of the genre - and wants to see Rebecca Ferguson rock her role. 

Rent The Girl on the Train on Amazon. 

Hercules (2014) 

Moving on, we have Hercules. In this adaptation of the famous Greek myth, the titular character is tasked with the ultimate test of his sword skills, when the King of Thrace and his daughter request his help to somehow beat their evil competitors. 

You know, for some reason, seeing Rebecca Ferguson as a princess fits so well. Again, she just has this aura of grace that is perfect for a role like Ergenia, and she rocks it perfectly. And you want to talk about spot-on casting? Dwayne Johnson as Hercules. I mean, what other actor in Hollywood would quite possibly play that famous role? Maybe Chris Hemsworth, in my opinion, but I don’t think anyone could beat the Rock for that character. It’s not the most accurate portrayal of Greek mythology, but it’s a hell of a good time. 

Rent Hercules on Amazon. 

Doctor Sleep (2019) 

Stephen King knows how to write stories, and Doctor Sleep is the perfect example of that. In this sequel to The Shining, we follow Dan Torrance. After forty years, Torrance is an adult and has to deal with his own problems now - specifically, cult problems. When he discovers that a little girl has powers that remind him of his own, it's up to him to try and save her from the cult, who are hunting her down. 

This is hands down one of my favorite Rebecca Ferguson performances, because she brings it as the leader of the cult. I didn’t think I could be scared of her but here I am, shaking in my boots. The whole movie itself is well thought out and terrifying from beginning to end with brilliant performances from the whole cast. Stephen King is a master of horror and Doctor Sleep only adds to that fact. If you’re a fan of awesome horror movies, check this one out. 

Rent Doctor Sleep on Amazon. 

The Kid Who Would Be King (2019) 

In this fantasy movie based on Arthurian legend, The Kid Who Would Be King follows a young boy who gets to go on a fantastical adventure of sorcery and magic. Here, he finds Excalibur, the sword that was once the main weapon of King Arthur. But when he finds this weapon, it wakes up Morgana, an evil sorceress, who wishes to become all-powerful. Now, it's up to the young boy, his friends, and the help of a couple of allies, to try and stop her dastardly plan. 

Again, Rebecca Ferguson is such a brilliant actress and she plays the villain role beautifully that I really want to see her in more acting parts like this. Her performance as Morgana is not only beautiful but terrifying, especially when Morgana turns into some monstrous forms later on in the film. It’s a shame this movie did so poorly at the box office because it was truly such a great time watching, and I would gladly watch it again as someone who loves King Arthur adaptations. 

Stream The Kid Who Would Be King on Disney+. 
Rent The Kid Who Would Be King on Amazon. 

Dune (2021) 

The last movie on here that we need to discuss is 2021’s Dune. In this adaptation of the novel of the same name, Dune follows Paul Atreides and his family, who are suddenly thrust into a universal war when he has to travel to one of the most dangerous planets in the universe to somehow keep the future alive for those he cares about the most. 

While the movie only covers the first half of the original book, Dune is as epic in sci-fi as you can get. The whole Dune cast is so talented, but Rebecca Ferguson is amazing in her role as Paul’s mother and carries herself well as one of the leading ladies of this movie, and I personally love that a good part of the movie was her relationship with her son (played by Timothee Chalamet), as their relationship was one of the most complex ones in the film and very entertaining to follow. For those who haven’t seen Dune yet - what are you waiting for?  

Dune is currently available for Premium Digital Ownership at Amazon

Bonus Item: The White Queen (Miniseries - 2013) 

While this isn’t a film, it’s a worthy entry on this list. The White Queen is a miniseries set during the Wars of the Roses, between two noble houses, the House of Lancaster and the House of York. We follow three women, who use their beauty, charm, and skills to somehow manipulate people behind the scenes in order to gain power. 

Rebecca Ferguson shines in this role. Again, I think she has this perfect aura of beauty and grace to play a princess but her as a queen is something else, and I couldn’t think of a better actress to portray the White Queen as the protagonist of this film. The costume design is brilliant, the acting phenomenal, and the story gripping from start to finish. I know this isn’t a quick two hour movie to watch, but this miniseries is something else and you should watch it. 

Stream The White Queen on Starz.

Rebecca Ferguson is truly a master of her craft and I think it won’t be long until we see her pop up again in another big-time movie as one of its stars. Now all I have to wait for is the next Mission: Impossible movie to see her again. And hopefully now, you just might have realized how awesome she is too. 

Celebrity “feuds” can be pretty entertaining and, today, there’s one that pretty much tops them all. I’m talking about the hilarious back and forth between frenemies Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. For the past several years, the two actors have found ways to one-up each other on social media, much to the delight of the public. Reynolds was the latest of the pair to take a shot and did so on Jackman's birthday, via TikTok. And in typical fashion he managed to make it personal, this time by referencing the actor's circus musical, The Greatest Showman. 

Somehow Ryan Reynolds manages to find subtle but effective burns for his faux archnemesis. This time around, he did so through a TikTok video, during which he pokes fun at the Logan actor with some personal footwear. And playing in the background is one of The Greatest Showman’s biggest songs. Check out the video, complete with Reynolds’ clever caption, down below: 

You have to give the Deadpool actor credit for the way he’s able to form these playful jabs at his colleague. I’d also say that he gets extra points for that cheeky wordplay and those socks. Though it doesn’t quite top some of his other jokes. The actor has taken hilarious shots at the character of Wolverine and even once joked about the possibility of Hugh Jackman’s hair not even being real. Yeah, this “feud” runs pretty deep. You can also check out a better look at those socks down below:

But of course, the Reminiscence star has managed to get a few over on Ryan Reynolds. The actor once pulled out a throwback photo of Reynolds and humorously chastised him for his fashion choices. The Australian actor also jokingly threatened to sue him over a fan-made Deadpool 3 poster. And the jabs have even extended to Reynolds’ wife Blake Lively.

Despite these exchanges, the two really do seem to have a true friendship and can give each other props when it's warranted. Back in August, Hugh Jackman took some time to extend congratulations to Ryan Reynolds following the success of his latest film, Free Guy. Likewise, Reynolds gave his “pal” some credit when he showed off his dance skills while prepping for The Music Man. And Jackman also shared support for his fellow X-Men alum after he got candid about his lifelong struggles with mental health. 

The pair have also paused their famous feud to benefit some good causes as well. Last year, both teamed up with Feeding America to help lower income families suffering from the effects of COVID-19. They also joined forces to encourage the public to wear masks amid the pandemic.

This surely won’t be the last time one of the actors pokes fun at the other, and I, for one, am looking forward to seeing how Hugh Jackman might respond to this particular shot. Maybe he’ll opt for a Free Guy-inspired joke to respond.

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I believe that we are witnessing one of the most fascinating success stories in Hollywood in recent years as Yahya Abdul-Mateen II continues to rise in fame and acclaim. Believe it or not, acting was only the second career choice for the supremely talented, award-winning, 35-year-old Candyman cast member and only became his main gig after he was laid off from his job as a city planner in San Francisco.

Well, it appears we have living proof that when one door closes, another opens, with this star of superhero movies and TV shows alike, which is where we will begin in our breakdown of his most notable credits thus far.

Watchmen (HBO Max)

Years after costumed vigilantes have become a thing of the past (and against the law, at that), a detective (Academy Award winner Regina King) decides to adopt her own superhero identity while investigating a group of white supremacists modeled after the infamous crime fighter Rorschach.

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II: Without giving too much away, when Yahya Abdul-Mateen II joined HBO’s Watchmen cast, no one could have guessed the true identity of his Emmy-winning role, much like how few audiences could have expected the strength and powerful relevance of this 2019 miniseries continuation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ groundbreaking graphic novel from executive producer Damon Lindelof.

Stream Watchmen on HBO Max.

Buy Watchmen on Amazon.

Aquaman (HBO Max)

After a man (Jason Momoa) discovers that he is of Atlantean descent, he struggles to accept his destiny as the heir to and protector of the underwater kingdom in order to save it from the tyrannical ruling of his evil half-brother (Patrick Wilson).

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II: A year before starring in one of the most acclaimed DC TV shows of all time, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II played one of the main antagonists in one of the most commercially successful DC movies of all time, director James Wan’s Aquaman. He will return as Black Manta in the upcoming sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, set for a 2022 release.

Stream Aquaman on HBO Max.

Rent/Buy Aquaman on Amazon.

Baywatch (Paramount+)

An experience lifeguard (Dwayne Johnson) from Emerald Bay, California, butts heads with his new, younger recruit (Zac Efron), until they decide to join forces in order to investigate a drug epidemic hitting the beach.

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II: Before joining the Aquaman cast, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II took a dive into more humorous waters in the 2017, big screen reboot of Baywatch (only his second feature length acting gig) as a police officer who struggles to explain to Johnson, Efron, and Alexandra Daddario’s lifeguard characters why they have no authority to investigate a drug epidemic hitting the beach.

Stream Baywatch on Paramount+.

Rent/Buy Baywatch on Amazon.

The Vanishing Of Sidney Hall (Showtime)

A detective (Kyle Chandler) embarks on a long journey to track down a best-selling author (Logan Lerman) after copies of his controversial debut novel are found as evidence in a string of destructive arsons across the country.

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s very first feature-length acting gig was Oscar-winning filmmaker Shawn Christensen’s A24-produced, 2017 drama, The Vanishing of Sidney Hall, in which he plays a former teacher of the title character who was quick pick up on his talents before his illustrious career as a writer began to take off.

Stream The Vanishing Of Sidney Hall on Showtime.

Rent/Buy The Vanishing Of Sidney Hall on Amazon.

The Get Down (Netflix)

In the late 1970s, a group of impoverished youths from the South Bronx pass the time by performing a new art form that would unwittingly change the face of music.

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s first big break as an actor came in 2016 in the form of Baz Lurhmann’s fictionalized exploration of the birth of hip-hop with Netflix’s The Get Down, in which he plays the dancing aspiring drug kingpin and night club owner Clarene “Cadillac” Caldwell.

Stream The Get Down on Netflix.

The Greatest Showman (Disney+)

A man with a big heart and an even bigger imagination (Hugh Jackman) defies expectations by rounding up a band of “unique” performers to create a form of entertainment that would later define the modern day circus.

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II went from playing a disco-dancing criminal in The Get Down to one half of a brother-sister duo of trapeze artists (along with Zendaya) in The Greatest Showman - a stunning, Oscar-nominated musical that boasts a wonderfully inspirational message about acceptance, despite taking quite a few liberties about the kind of person P.T. Barnum really was.

Stream The Greatest Showman on Disney+.

Rent/Buy The Greatest Showman on Amazon.

The Trial Of The Chicago 7 (Netflix)

What was meant to be a peaceful protest of the Vietnam War in Chicago ends in a horrifying conflict with the police, leading a group of political activists to stand trial and prove their non-violent intentions in 1968.

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II: In Oscar-winning writer and director Aaron Sorkin’s dazzling, fact-based Netflix original drama The Trial of the Chicago 7 - a more historically accurate biopic than The Greatest Showman by comparison - Yahya Abdul-Mateen II gives a stunning performance as real-life Black Panther Party founder Bobby Seale.

Stream The Trial Of The Chicago 7 on Netflix.

Black Mirror (Netflix)

A world in which points earned from playing video games count as actual currency, another in which your social media presence determines how you are accepted in society, and other frighteningly plausible futures are explored in creator Charlie Brooker’s brilliant anthology series that just barely counts as science fiction.

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II: One of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s first forays into horror (so to speak) before starring in Candyman was his role as an old friend of Anthony Mackie’s character, whose relationship with one another takes an unexpected turn after he gives him an immersive virtual reality game, in one of the best Black Mirror episodes from Season 5 called “Striking Vipers.”

Stream Black Mirror - Season 5, Episode 1 on Netflix.

Us (Amazon Rental)

While on a summer getaway at a beach house in Santa Cruz, a woman (Lupita Nyong’o), her husband (Winston Duke), and their son (Evan Alex) and daughter (Shahadi Wright Joseph), are stalked and hunted by unexpected visitors who bear a hauntingly identical resemblance to them.

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s very first foray into horror and first collaboration with Candyman producer Jordan Peele was the Oscar-winning writer and director’s inventive, terrifying 2019 follow-up to Get Out, Us, in which Abdul-Mateen II stars as Russell, the father of Lupita Nyongo’s character…well, that’s one of the roles he plays, at least.

Rent/Buy Us on Amazon.

First Match (Netflix)

A young woman (Elvirre Emanuelle) channels her frustrations from living in foster care for most other life into a prodigious career on her high school’s boys wrestling team.

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II: In Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s first Netflix original film (and first collaboration with his Candyman co-star Colman Domingo), he plays the father of Elvire Emanuelle’s character (in her starring debut role as), Mo, whom he begins to have a more invested relationship with after she starts to take an interest in wrestling, in First Match - a powerful, coming-of-age sports movie and winning feature-length debut of writer and director Olivia Newman.

Stream First Match on Netflix.

All Day And A Night (Netflix)

As a young man (Ashton Sanders) comes closer to achieving his dreams of becoming a rap musician, his involvement in a local gang war instead pushes him closer to ending up like his father (Jeffrey Wright), who was convicted of murder years earlier.

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II: A more recent Netflix original film starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is All Day and a Night - a riveting, grounded drama from Black Panther co-writer Joe Robert Cole about how a hostile environment can interfere with one’s ambitions, in which the actor plays one-such influencer of hostility for our troubled main character.

Stream All Day And A Night on Netflix.

Sweetness In The Belly (Starz)

An English-born woman (Dakota Fanning) who was abandoned by her parents in Ethiopia when she was a child is forced to return to her native country in the midst of a violent civil war, where she and an African refugee (Lovecraft Country cast member Wunmi Mosaku) collaborate on a mission to bring families estranged by the struggle back together.

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II: Based on the novel by Camila Gibb, Sweetness in the Belly is a powerful fish-out-of water story in which Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays an Ethiopian doctor who forms a romantic relationship with Dakota Fanning’s character.

Stream Sweetness In The Belly on Starz.

Rent/Buy Sweetness In The Belly on Amazon.

In addition to his aforementioned role in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has a pretty exciting line-up of upcoming roles. For instance, 2022 will also see the release of his latest Netflix original movie - a star-studded, Michael Bay-directed thriller called Ambulance - and he will star alongside Anya Taylor-Joy for the Mad Max: Fury Road prequel Furiosa in 2024. Arguably, though, his most exciting role is as Morpheus in The Matrix Resurrections, an iconic character previously portrayed by Laurence Fishburne.

Michael Gracey directed a whole new world of music, fun, and dance when The Greatest Showman hit theaters back in 2017. Its exciting soundtrack, amazing visuals, and everything else combined created a wonderful experience for both musical lovers and film enthusiasts alike. But, while there are plenty of awesome aspects to this wonderful musical film, the cast is really what made it shine.

However, where exactly is The Greatest Showman cast now nearly four years later? Whether you’re thinking about Hugh Jackman, or Zac Efron, or even Zendaya, they’ve all been making their way in the business with more amazing projects and fun films or TV shows that you should catch up on right now. Here is what The Greatest Showman cast has been up to since its release.

Hugh Jackman (P.T. Barnum)

As P.T. Barnum in The Greatest Showman, Hugh Jackman lit up our lives with his talents, and I can assure you that after the film, we were all singing “The Greatest Show.” Ever since his appearance in The Greatest Showman, Hugh Jackman has been very active in Hollywood.

He capped off his time as Wolverine in the X-Men series with Logan, but also made appearances via archive footage as the superhero in both Deadpool 2 and The New Mutants. Jackman also had starring roles in films such as The Front Runner, the animated Missing Link, and had a voice role cameo in the Ryan Reynolds-led Free Guy.

In 2021, as well, he also led the Reminiscence cast, alongside his The Greatest Showman co-star, Rebecca Ferguson. Jackman has also returned to Broadway, starring in the most current adaptation of The Music Man on stage. With someone as talented as him, it’s not a shocker he has kept active - and I’m sure we are going to see more of him very soon.

Zac Efron (Phillip Carlyle)

I grew up watching Zac Efron in High School Musical, so you bet that when I saw he was returning to musicals with The Greatest Showman, I was so excited, and he rocked it as Phillip Carlyle. Since playing the prestigious partner of P.T. Barnum, Efron has been active in both film and television.

In terms of movies, Efron has starred in several, including the remake of Baywatch alongside Dwayne Johnson, The Beach Bum, the Netflix original film, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, the animated Scoob!, and more. He’s going to be in new films soon, titled Firestarter, Gold, and The Greatest Beer Run Ever, so he’ll be popping up on the big screen again.

Efron has also had roles in TV shows. Not only was a he a part of the main cast of Human Discoveries, Zac Efron also took to hosting and running his own TV show on Netflix, called Down to Earth with Zac Efron, where he traveled around the planet, promoting ecological change.

A second season is already in production, so if you haven’t caught up on that, be sure to check it out soon.

Michelle Williams (Charity Hallett-Barnum)

Charity Hallett-Barnum was a loving, supportive wife who deserved the world, and was played by Michelle Williams in The Greatest Showman. And, she's been very successful in terms of film and TV.

Williams has starred in several films since, including All the Money in the World, I Feel Pretty, After the Wedding and more. The actress also appeared in Venom, and is going to be in the upcoming sequel to the film, Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Afterwards, she'll also be in the movies The Fabelmans and Showing Up.

Williams appeared on television in the miniseries Fosse/Verdon, as dancer Gwen Verdon, for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie.

Rebecca Ferguson (Jenny Lind)

Jenny Lind’s voice is one of those voices that you can’t ever forget. I can’t tell you how many times I sang “Never Enough” (very poorly) after this film came out. While Rebecca Ferguson didn’t provide the singing voice for Jenny (which Loren Allred did), she still portrayed the character in all other aspects and did wonderfully in her role.

Since The Greatest Showman, Rebecca Ferguson has starred in several films, including Life, The Snowman, and has a major role in the Mission: Impossible movies, appearing in both Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation and Mission: Impossible - Fallout. She is set to reprise the role in the upcoming Mission: Impossible 7 as well as Mission: Impossible 8. Ferguson has also appeared in the horror film, Doctor Sleep, as well as Men in Black: International, and Reminiscence.

Coming up, Rebecca Ferguson is set to appear in the long-awaited Dune, as well as have a main role in a TV series called Wool. I’m so excited to see these projects and wonder what is to come after.

Zendaya (Anna Wheeler)

Anna Wheeler was a fantastic acrobat and strong-willed woman in The Greatest Showman, and only someone as amazing as Zendaya could play her. These last few years for the young actress have been amazing, and she’s blown up in the media as not only a talented film actress, but an amazing TV actress, as well.

While she got her start on TV starring on Disney Channel’s Shake It Up and later K.C. Undercover, Zendaya became even more famous when she portrayed Rue on the HBO original series, Euphoria, which is poised to return for Season 2. This role won her the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2020. Zendaya also had a recurring role on the Netflix original series, The OA (a show that was cancelled far too soon, in my opinion).

In terms of film, Zendaya has had big parts in plenty of them. Her biggest thus far has been portraying M.J. in the Spider-Man film series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Zendaya has also appeared in several others, including Duck Duck Goose, Smallfoot, Malcolm & Marie, and Space Jam: A New Legacy, where she voiced Lola Bunny. Coming up, she will be in both Dune and Spider-Man: No Way Home, so 2021 is set to be a killer year for this talented young actress.

Keala Settle (Lettie Lutz)

Keala Settle’s voice, I believe, gave everyone chills when she sang “This Is Me” in The Greatest Showman, and she honestly deserves all the praise in the world for her kick-ass performance.

Since her iconic role as Lettie Lutz, Settle has appeared in a couple of TV and film projects. She had a role in the romantic drama film, All My Life, and played a part in Rent: Live when it aired on Fox, singing a classic hit from the Broadway show, “Seasons of Love.” She also had a recurring role in the Disney+ original series, Big Shot, and had a guest role in the Apple TV+ original series, Central Park.

With someone as talented as her, I believe it won’t be long before we get to see her more and more - and hear that beautiful voice again, as well.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (W.D. Wheeler)

While he wasn’t as featured in The Greatest Showman, W.D. Wheeler, the brother to Anna Wheeler, was just as an amazing acrobat as her, and the wonderful Yahya Abdul-Mateen II played him wonderfully. Since his part in the musical, Abdul-Mateen has been working hard and appeared in several films and on TV.

In terms of movies, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II appeared in Baywatch, Aquaman (a role that he will reprise in the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom), the Jordan Peele film Us, Sweetness in the Belly, The Trial of the Chicago 7, and (most recently) Candyman. Abdul-Mateen also made appearances on TV as well, with a role in The Get Down on Netflix, a guest role on The Handmaid’s Tale, a guest role on Black Mirror, and a main role on the HBO original series, Watchmen.

In the next couple of years, Abdul-Mateen will be appearing in several new films, including The Matrix: Resurrections and Ambulance, along with the new Aquaman sequel.

Natasha Liu Bordizzo (Deng Yan)

Deng Yan was another amazing acrobat in The Greatest Showman, who specialized in blades, and she was portrayed by the lovely Natasha Liu Bordizzo. The actress has gone on to star in several films after her role the musical, including Detective Chinatown 2, Guns Akimbo alongside Daniel Radcliffe, the Netflix original film, Wish Dragon, and The Voyeurs.

Natasha Liu Bordizzo also had a main role in the Netflix original series, The Society, which was cancelled after Season 1 (I still believe it deserved another season). However, Bordizzo will be returning to film soon, as she will be in a new movie called Day Shift, although it’s unknown when it will be released. However, I’m sure that if she’s signed on, it’ll be great.

Paul Sparks (James Gordon Bennett)

I think all of us lowkey hated James Gordon Bennett because he was such a critic of P.T. Barnum and his crew, but at the same time, we have to respect him for sharing his opinion and helping out Barnum near the end of The Greatest Showman with his advice. Paul Sparks played the publisher in the film, and while he’s had two film appearances since The Greatest Showman, which were in Human Capital and The Lovebirds, he’s mainly stuck to television.

Sparks had a guest role in the Netflix original series, The Crown, a recurring role in Waco, main parts in the dramas Sweetbitter and the Hulu original series, Castle Rock, and currently is starring as John Breem in the Apple TV+ series, Physical.

Sam Humphrey (Charles Stratton)

A piece of my heart is always going to belong to Charles Stratton just for how awesome he was in The Greatest Showman, as played by Sam Humphrey. Since his appearance in The Greatest Showman, Humphrey has kept most of his talents to TV.

He had a recurring role on the Australian soap opera, Neighbours, and had an appearance in the television film, Jeremy the Dud. Sam Humphrey also had a recurring role in the Star Wars: Self Tapes as the Man with No Name, and had a guest role in the TV series, Reso Rocket.

With how much talent this cast has, it’s not a shocker that they have been in so many films and TV shows since The Greatest Showman came out. I can’t believe it’s nearly been four years now - and yet, I’ll still be singing that soundtrack for a long, long time.

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Don’t let Hugh Jackman’s ongoing social media feud with fellow actor Ryan Reynolds fool you - the original Wolverine is nothing but nice. Case in point, the native Aussie made Twitter users everywhere cry happy tears recently when he reposted a clip of a viral TikTok depicting a dementia patient singing along to the actor’s 2017 movie musical The Greatest Showman.

Even though The Greatest Showman was released four years ago, the Hugh Jackman musical has continued to inspire viewers - and one fan in particular. TikTok user CharlieMoose (@charliemoosemedia) delighted his followers with a heartwarming video of his grandfather with dementia shedding a tear at an outdoor screening of The Greatest Showman. Gramps, as Charlie calls him, said that the movie was “one of the best” he’d ever seen - so when Hugh Jackman himself responded to the TikTok on Twitter, he must have been over the moon. You can check out Hugh Jackman’s sweet message below:

If that made you cry, you’re not alone, as the tweet’s comments are full of emotional fans. The adorable outing was made even more adorable when Charlie’s grandfather started singing along to “From Now On,” the film's finale song. In the longer version of the video that CharlieMoose posted on his TikTok page, he explained that his grandfather was diagnosed with second stage vascular dementia. That diagnosis, however, doesn’t keep the duo from being best friends, and the music of The Greatest Showman has helped keep their spirits up. Hugh Jackman’s response even caused the viral video to make the CBS Morning News, turning Charlie’s grandfather into a veritable social media sensation. CharlieMoose thanked everyone for the kind messages and for spreading awareness of vascular dementia.

Every actor wants to see their work connect with their audience and to know that their art has made a difference. Even a simple smile is proof that a movie or show managed to affect its viewers. If the heartfelt reaction and wistful singing of Charlie’s grandfather (and the reactions of other fans) is any indication, then Hugh Jackman has definitely achieved that goal.

Hugh Jackman can currently be seen in the sci-fi thriller Reminiscence, directed and written by Lisa Joy (who co-created, directed, and produced HBO's hit Westworld reboot). The film reunites Hugh Jackman with Rebecca Ferguson (who’s also set to appear in Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming Dune reboot), one of his co-stars from The Greatest Showman. Additional cast members include Westworld alums Thandiwe Newton and Angela Sarafyan, as well as Natalie Martinez (The I-Land) and Daniel Wu (Tomb Raider). You can stream Reminiscence now on HBO Max, or relive the musical magic of The Greatest Showman by heading to Disney+.

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This weekend will see Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson co-star together in the new film Reminiscence. The movie is heavy drama with strong science fiction elements, making it a far cry from the last time the two starred together, the pop musical The Greatest Showman. And while not a musical, the new film does includes singing. Although this time Rebecca Ferguson is the one that gets to do all of it rather than Hugh Jackman, which is just fine with the actor. Check out his response when talking to CinemaBlend about the change in roles in the video above.

The Greatest Showman saw Hugh Jackman play P.T. Barnum and Rebecca Ferguson appeared as Jenny Lind, an opera singer who Barnum promotes. What made Rebecca Ferguson's performance in The Greatest Showman unique is that she doesn't actually do her own singing in the film. The character of Jenny Lind only has one song in the film, which is performed twice when Lind is on stage, but singer Loren Allred provided the vocals for the song.

It's unclear exactly why Rebecca Ferguson didn't do her own singing in that movie. She studied music previously and is likely capable. It's possible that because Jenny Lind was an opera singer, that Ferguson's ability simply didn't lend itself to the sort of singing the Lind performance needed to be. Not every great singer can sing everything equally well. Not a problem in Reminiscence apparently, as Ferguson does get to sing here.

Hugh Jackman told CinemaBlend's Mike Reyes that he was more than happy to let Rebecca Ferguson do the singing this time around, as she really is an impressive talent. He calls her singing "seductive," which based on what we've seen of the movie in the trailers, is exactly what the movie was going for. While Ferguson's character in The Greatest Showman does attempt to start a relationship with Jackman's Barnum, the vocal performance is certainly not seductive.

From hearing Hugh Jackman talk, he clearly enjoys working with Rebecca Ferguson, so perhaps this second film won't be the last time we see them together. If nothing else there's talk of doing a Greatest Showman 2, which isn't surprising considering how successful the first film was. Maybe the two could reunite there. It wouldn't exactly be historically accurate but the first Greatest Showman didn't exactly let historical accuracy stand in the way of telling a story.

For fans who want to see Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson together again, and who want to hear Ferguson actually get to sing this time, Reminiscence is in theaters today, and is also available on HBO Max.

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Some people know Hugh Jackman from his iconic take on Wolverine in the X-Men movies. Others remember the multi-talented Australian actor for his dramatic work in modern-classics like The Prestige and Prisoners. And then there are those who can’t think about the Tony winner for anything besides The Greatest Showman. Whatever the case may be, a large portion of the movie-going population know and love any number of his noteworthy performances from the past 20 or so years. But still, the question remains: What are the best Hugh Jackman movies?

Truth be told, there are a ton of great Hugh Jackman movies; more good than bad, if we’re being completely honest here. Some of his biggest achievements on the screen happen to be some of the best movies on Netflix while others are best Amazon Prime movies a monthly subscription can buy. And in case you’re wondering what his best movies are, fear not because we’ve make a quick guide with his best achievements on the big screen (and maybe from the stage).

The Prestige (2006)

One of Christopher Nolan’s finest films yet, The Prestige follows two accomplished magicians — Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) — who find themselves trapped in a heated rivalry to one-up one another as they attempt to come to terms with a horrible stage accident in their own ways. Blinded by ambition and jealousy, the two former friends stop at nothing to one-up the competition, even if it means sacrificing their loved ones and their own humanity.

Rent/Buy The Prestige on Amazon.

Buy The Prestige on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Les Misérables (2012)

Tom Hooper’s stunning and intimately shot 2012 adaptation of Les Misérables tells the story of Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), a prisoner of 19 years who makes a life — and name — for himself after being released from prison. While Valjean tries to forget his past and even becomes a beloved member of his community, the vengeful and despondent Javert (Russel Crowe) will have none of it and will stop at nothing to nab his reformed foe.

Stream Les Misérables on Netflix.

Rent/Buy Les Misérables on Amazon.

Buy Les Misérables on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Happy Feet (2006)

If you’ve ever watched the 2006 animated film Happy Feet and thought to yourself: Wow, this is anything but a silly kids movie and really has a bleak outlook on society as a whole like a Mad Max movie, there’s a good reason for it. Directed by George Miller, this at-times beautiful and others absolutely gutting tour de force follows the story of Mumble (Elijah Wood), a penguin cast aside by his colony (including his parents who are voiced by Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman), because he prefers to dance rather than sing, finding his own way in the process.

Stream Happy Feet on HBO Max.

Buy Happy Feet on Amazon.

Buy Happy Feet on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Swordfish (2001)

The 2001 techno-thriller Swordfish sees Hugh Jackman take up the role of Stanley Johnson, a recently paroled computer hacker who is given the opportunity to make $10 million if he can create a program that could potentially siphon $9.5 billion from unused government bonds. But nothing is ever quick, easy, or painless, as Stanley finds out through his dealings with the equally dangerous and charismatic Gabriel Shear (John Travolta).

Stream Swordfish on Netflix.

Rent/Buy Swordfish on Amazon.

Buy Swordfish on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

The X-Men Movies (2000 - 2016)

There isn’t much we can say about the X-Men movies that hasn’t been said before. These movies helped usher in a new era of comic book movies, thanks in part to Hugh Jackman’s take on Logan/Wolverine.

Stream X-Men on Disney+.

Rent/Buy X-Men on Amazon.

Buy X-Men on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Stream X2 on Disney+.

Rent/Buy X2 on Amazon.

Buy X2 on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Stream X-Men: The Last Stand on Disney+.

Rent/Buy X-Men: The Last Stand on Amazon.

Buy X-Men: The Last Stand on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Stream X-Men Origins: Wolverine on Disney+.

Rent/Buy X-Men Origins: Wolverine on Amazon.

Buy X-Men Origins: Wolverine on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

Rent/Buy X-Men: First Class on Amazon.

Buy X-Men: First Class on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Rent/Buy The Wolverine on Amazon.

Buy The Wolverine on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Stream X-Men: Days of Future Past on Disney+.

Rent/Buy X-Men: Days of Future Past on Amazon.

Buy X-Men: Days of Future Past on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Stream X-Men: Apocalypse on Disney+.

Rent/Buy X-Men: Apocalypse on Amazon.

Buy X-Men: Apocalypse on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Logan (2017)

After two decades and eight movies, Hugh Jackman hung up his boots, err claws, in James Mangold’s 2017 comic book masterpiece. A more intimate and emotional X-Men film than those that came before it, Logan picks up with a physically and emotionally broken Wolverine as he attempts to shy away from society with a deteriorating Professor X (Patrick Stewart), a plan that is upended when he is tasked with caring for a young mutant who is more like him than he’d care to admit.

Rent/Buy Logan on Amazon.

Buy Logan on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Prisoners (2013)

Denis Villeneuve’s 2013 psychological thriller Prisoners follows Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman), a man who goes off the deep end (rightfully so) when his six-year-old daughter and her friend go missing. When an investigation into the prime suspect (Paul Dano) comes up short, the determined father decides to take matters into his own hands, even if it means he won’t be the same man by the time he comes out of it.

Stream Prisoners on Hulu.

Rent/Buy Prisoners on Amazon.

Buy Prisoners on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Real Steel (2011)

The 2011 sci-fi sports drama Real Steel follows Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman), a former prizefighter who now works as a fight promoter for what are essentially Rock ‘Em Sock Em Robots on steroids as he teams up with his young son to achieve the impossible: put together a winning robot fighter and make up for a life of bad decisions and heartache.

Stream Real Steel on Netflix.

Rent/Buy Real Steel on Amazon.

Buy Real Steel on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Greatest Showman (2017)

Hugh Jackman portrays the infamous P.T. Barnum in The Greatest Showman, welcoming audiences into the fantastical and extremely complicated life of one of the most notable names in the history of entertainment, no matter the cost.

Stream The Greatest Showman on Disney+.

Rent/Buy The Greatest Showman on Amazon.

Buy The Greatest Showman on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Fountain (2006)

Darren Aronofsky’s ambitious and confusing tale of a man doing everything in his power to save the woman he loves from dying is just as beautiful — if not more — than it is hard to follow. Over the course of The Fountain’s three intertwined narratives, three versions of the same character played by Hugh Jackman — a 16th Century conquistador, a present-day scientist, and a 26th Century astronaut — searches far and wide to preserve his wife, played by Rachel Weisz. If anything, stick around for the amazing score created by Clint Mansell, the Kronos Quartet, and Mogwai.

Stream The Fountain on Starz.

Rent/Buy The Fountain on Amazon.

Buy The Fountain on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Scoop (2006)

Woody Allen’s 2006 crime comedy Scoop tells the story of American journalism student Sondra Pransky (Scarlett Johansson) as she communicates with the spirit of a deceased journalist (Ian McShane) in her quest to obtain information about London’s Tarot Card Reader. But when the pursuit leads the ambitious writer to aristocrat Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman), everything becomes much more complicated.

Rent/Buy Scoop on Amazon.

Buy Scoop on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Butter (2011)

The 2011 comedy Butter centers on one of the most heated of all competitions: Iowa’s annual butter-carving championship. When Laura Pickler (Jennifer Garner) decides to follow in the footsteps of her retiring husband (Ty Burrell), she is willing to do anything to ensure a victory, even if it means calling in a favor from her ex-boyfriend, Boyd Bolton (Hugh Jackman) to make a mess of things.

Stream Butter on Amazon.

Rent/Buy Butter on Amazon.

Buy Butter on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Australia (2008)

Set on the eve of World War II, Baz Luhrmann’s 2008 epic romantic drama Australia follows the journey of Lady Sarah Ashely (Nicole Kidman) as she travels from Britain to Australia to look over a ranch she has recently inherited. Sarah soon finds herself in the middle of a great adventure alongside a local named Drover (Hugh Jackman) where they drive cattle hundred of miles before their story takes an unexpected turn.

Rent/Buy Australia on Amazon.

Buy Australia on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Eddie The Eagle (2016)

The 2016 biographical sports comedy Eddie the Eagle tells the story of Michael “Eddie” Edwards (Taron Egerton) as he travels to Germany to try his luck at competitive sky jumping. Not long after arriving in Germany, Eddie comes across Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman), a former ski jumper who currently makes ends meet by plowing snow. The pair quickly strike up an unconventional relationship and try to make the impossible a reality at the 1988 Winter Olympics.

Stream Eddie the Eagle on Disney+.

Rent/Buy Eddie the Eagle on Amazon.

Buy Eddie the Eagle on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Kate And Leopold (2001)

Long before Hugh Jackman and James Mangold got together to tell the definitive Wolverine story, they teamed up for the 2001 romantic comedy Kate and Leopold. But this isn’t just your everyday rom-com as this one sees Leopold (Jackman), the Duke of Albany breaking through the fabric of time, ending up in 21st Century New York City where he meets and falls for the ever-independent Kate McKay (Meg Ryan).

Stream Kate and Leopold on Showtime.

Rent/Buy Kate and Leopold on Amazon.

Buy Kate and Leopold on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Bonus: Oklahoma! (1999)

And then there is the 1999 film adaptation of the hit musical Oklahoma!, which sees Hugh Jackman return as Curly McLain, a role that made him a rising star in the world of theatre just one year prior. Jackman’s magical and charismatic portrayal of the classic stage character is truly something to behold, even if you aren’t a fan of stage-to-film adaptations.

Stream Oklahoma! on Broadway HD.

Rent/Buy Oklahoma! on Amazon.

Buy Oklahoma! on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

This is just a small portion of all the great things Hugh Jackman has accomplished throughout his career. With more movies featuring Jackman coming up on the 2021 movies schedule, it’s safe to say this list will only grow from here.

Since 2006, writer/director/producer Lisa Joy has been bending the minds of sci-fi fans on the small screen as one of the key brains behind the twist-heavy adventure that is HBO’s Westworld – but now the filmmaker is taking bringing her skills to the movie world. This summer is set to see the release of Joy’s feature directorial debut with the release of the new thriller Reminiscence, starring Hugh Jackman, and Rebecca Ferguson, and it is now all set to lure you in with its first ever trailer.

Based on an original screenplay by Lisa Joy, Reminiscence takes audiences to a not-too-distant future version of Miami, Florida – a city functioning nocturnally due to the extreme heat during the day, and with water-filled streets due to rising tides. It’s a miserable time to be alive, but there exists a technology that allows any user the ability to recreate and revisit their own memories. Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman) is a private investigator who uses this equipment in his work, and he winds up being launched down a spectacularly weird rabbit hole when a mysterious woman named Mae (Rebecca Ferguson) arrives at his office.

The new film marks a reunion between Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson, who previously had the chance to work together in the hit musical The Greatest Showman – and like with that project, Reminiscence also has a killer supporting cast. Thandiwe Newton and Angela Sarafyan, who also work with Lisa Joy on Westworld, are part of the ensemble, as are Daniel Wu, Natalie Martinez, and Cliff Curtis. There definitely isn’t any expectation for any singing and dancing, but instead it looks like we’ll be getting high-stakes, stylized action paired with a noir-tinged narrative.

It’s an interesting setup for a sci-fi film, and the amount of world-building and plot it successfully gets across in the trailer is exciting. Watching this preview, I feel like I get just the right idea of what the movie is going to be without too much information being provided too that feels spoilery. Hopefully it turns out that it’s all the primer one needs to dive into the blockbuster.

Part of Warner Bros.’ 2021 slate, Reminiscence will be getting a day-and-date digital and theatrical release akin to Godzilla vs. Kong, Mortal Kombat, and this week’s The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. The film will be playing on the big screen domestically on August 20, and on that same day (for a limited 31 day engagement) it will also be made available to stream on HBO Max. To check out what other titles are coming down the pike in the next few months, be sure to check out both our 2021 Summer Movie Guide and our 2021 Movie Release Calendar.

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Hugh Jackman has had a long career in film, with his name synonymous with years spent playing Wolverine in the X-Men movies. But Jackman’s roots are in musical theater, with movies like Les Miserables and The Greatest Showman helping to marry his talents. The Tony Award winning actor managed to catch Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights movie, and shared his honest thoughts about the movie musical.

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s original Broadway musical was In the Heights, making him a huge name in the theater world. Crazy Rich Asians director John M. Chu brought that musical to the movies with the upcoming film adaptation, which Hugh Jackman was lucky enough to see ahead of its theatrical opening. Jackman shared his thoughts in a passionate video, check it out below.

Well, there you have it. It looks like Hugh Jackman is all aboard the In the Heights hype train. What’s more, he was new to the musical and experienced it for the first time as countless moviegoers will. Celebrities: they’re just like us.

Hugh Jackman’s rave about In the Heights comes to us from his personal Instagram page. He’s currently in the musical mindset, preparing to return to Broadway with the revival of The Music Man. But he took the time to catch a screening of In the Heights, and had nothing but positive comments about John M. Chu’s film adaptation.

In the Heights will be hitting HBO Max on the same day as theaters. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.

While his caption reads that he recommends catching In the Heights, Hugh Jackman opened up more about his feelings in the actual video. As he explained, he missed the show when it was still on Broadway, and therefore hadn’t been introduced to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first award-winning musical. But that seemingly allowed him to experience more surprises. As The Greatest Showman star put it,

It certainly seems like Hugh Jackman was thoroughly impressed with In the Heights. The stage musical was awarded Tony and Grammy Awards while also being nominated for a Pulitzer, but the movie is clearly elevating the source material. The trailers show how John M. Chu’s direction added magical moments, including characters singing and dancing on the side of a building

Luckily moviegoers will be able to judge In the Heights for themselves shortly, as the highly anticipated movie musical will arrive next month. It should be interesting to see how many newcomers like Hugh Jackman tune in, especially considering what a global sensation Hamilton grew to be.

In the Heights will arrive in theaters and homes on June 11th. In the meantime, check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.

When you look at the 2021 release schedule, or any year at the box office, there’s an overwhelming picture of what’s being made in Hollywood and what’s not. There are several genres that we used to see a lot more of on the big screen that seem to have lost market share over the years, giving way to more comic book movies or other adaptations of recognized properties. While it’s no crime to give the people what they want, there are some types of films that deserve a resurgence, and it’s about time we saw them made on a regular basis. Let's start with original musicals.

Original Movie Musicals

2021 is a pretty exciting year for musicals, with stage favorites like In The Heights, Dear Evan Hansen and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie heading to a screen near you. So the musical clearly isn’t dead; but what seems to be dormant right now is original movie musicals that aren’t based on a pre-existing play. With audiences in the need of some fresh distraction as they head back into theaters, musicals could be a premium investment at the movies; which only doubles if it’s something no one’s ever seen before. It worked for The Greatest Showman and La La Land, and it could work for anyone else who decides to take a gamble on creating a new songbook.

Whodunnits

The whodunnit looked like it was dead and buried, with the possibility that it may or may not have been done in by the butler. However, two movies revived it to the point where Hollywood started to pay attention again. As both Rian Johnson’s Knives Out and Kenneth Brannagh’s Murder on the Orient Express became surprise smash hits, sequels were quickly greenlit and put into production to capitalize on that opportunity. Should another studio or two try to bring us a quirky sleuth that’s stumbling their way through a case, it would be a welcomed return to a crowd pleasing format.

Westerns

After a year of being cooped up indoors, and the world starting to open up in its own time, the wide open spaces of the frontier are a welcomed sight. The Tom Hanks film News of the World reminded audiences that a traditional Western can still captivate the attention of both audiences and actors, while the Kevin Costner/Diane Lane neo-noir Let Him Go used a format adjacent to the Western to make for a thrilling personal drama. It’s time to head back out to the prairie and make a fortune in the great frontier again. Whether that frontier happens to be on a planet far away or a prairie that the saw massive action in the past, as long as there's a lot of sun and some squinty showdowns, the Western can live on!

Screwball Comedies

Simple misunderstandings that get blown out of proportion. Physical pratfalls that see actors we know and love in embarrassing situations. The occasional pie in the face. All of these were the hallmark of the screwball comedy, which, with or without its romantic component, has persevered in modern society thanks to the grace of films like The Coen Bros’ Hail, Caesar. They’re practically movies that pull out all the stops with wordplay and hijinks to make the audience laugh, and much like original musicals, it’s high time studios start to try and revive this genre on a more periodic basis.

Parody Movies

We all know why parody movies died out, as horrific failures like Disaster Movie and projects of that ilk happened to torpedo a genre that once laid claim to movies like Airplane! and Spaceballs. There’s been enough time between the failures of recent memory and our current moment to allow this type of movie to return, so it’s time to give it another shot. All we need is the right sharp-minded comedy talent of today to find the perfect window of topical, yet timeless humor, and the world will be allowed to laugh again. We can even pretend that Superhero Movie never happened and let someone new take a shot at lampooning superhero movies.

Emotional Dramas

Returning to the example of Let Him Go, that film also represents another bygone genre that seems to have been sent down to the indies: emotional dramas. Whether it’s centered around familial strife or a romance that’s falling apart, major Hollywood muscle doesn’t seem to sit behind these sorts of movies as much as it used to. Quiet and sometimes epic stories about people living their lives don’t take up as much space on the major movie calendar as they used to, and it’s about time they did.

Silent Movies

Ok, this is going to feel like an oddball choice, especially when The Artist still gets a ton of side-eye for winning Best Picture at the Oscars. But that should only be proof that something so archaic as the silent movie is something that’s worthy of a more modern approach. Whether it’s focusing on visuals and a more symbolic journey, or a return to the classic format with title cards and a score-driven audio soundscape, experiments in narrative without dialogue could be a canvas that filmmakers could take full advantage of.

In the absence of the types of movies we’ve mentioned above, there comes an opportunity to jump back into once familiar waters. With some of these sorts of films already testing the waters, it’s only a matter of time before the next big hit strikes in one or more of these formats; which will trigger an onslaught of even more experiments designed to replicate that feat. It’s just the ebb and flow of cinema, and right now these are the ebbs that we hope to see flowing again.

Of course, if you’re more focused on the here and now, the 2021 film release schedule is available to answer your questions of what movies are headed into theaters throughout the year. And as always, stay locked on CinemaBlend for the latest in movie news, including if any of these genres look to be making the desired resurgence.

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Like her Spider-Man co-star Tom Holland, Zendaya has been challenging herself with different kinds of roles as of late. She’s been showing off her dramatic chops with Sam Levinson as Rue in his heartbreaking teen drama, Euphoria and in Malcolm & Marie, a commentary on ego and film criticism. Zendaya has been so busy we may overlook the fact that she totally killed it in a Broadway-style musical, The Greatest Showman, which was a pretty special experience for her.

In the 2017 movie, Zendaya played a trapeze artist and the secret lover to Zac Efron’s character. They sang the show stopping “Rewrite the Stars” together, and it dazzled our hearts right out of our chest. While having an intimate questionnaire with Vanity Fair to reveal her true personality, Zendaya reflected on making The Greatest Showman. The actress answered deep questions such as her ‘greatest regret’ and ‘greatest extravagance.’ When asked about a talent that she would like to have, Zendaya expressed a desire to do more physical activities, later reflecting on why by thinking back to her hard work on the movie musical with these words:

Zendaya has expressed her disinterest in physical activities before, sharing a funny workout trick she created for herself to force herself to get her workouts in. The actress apparently would throw on wigs and embody characters while working out in order to satisfy her cravings to act in the midst of quarantine and also get those muscles fired up. She’d surprise her assistant with new characters everyday for their daily workouts.

Even if it's not in her nature to hit the gym and pump some iron, as Zendaya expressed, she did really enjoy the training she did for The Greatest Showman. Getting to see herself push her body’s limits and find satisfaction in learning something physical was a rewarding experience for her, and it sounds like she has the desire to pursue that again. You can get a taste of her skills by watching her perform "Rewrite the Stars":

The actress has definitely chosen more emotional and reflective roles than physical ones but, hey, she’s totally part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Could MJ kick some butt? Now that MJ knows all about Peter Parker (along with literally everyone), we’d imagine she might take a more active role in the franchise's next installment. Speaking of which, Zendaya teamed up with Tom Holland and Jacob Batalan earlier this week to reveal the official title of Spider-Man 3.

Aside from Spider-Man, Zendaya is set to return as Rue for Euphoria Season 2. But until then, she’s totally great in The Greatest Showman, which is available to stream on Disney+. You can subscribe to the streaming service using this link and check out what’s new to Disney+ this month here on CinemaBlend.

Movie musicals tend to survive the test of time based on the strength of their soundtrack. Whatever the quality of the actual movie, if the music works, it will survive. And there is clearly something about the music in The Greatest Showman which strikes a chord, quite literally, with a lot of people. It's even huge with employees at sandwich shops, and it turns out some of them can really sing. A video is going around showing a woman who stopped closing down a Jimmy Johns to belt out "Never Enough" from The Greatest Showman, and she has a voice.

Any fan of The Greatest Showman, or just good singing, is going to want to check out the latest viral video which includes a woman named Taylor Fussell singing her heart out while closing down the Jimmy John's where she works for the night. The clip appears to be taken without her noticing, which is part of why it's actually so brilliant. You might think it's just the actual Greatest Showman soundtrack at first, but it becomes clear the woman in the video is the one belting out the lyrics. Check it out.

In The Greatest Showman, the song "Never Enough" is performed on stage twice by the character of Jenny Lind, played by Rebecca Ferguson. However, Ferguson is the one actor in the film who doesn't sing her own song. Loren Allred is the actual vocalist you hear in the movie, perhaps because "Never Enough" is probably the most vocally challenging song in the movie. But Taylor Fussell is making it look easy.

The video is actually from 2019, and it went viral back then. But it seems that a lot of people missed the video the first time around and so now it's received a second life. Taylor Fussell started her own YouTube channel following the initial interest the video received, and she's continued to post songs to it since, many of them recorded after hours at Jimmy Johns, though this time with her knowledge.

In the first video on the page she confirms that she did not know she was being recorded, and disputes claims that were made that the entire thing was staged. In the end I'm not even sure it matters if the video was staged. The performance is real and that's what ultimately matters; the rest is just window dressing.

The Greatest Showman is a rare movie not only in that it was a big musical, but because it was a massive box office success that never actually hit number one domestically. It spent months in the top 10 bringing in the ticket sales week after week in a way that few movies ever have. It was so successful that, there has even been talk of a sequel. And considering that the original movie wasn't exactly historically accurate, there's no reason they couldn't make one.

John David Washington and Zendaya star in the new Netflix original movie Malcolm and Marie. The two actors play a couple whose relationship is tested during one night. It was written and directed by Sam Levinson (best known for writing Euphoria). Malcolm and Marie was one of the first major films created during the lockdown. Many people heard of Malcolm and Marie because of how it was created but stayed for actors on the rise Zendaya and John David Washington.

Zendaya has been acting since she was 14, but over the last few years, she has shown that she’s a force in Hollywood. John David Washington also appeared in movies at a young age, because of his famous father, but he really started to establish his acting career in 2015. After watching Malcolm and Marie, you may want some more Zendaya and John David Washington films and TV series in your life, so here are a few suggestions.

Zendaya - Euphoria - HBO Max

Euphoria is a teen drama that focuses on relationships, friendships, life, love, family, and more serious topics like consent, abuse, and drug addiction. Zendaya plays Rue Bennett in Euphoria. She starts the series fresh out of rehab, trying to cope with her addictions, various mental illnesses, and a secret love for her best friend. Her role as Rue earned Zendaya her first Emmy nomination and win.

Euphoria is a gritty teen drama that allows Zendaya to shed her Disney roots and take a more mature role. It also allows her to play a complex character struggling and trying to find belonging and acceptance. Euphoria is an intense drama, but worth watching for the performances, especially by Zendaya. Euphoria was renewed for season 2 on HBO Max, so now is the perfect time to catch up before the next season.

Stream Euphoria on HBO Max here.

John David Washington - Monsters And Men - Hulu

Monsters and Men is a film written and directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green. It tells three interlocking stories, following three main characters: Dennis (John David Washington), Manny (Anthony Ramos), and Zyrick (Kelvin Harrison Jr). Monsters and Men focuses on a shooting of an unarmed black man and how these men react to it. Washington plays a cop.

The film deals with Dennis’s conflicting emotions about protecting his fellow cops and thinking his job is vital and critical, but also knowing the struggles of being a black man in society--cop or not. Monsters and Men is one of John David Washington’s first lead roles and it is an interesting look at these men’s lives and society as a whole and the treatment of men of color. John David Washington, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and Anthony Ramos are three actors to have on your radar, so Monsters and Men is definitely worth watching.

Stream Monsters and Men on Hulu here.

Zendaya - Spider-Man: Far From Home - Starz

Spider-Man: Far From Home is the sequel to 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. It follows Peter Parker (Tom Holland) as he goes on a class trip to Europe. Peter is looking forward to this time away from New York City as his Spider-Man duties become increasingly stressful. He’s also dealing with not-existing for years and the death of his mentor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Zendaya reprises her role of Michelle, better known as MJ, in this film.

Zendaya has a bigger role in Spider-Man:Far From Home as Peter and her have developed feelings for each other, but they’re not sure how the other one feels. Peter is also still trying to keep his identity a secret from MJ and the rest of the world. Spider-Man: Far From Home is a fun movie that’s a lighthearted superhero movie with some moments that tug on the heartstring.

Stream Spider-Man: Far From Home on Starz here.

John David Washington - Ballers - HBO Max

Ballers was an HBO original series that aired for five seasons. Dwayne Johnson plays the main character Spencer Strasmore, a retired NFL player. Ballers follows Strasmore as he embarks on his new career as the financial manager for other NFL players. John David Washington plays Ricky Jerret, a competitive NFL player.

Jerret is the son of former NFL player Dennis Jerret (Robert Wisdom). Ricky Jerrett has played on many teams but often drafted because of his field antics. He’s a hothead with an ego, but he has enough charm to win people back over to his team. John David Washington played football professionally before returning to the world of acting, so he could bring a perspective to this role that many actors couldn’t. Ballers is John David Washington’s first main role.

Stream Ballers on HBO Max here.

Zendaya - The Greatest Showman - Disney+

The Greatest Showman is a 2017 original musical that stars Hugh Jackman as P.T Barnum. It tells the story of Barnum’s rise to fame with his circus and performers. The Greatest Showman shows the ups and downs of his life, like being doubted by his wife’s parents because of his poor background and losing himself to fame. The Greatest Showman cast includes Zendaya, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, and Rebecca Ferguson.

Zendaya plays Anne Wheeler, an acrobat and trapeze artist. She falls in love with P.T Barnum’s business partner Philip Carlyle (Zac Efron). Carlyle and Anne want to be together but the racial prejudices of the time make that difficult. The Greatest Showman is a must-see if you really enjoy musicals, especially pop ones. Zendaya and Zac Efron also get you invested in their romance so much that you’re likely still singing “Rewrite the Stars.”

Stream The Greatest Showman on Disney+ here.

John David Washington - Love Beats Rhymes - Netflix

Love Beats Rhymes is a movie about aspiring female rapper Coco (Azealia Banks). It’s about her journey trying to make it in the rap industry, while also balancing going to school. Love Beats Rhymes’s cast includes a collection of respected musicians, like Jill Scott, Mc Jin, Common, and Method Man. John David Washington has a supporting role as Mahlik.

Mahlik is a wannabe gansta rapper who is in a band with Coco. He’s also her sometime lover and collaborator. Mahlik represents the men trying to hold Coco back from reaching her full potential and achieving success. Love Beats Rhymes is a film that shows how poetry and rap are interlinked and how both require full honesty, creativity, and devotion.

Stream Love Beats Rhymes on Netflix here.

Zendaya - Shake It Up - Disney+

Shake It Up is a Disney Channel original series that aired from 2010 to 2014. Bella Thorne and Zendaya had lead roles as CeCe Jones and Rocky Blue. The best friends have their dream come true when they become professional dancers on the local series “Shake It Up, Chicago!” Like many family Disney Channel series, Shake It Up follows the professional and personal misadventures of these two girls.

Shake It Up is Zendaya's first major role in a series. The show is lighthearted family programming with wacky adventures and the main message on the bonds of friendship and family. The series is to watch if you want a simple comedy that’s good for all ages. It’s also an interesting look at the start of Bella Thorne and Zendaya’s careers and the evolution of it, from Disney Channel kids to adult women in Hollywood.

Stream Shake It Up on Disney+ here.

Zendaya - The OA - Netflix

The OA is a science fiction mystery series about a woman who resurfaces after being missing for seven years. There is a lot of mystery surrounding her disappearance and whether it involved traveling to another planet. Brit Marling stars and co-created the series. Netflix canceled The OA after two seasons.

Zendaya appeared in a few episodes of The OA’s second season. She plays Fola. Detective Karim (Kingsley Ben-Adir) meets Fola while looking for a missing girl. The missing girl became addicted to an online game. Karim finds a house where other addicts of this game stay. Fola helps Karim by offering him insight into the game. In an interview with Vulture, Kingsley Ben-Adir mentioned that Zendaya was a fan of the series and so was her dad. She didn’t let him know that she was going to be on it, so she could surprise him with her cameo. Though Zendaya isn’t a main character on The OA, the series is worth watching if you enjoy unique, complex series.

Stream The OA on Netflix here.

Zendaya-Zapped-Tubi

Zapped is a Disney Channel original movie starring Zendaya, Chanelle Peloso, Emilia McCarthy, and Spencer Boldman. Zendaya plays the lead character, Zoey. Zoey’s life gets disrupted when her mom remarries, giving her a loud stepdad and three new stepbrothers. Zoey also starts a new school and her first day is just as chaotic as her new family life.

Her phone gets broken but somehow it malfunctions into an app that allows her to control the people in her life and school. Zapped is a Disney Channel movie that’s a bit silly, but another film that showcases Zendaya’s comedic abilities.

Stream Zapped on Tubi here.

Zendaya - K.C.: Undercover - Disney+

K.C. Undercover is a Disney Channel original series that aired from 2015 to 2018. It stars teen spy K.C. and her family of spies. It blends family issues with missions to save the world. The K.C. Undercover cast includes Veronica Dunne, Kamil McFadden, Trinitee Stokes, Tammy Townsend, and Kadeem Hardison.

K.C. Undercover is a unique premise for a family series that’s kid-friendly but a little more complex than the typical Disney Channel series, but it’s still lighthearted and simple enough to appeal to most ages. It’s also Zendaya’s last major Disney show before transitioning to more adult roles.

Stream K.C Undercover on Disney+ here.

If you want more John David Washington options, BlackKklansman is available to rent or purchase on VOD and Monster will be available on Netflix in 2021. You can next see Washington in Beckett,a thriller coming to Netflix in 2021. You can next watch Zendaya in Dune. Dune will be released in theaters and on HBO Max on October 1. You can also catch Zendaya reprise her role as M.J. in the untitled Spider-Man 3 movie. It’s currently scheduled for a December 17 release.

Watch Zendaya and John David Washington as Malcolm and Marie in Malcolm & Marie streaming on Netflix on February 5. Stream it here.

The Greatest Showman was an incredible movie in a lot of ways. It became one of the biggest box office movies of 2017 grossing nearly a half billion dollars at the global box office without ever hitting number one domestically. The movie succeeded on word of mouth and repeat viewership in a way that few movies actually do. The soundtrack was a huge hit as well. It's a rare level of success for a movie musical these days, and it turns out that the big hero was actually not Hugh Jackman, or Zac Efron, but Tony award nominee and Supergirl co-star Jeremy Jordan.

In early 2020 Jeremy Jordan performed a one man show called Carry On in which he relayed the whole story, and a clip of the section involving The Greatest Showman recently dropped online. Jordan explains that he originally recorded demo versions of all of Hugh Jackman's songs from the film, as he had a relationship with songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. While Hugh Jackman had already been cast in the lead of P.T. Barnum, Jordan was excited to learn of the role of Philip Carlyle as it was potentially a role he could play. Spoiler alert, the role was eventually played by Zac Efron.

Later, Jeremy Jordan was asked to fly to New York to perform the music for potential investors. Hugh Jackman was there, but having recently had minor surgery on his nose, was told by his doctor not to sing. As a result, Jordan sang all of Jackman's songs as well as those for the Carlyle character. In the performance, Jeremy Jordan revealed he felt he was being quite impressive, but then during the rendition of the film's last song "From Now On," something happened,

Against doctor's orders, Hugh Jackman began to sing the song he wasn't supposed to be singing. Having said that, the moment was pretty inspirational and everybody gets into it. It was captured in a behind-the-scenes video you can check out below. Jackman and Jordan even high five at one point.

Considering how well the performance went, Jeremy Jordan would have probably felt that he had made a pretty strong case for his own role in the movie. Unfortunately, as the actor learned before he even left the building, it was not to be. Jordan continues...

I have to say, after hearing this story and seeing how good Jeremy Jordan could have been in it, I fell like somebody owes this guy a lead role in a major movie musical. He's already done the work, he needs to be given the rewards. He performs a great deal of the music as part of the clip that's available (check it out, it's all pretty good) and he absolutely would have killed it. In the end, the fact that The Greatest Showman was even made is in large part thanks to Jordan, so fans of the movie should at least be aware of his contribution.

A movie anthem like The Greatest Showman hit “This Is Me” doesn’t step out every year, but it was perhaps the memorable fire of Keala Settle’s standout moment that inspired audiences to keep going out to see the film in theaters months after its release. “This Is Me” has transcended its film and has continued to be the most iconic aspect of the Broadway star and singer’s career. Though as you might imagine, being known for a four-minute piece of music could get old after a while.

CinemaBlend had the honor of speaking to Keala Settle, who sings her heart out in Universal’s All My Life, which is now in select theaters. Settle spent a chunk of time last year touring all over the world with co-star Hugh Jackman, partly as tribute to Greatest Showman’s popularity. During our phone conversation, Settle reflected on how her relationship with “This Is Me” has shifted as of late:

As rough 2020 has been for many of us, there’s beauty in reflection and silence. Keala Settle reached major fame and recognition in the past three years for her incredible original rendition of the movie’s anthem. But for two of those years, she had been rejecting it as something for herself and left it for everyone else. This year, Settle could finally reflect on the resonance of the song for herself. Check out this spine-chilling rehearsal of the song:

Before reflecting on “This Is Me,” we talked about how it has continued to remain an important part of pop culture, with Tyler Perry even citing the lyrics' effect on him in October. When I mentioned Perry’s love of her song to Settle, she burst out into glee and joyful screams before saying this:

It’s certainly a powerful song that will continue to resonate with people for years to come. It was nominated for Best Original Song at the 2018 Oscars, where Kaela Settle performed it. Settle had a mini stroke one week before performing at Hollywood's big night out due to her undiagnosed and rare Moyamoya disease. To address the health concerns, she later underwent a 10-hour double-bypass brain surgery to correct the problem.

Keala Settle previously talked about the song giving her a “sense of dread” before performing it. Now that she’s had ample time away from actively performing it and has been able to separate herself from it in a sense, it sounds like she’s truly found peace with “This Is Me.”

Tyler Perry has built a bit of a showbiz empire in Atlanta over the past few years, but his love for TV and movie projects does extend past his own work. In fact, in a recent profile, the actor, writer, director and producer revealed he’s actually quite fond of The Greatest Showman. In fact, the 2017 musical movie has a particularly special meaning to Perry and he explained why in a recent interview.

In particular, Tyler Perry says the song “This is Me,” as sung by Keala Settle in the original movie, holds particularly special meaning for him. As he was named Variety’s Showman of the Year, Tyler Perry explained that song really reveals how he sees himself as a creative person. It’s also been important for him as he built his career in Atlanta to put himself out there as a showman of sorts.

The distinction is one the mogul earned in 2020 after hitting billionaire status and absolutely crushing it with his new studio environment, which not only incorporates his own projects but also has become a prominent place for Black creators to make new shows and movies. In October of 2019, in fact, when he opened Tyler Perry Studios’ big filming center in Atlanta, Perry actually hired Morgan James to perform “This is Me” for a large crowd that included his mentor Oprah. So, it’s seemingly been his anthem for some time now and a song he holds near and dear to his heart.

It’s been a big rise for Tyler Perry in the critical sphere. The content creator has long been a success story and one who is loved by his fanbase, but he’s also been a creator who was often spurned by his peers. He’s talked in the past about being “ignored” by Hollywood. He had an outsider’s perspective on the industry when he came in and decades later he still seems to have that perspective.

But things are changing. Tyler Perry’s Atlanta studios were among the first to open amidst Covid restrictions. BET’s series Sistas was the first full TV season to be completed during 2020 using the full new bible of Covid-19 protocols. Quarantine bubbles and more have been used to keep shooting underway and business in production as usual. As projects flock to Atlanta, Tyler Perry's own brand and ability to shape Hollywood grows.

Moving into 2021, Tyler Perry is set to act in Taylor Sheridan’s new movie Those Who Wish Me Dead and he still has a bunch of writing and producing TV projects in the works from the aforementioned Sistas to The Oval. And perhaps if The Greatest Showman 2 ever gets off the ground, there may be a role for Mr. Perry in his possible dream project. One might as well have a million dreams, and Perry's proven over the years he can make dreams into reality.

Movie musicals are a tried and true genre in the film world, often known for gaining massive popularity and major awards. Michael Gracey's The Greatest Showman is no exception, as the Hugh Jackman-led blockbuster was a huge when it arrived in 2017. The movie's soundtrack gained a ton of attention, thanks to music by Dear Evan Hansen composers Pasek and Paul. The power ballad "Never Enough" is the big song for Rebecca Ferguson's Jenny Lind, but she's actually lip syncing to vocals by Loren Allred. And Allred recently explained why she was so shocked that her vocal made it into the theatrical cut.

While most of The Greatest Showman cast provided their own singing, Rebecca Ferguson was a notable exception. "Never Enough" requires a massive vocal range and belt, provided thanks to recording artist and The Voice alum Loren Allred. But this turn of events was surprising for the singer, as Allred explained in her own words:

Sometimes show business is all about timing. That was exactly the case with Loren Allred, whose demo vocals for The Greatest Showman song "Never Enough" was heard by the right person. As a result she was able to go into the studio and record the iconic version that we all know and love. And just like that Jenny Lind's talents made their way to the musical blockbuster.

The Greatest Showman fans can re-watch the movie, complete with Loren Allred's voice, on Disney+. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.

For the countless moviegoers who saw The Greatest Showman either in theaters or in their homes, you can see why Loren Allred's vocals ultimately made it into the movie. Aside from the movie's anthem "This Is Me", her song "Never Enough" is arguably the most iconic vocal performance of the entire film. While we know the sequence with Rebecca Ferguson well, you can watch Allred sing the track live in the video below.

What a voice. With a vocal range like that, it makes perfect sense why Loren Allred's voice was ultimately included in The Greatest Showman's theatrical cut. The sequence came alive due to Allred's performance on the track, with Hugh Jackman's P. T. Barnum seemingly falling in love with her talents in the process. And while plenty of other singers have performed "Never Enough" in the years since the movie hit theaters, there's nothing like the original.

Given the popularity and box office success of The Greatest Showman, fans have been wondering if it might be adapted into a Broadway musical, or perhaps given a silver screen sequel. Both possibilities would fit the talents of the movie's cast, possibly including Loren Allred herself. Only time will tell, but for now we'll hold our breath.

CinemaBlend will keep you updated on all things The Greatest Showman as details become public, with the movie is currently streaming on Disney+. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next movie experience.

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One of the most popular original musicals in the past few years is The Greatest Showman, a foot-stomping and star-studded story loosely based on the life of P.T. Barnum. Walking out of the movie, many of wouldn’t have particularly expected the performance Broadway actress Keala Settle’s “This Is Me” song would outshine the likes of Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron and Zendaya, but that’s the power of The Greatest Showman.

The song went on to be nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars in 2018 and certainly helped boost Keala Settle's profile. However, the talent admits this is a bit of a double-edged sword. In her words:

It’s not easy being remembered for one thing, especially since Keala Settle has graced the Broadway stage for Les Miserables, Waitress and Hands on the Hardbody as well, the latter earning her a Tony nomination. Settle also had a role in Fox’s live version of Rent last year, which starred starring Vanessa Hudgens, Jordan Fisher and Kiersey Clemons. As the actress told the Bay Area Reporter, once she is in the moment singing “This Is Me,” every piece of dread fades away.

Keala Settle joined Hugh Jackman on his recent tour following the success of The Greatest Showman. She remembered one particularly memorable experience as follows:

Keala Settle almost didn’t audition for the bearded lady known as Lettie Lutz in The Greatest Showman because a fellow Broadway actress had already recorded the demo and she didn’t think she could do better. One bottle of Jameson bribe later, she agreed to try the song and what came from it is this scene from The Greatest Showman:

One week before her big Oscar performance of the track, Keala Settle suffered a stroke that is a result of her having Moyamoya disease, a rare cerebrovascular condition for which she has since undergone 10-hour brain surgery. Knowing that, it's pretty incredibly she stuck it out for the major performance of “This Is Me.” The song itself was written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who have been part of the music for La La Land, the live-action Aladdin and Dear Evan Hansen, which has just assembled an amazing cast for its movie adaptation.

The Greatest Showman is currently available to stream on Disney+. You can sign up for a subscription to the Disney+ here and stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more movie news.

Zendaya has reached an interesting point in her career right now. At only 23, she’s gone from a former Disney and Marvel star to the head of her own HBO show, and in between these she starred in the popular musical The Greatest Showman. Between having such a varied fanbase and being a woman of color, she knows the stakes are high and she has to keep her audience in mind, recently explaining how projects like The Greatest Showman still do affect the ways she puts out new content.

If you’ve kept tabs on Zendaya at all, you may already know that when Euphoria was just coming out, she actually put out a message letting her fans know the content might be triggering for some. She said she does this because she knows she has a large youth fanbase from projects like The Greatest Showman or Spider-Man: Far From Home and also she has a lot of fans her own age or younger who may not relate to material like Euphoria.

The comments come a few months after Zendaya previously spoke out about her platform, noting that she feels she has “less room to make mistakes” than many others in Hollywood. She said at the time that she feels that’s true due to her age, being a relevant Black actress on the big and small screen, and also simply because she’s very hard on herself. Adding to that, these new comments to THR seem to indicate she feels she has a responsibility to her fans as well.

On the one hand, being able to do projects as varied as The Greatest Showman and Euphoria is great because it means casting directors see her as being able to take on a wide swath of roles, but it also means Zendaya herself is hyperaware of her brand at any given moment. Though, she says like most of us, she’s just trying to “do the best” she’s able to please everyone from young women to groups like Black Lives Matter.

In Euphoria, Zendaya plays Rue, a former drug addict still struggling. The HBO series has mature themes and nudity – absolutely there were no fun “singalong” events for this project. However, the series has netted her an Emmy nomination and has definitely shown her fanbase a different side to the actress' abilities. However, she does recognize she can do those sorts of projects, but still feels she has a responsibility to her younger fans, as the tweet noted. Besides, she'll be back in a more family-friendly role once Sony's third Spider-Man movie gets off the ground, if you are someone who is more interested in the more family-friendly side of her body of work.

Meanwhile, you'll be able to see her in the epic Dune -- albeit possibly briefly -- in 2020. And who knows? Perhaps eventually the oft-touted The Greatest Showman 2 will find a way to get off the ground.

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While most people know Hugh Jackman best for playing Wolverine over nearly two decades, ever since its release in late 2017, The Greatest Showman has become one of the most prominent credits on Jackman’s resume. On the off chance you haven’t seen the musical feature chronicling Jackman’s P.T. Barnum forming his famous circus, you’re in luck, as the movie is headed to Disney+ soon.

While The Greatest Showman has been available as an online add-on for cable subscribers who get FX, the movie heading to Disney+ marks the first time it’s been thrown onto a major streaming service. The Greatest Showman will hit the Mouse House platform on Friday, August 14, the same day that Ant-Man and the Wasp finally arrives, at which point all the MCU movies except for The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home can be streamed to your heart’s content on Disney+.

First entering development in 2009, The Greatest Showman (which was originally envisioned as a Broadway production) was finally released in theaters on December 20, 2017. Although met with mixed reviews from professional critics, it developed a huge fan following (it has an 86% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes) and was a commercial success, raking in approximately $435 million worldwide off a reported $84 million budget. Following its initial theatrical release, the movie briefly returned to big screens as a sing-a-long experience.

In addition to Hugh Jackman, The Greatest Showman’s cast included Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, among many others. Last September, Jackman revealed that a sequel was in development, although whether or not The Greatest Showman 2 will get the official green light remains to be seen.

The Greatest Showman’s addition to Disney+ is part of the service’s newly-announced “Summer Movies Night.” Along with the Hugh Jackman-led feature and Ant-Man and the Wasp, here are the other flicks that are being added to Disney+ every Friday between now and the beginning of September:

You can also check out the below video advertising the addition of these movies in frenzied fashion.

As for Hugh Jackman, he most recently starred as Fran Tassone in Bad Education and can be seen next year in the sci-fi movie Reminiscence. He’s also made it quite clear that he won’t play Wolverine again, so expect a new actor to bring the character to life whenever the X-Men are incorporated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more updates concerning Disney+, which you can sign up for now. As for what’s expected to head to theaters later this year, you can find that information in our 2020 release schedule.

A few short years ago, Zendaya starred in a hit movie with another former child star in Zac Efron along with a-lister Hugh Jackman—both of whom know a thing or two about filming stunts for movies. The Greatest Showman had catchy tunes and a heavy-hitting cast, but it also required Zendaya to learn how to use the trapeze for some pivotal scenes. It was Hugh Jackman that helped her through the ordeal and you can tell she's still a little starstruck about the encouragement she got from the multi-faceted actor.

Zendaya’s been open in the past about how Hugh Jackman helped her to overcome her fear of heights while filming trapeze sequences for the movie. She says she got some words of encouragement from the veteran actor which have stuck with her to this day:

Still, Zendaya is quick to point out in a Q&A with Vogue that filming emotional scenes can often be more difficult than doing stunt work in films like Spider-Man: Far From Home or Greatest Showman. Yet she did say the trapeze was intimidating, not only because of her fear of heights but also because she’s not a highly athletic person to begin with. It wouldn't have been possible without Hugh Jackman helping her through and calling her a "badass." She also noted:

The hard work paid off in spades for both her HBO series and The Greatest Showman. In the latter, a scene with Zendaya’s character Anne Wheeler and Zac Efron’s character Phillip Carlyle on the trapeze became a key marketing focus for the movie, as well as one of its most memorable sequences, although Zendaya is also admitting they slammed into one another “a lot,” with the actress noting, ‘Let’s just say we got very close’ of her scenes with Efron.

Yet the end result is still a very pretty and memorable version of “Rewrite The Stars” and a sing-along version is available courtesy of Fox Family Entertainment and features the scene in which Anne smacks straight into Phillip Carlyle.

Next up, Zendaya will be seen in Dune, another movie with big action set pieces, which we’ve finally seen first-look images from. In addition, she’ll reprise her role of MJ in the third Spider-Man movie from Sony. There has been some talk of a possible Greatest Showman sequel, but given where the movie ended, those haven’t panned out so far.

During his long acting career, Hugh Jackman has been a workhorse, starring in movies, performing in live shows and musicals, among other gigs. But with lots of free time on his hands now, he’s trying to find ways to stay busy.

It must be difficult going non-stop to suddenly halting all your projects and not having much to do at all, especially when you’ve got a strong work ethic like Hugh Jackman. He expressed some of these new challenges of being home in an interview on The Late Late Show with James Corden. Here’s what he had to say:

Even though taking a break is challenging for Hugh Jackman, he also seems to be embracing some of it and finding new ways to stay on top of his game. Later in the interview, James Corden asked him what he does to stay creative. Hugh Jackman leaned in on the benefits that boredom and taking the time to enjoy art can bring. Here’s what he said:

Hugh Jackman, of course, is most known for his role as Wolverine in several X-Men movies as well as his own spin-off trilogy. He started the role well before cinematic universes were a thing and had carried the torch for about 17 years. Fortunately, he was able to say goodbye to the role in the swan song film, Logan.

Even though Hugh Jackman is synonymous with Wolverine, it wasn’t always that way. On the first X-Men movie, he had a rocky start and originally thought he was going to be fired from the role. Fortunately him and everyone else, he wasn’t.

Later on in the interview, James Corden brought up the feud between Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds, wondering how it started and who started it. Hugh Jackman claimed it was Ryan Reynolds’ need for attention that started it.

But, in an earlier interview with The Daily Beast, Hugh Jackman claimed it got started when Ryan Reynolds got married to Scarlett Johannsson and Hugh Jackman jokingly told Ryan Reynolds, “Hey, you better be on your best behavior here, pal, because I’m watching.”

For a short time, the long-time feud between the two actors has been put on a temporary cease fire for a noble cause to raise money for charity. But, you better believe that won’t last very long.

Hugh Jackman has proven time and time again that he's a bankable actor with a variety of skills. While he may be primarily known for his ferocious take on Wolverine the X-Men franchise, he's also a Tony-Winning theater actor. And sometimes these skills combine for movie musicals like Les Miserables and The Greatest Showman. The latter was a huge hit when it arrive in theaters in 2017, which was also the year Jackman retired from playing Wolverine in Logan. It turns out The Greatest Showman actually has a subtle Wolverine easter egg that's only just been revealed.

2017 was a great year for Hugh Jackman. Logan arrived in February to save reviews and an Oscar nomination. He ended the year with The Greatest Showman arriving in December to similar success. Logan director James Mangold was an executive producer on the musical blockbuster, and it was just revealed that his name in the credits actually contained a Wolverine easter egg. 20th Century Studios (formerly 20th Century Fox) exposed this on social media, check out their post below.

Well, do you see it? The image from 20th Century Picture's Twitter is a still from The Greatest Showman's credits, which shows James Mangold's name alone on the screen for his work as an executive producer on the movie. The Logan easter egg isn't exactly obvious, but it has to do with the corners of the frame. There's a design there that is an extremely subtle nod to Mangold and Hugh Jackman's previous collaboration.

The image itself becomes more clear once you zoom in on the corners of that shot. There you can see a little mini Wolverine, complete with the character' signature Adamantium claws. Check it out below.

I mean, how subtle can you get? Clearly the folks that put together The Greatest Showman's credits had fun designing title cards for each member that flashed across he screen. And for James Mangold's, they were sure to add the title character of Logan for kicks and giggles.

If the studio didn't reveal this easter egg, I'm not sure if it would have ever been revealed. While The Greatest Showman is a super popular movie that is often rewatched by fans, who would think to zoom into the corners of the frame like that? Luckily an easter egg thread on social media prompted this fun revelation. But it begs the question: are there more hidden messages in The Greatest Showman's credits?

Both The Greatest Showman and Logan are available on DVD and Blu-ray. Be sure to check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies once they reopen.

On December 8, 2017, 20th Century Fox released The Greatest Showman -- one of the most successful movie musicals of all time. It is also one of the greatest cult film successes, proving that word of mouth matters in the movie industry. Not only did the movie become the fifth highest-grossing live action musical of all time, but it also grossed over $400 million worldwide. The Greatest Showman soundtrack songs have been even more successful.

The Greatest Showman soundtrack reached number one in the U.K., Japan, U.S., Australia, and other billboard charts. It also sold over 5.3 million copies worldwide, and even inspired additional albums like The Greatest Showman: Reimagined that features some of today’s biggest pop artist like Pink!, Kelly Clarkson, James Arthur, and Panic! At The Disco. It is easy to find yourself humming along to many of The Greatest Showman songs, because they are just that catchy. You can also often find them being sung by contestants on reality singing competitions like American Idol, X Factor, and The Voice.

These songs have become a major part of the pop culture lexicon, but which are really the greatest songs on The Greatest Showman soundtrack? Let's take a look at all the songs that have permeated pop culture over the past year and figure out which ones stand out most.

11. “Come Alive” Performed By Keala Settle, Zendaya, Hugh Jackman And Multiple Artists

“Come Alive” is used to highlight P.T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman)’s transition from opening the circus to its eventual success. Hugh Jackman leads the ensemble but this song gets most of its power from Keala Settle’s high notes. “Come Alive” is written and performed as an anthem for any misfit who needs some inspiration to embrace thinking and living outside of the box. In that aspect, the song works fine, but the entire The Greatest Showman soundtrack is filled with similar themes and anthems, so among those songs, this one just didn’t resonate and standout as much.

10. “A Million Dreams (Reprise)” Performed By Austyn Johnson And Cameron Seely

Austyn Johnson and Cameron Seely, who play P.T. and Charity Barnum (Michelle Williams)’s daughters, sing “A Million Dreams (Reprise),” as they start to dream just like their dad. It inspires Hugh Jackman's character, and he starts to see an even clearer version of his circus dream. In general, the song “A Million Dreams” is designed to inspire the young and the young of heart to go after their dreams “however big, however small.” It’s a song very much geared toward the dreamers in everyone, and who are bigger dreamers than children? The reprise has a sweet touch thanks to featuring the innocent voices of children, but it’s not necessarily a song that needs a reprisal to get the message across; the other “A Million Dreams” is not enhanced with this version.

9. “Tightrope” Performed By Michelle Williams

Charity sings “Tightrope” to highlight her devotion to P.T., but the scene also shows how his absence thanks to being on tour with Jenny Lind (Rebecca Ferguson), effects the circus and its performers. It also highlights Lind falling in love with P.T. Barnum. “Tightrope” is Michelle Williams' only solo in The Greatest Showman, and she gives an excellent performance, but it’s one of the songs that doesn’t make much of an impact on the album. The lyrics and music don’t quite have the same oomph as the visuals.

8. “A Million Dreams” Performed By Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, And Multiple Artists

Young P.T. Barnum and Charity sing “A Million Dreams” to highlight all the obstacles that they must overcome to be together. It also highlights P.T.’s big imagination even at such a young age. Eventually, “A Million Dreams” transitions from young P.T. and Charity to their adult counterparts, who have reunited and can start a life together. The song is a sugary sweet song about first love, imagination, and perseverance. “A Million Dreams” also works to setup P.T.’s background and the start of his imagination and ambition. It's memorable, but not the best this soundtrack has to offer.

7. “From Now On” Performed By Hugh Jackman

Every great story needs the hero to lose everything, and then win it back after doing some soul searching and seeing the error of his ways. “From Now On” is that moment and song for The Greatest Showman. Surrounded by his friends and circus performers, including a tender moment between Zendaya and Zac Efron's characters, P.T. Barnum realizes where he lost his way and his family. Hugh Jackman starts the song off with an honest sincerity in his voice, as it goes on, “From Now On” and his voice gain an upbeat tempo. The song delivers it aim of showcasing P.T.’s regret and epiphany about his life, but it might have been more powerful if it had kept to the ballad format.

6. “Never Enough” Performed By Loren Allred

In The Greatest Showman, Jenny Lind performs “Never Enough” as she stands onstage showcasing her talent. Her singing mesmerizes everyone watching her, including P.T., which leads to him somewhat abandoning his family and friends to help her career. The entire scene is breathtaking, and it makes easy to see why P.T. Barnum finds himself overtaken by her beautiful performance. This is one of The Greatest Showman’s most popular songs, rightfully so, because of its message and Loren Allred’s wonderful singing abilities (although that's actress Rebecca Ferguson in the role). It’s a song that powerhouse singers like Kelly Clarkson perform to emphasize their exquisite voices.

5. “The Other Side” Performed By Zach Efron And Hugh Jackman

P.T. and Phillip Carlyle (Zac Efron) perform “The Other Side” at a bar as P.T. tries to convince Philip to join him in his circus venture. Philip is reluctant and doesn’t want to face the shame from his upper-class colleagues for being part of the circus business. P.T convinces him that partnering with him will let the Philip get the adventure that he desires. The song is one of the most fun to watch as it’s plays out like a dance battle between P.T. and Philip, almost similar to a “Make ‘Em Laugh” style. “The Other Side” gives us another example of why Zac Efron and Hugh Jackman are two of the most sought after performers currently.

4. “Never Enough (Reprise)” Performed By Loren Allred

Jenny Lind performs this version of “Never Enough” after being rejected by P.T. and having her heartbroken. She then decides to end her tour early, which could ruin his career and his life. As great as the original “Never Enough” is, it gets a little too repetitive. This version is short, so it allows you to hear the emotion behind Loren Allred’s performance. “Never Enough (Reprise)” makes it easy to understand Lind’s feelings of hurt, anger, and not being good enough for someone she loves. Allred giving a mesmerizing vocal performance helps too.

3. “The Greatest Show” Performed By Multiple Artists

“The Greatest Show” highlights P.T. at his best: flashy, theatrical, and a showstopper. It’s the scene that gets fans the most out of their seats, clapping and singing along to the lyrics. “The Greatest Show” highlights all the extraordinary performers at the circus as well as the main cast. It’s also the scene where P.T finally understands what’s important and gives the circus to Philip. The song not only highlights everyone’s vocal prowess, but it’s such a big production number that it highlights everything great about the film: the songs, costumes, performers, story, etc. So why is it in third? Because there are a few more marketable songs below.

2. “Rewrite the Stars” Performed By Zac Efron And Zendaya

Philip (Zac Efron) and Anne Wheeler (Zendaya) perform “Rewrite the Stars” as Philip is trying to confess his love for Anne, but she lets him know that it will be impossible for them to be together because of the prejudice surrounding their interracial romance. The scene involves acrobatics, and “Rewrite the Stars” showcases the stellar chemistry between Efron and Zendaya. The Greatest Showman gets you invested in the romance between Philip and Anne, and the song does a great job of highlighting how much they want to be together but it might be too complicated due to this time. The song is the overall most marketable one as a pop hit.

1. “This is Me” Performed By Keala Settle

The bearded lady and the other circus performers feel rejected by P.T, because of his new association with the upper class. Instead of accepting this rejection, the bearded lady, played by Keala Settle in The Greatest Showman, leads them back into the party, showing that they will not be pushed into the shadows again. This is one of the most well-known songs from The Greatest Showman. It’s the anthem to everyone who wants to say this is who I am, accept it or not, I’m not changing “This is Me” gets most of its power from the showstopping vocals by Keala Settle, who gives it her all.

The reason The Greatest Showman became one of the biggest soundtracks and films during the holiday season last year is because it is a feel-good movie that has really good pop music. No matter where they rank, these eleven songs make you want to sing them all night as you put on the greatest show in your own living room.

If you saw The Greatest Showman, you probably already know the movie, which stars Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron, takes some liberties with the real-life tale of P.T. Barnum and his famous team of circus performers. However, what you may not know is that the musical spent a lot of painstaking time getting the period details right – particularly when it came to some modern habits from Mr. Efron.

In fact, The Greatest Showman hired Major General Alastair Bruce to handle all of the details in The Greatest Showman. These details made the movie accurate to the period even when it was taking liberties with some of the real-life facts. The Major General recently revealed that one major thing he had to keep an eye on was Zac Efron, who he says kept thrusting his hands into his pockets during production on the musical.

People just didn’t thrust their hands in their pockets in the 19th century, mostly because pockets didn’t really exist at that time. Although Efron’s costume seemingly had pockets, which led to these exchanges, that detail really wasn’t right for the period, so they worked around it by keeping his hands out during filming. Apparently, pockets became a major thing a few years later, although it's worth pointing out that pockets used to be more like reticules or pouches and they were invented thousands of years ago. They just weren't commonplace during The Greatest Showman era.

Who knew The Greatest Showman made life so difficult for some of the actors? Well, I guess Hugh Jackman did.

Funnily enough, Major General Alastair Bruce might be an expert when it comes to historical details, but the Scotsman had no idea who Zac Efron was or that he was a major star in the film when The Greatest Showman was coming together. He recounted about admitting he had no idea who Zac Efron was to the former High School Musical star.

He later even recounted to Forces Network that Zac Efron was really nice about the whole thing, in particular the fact he called the actor "Maz" during the entire run of filming.

Major General Alastair Bruce may not know all about major celebrities, but he is a man in demand when it comes to certain period details. His also recently worked on the Downton Abbey movie, making sure the Crawleys' return -- this time on a much bigger screen -- came off just right, at least when it came to details such as pockets and the like.

As for Zac Efron, he's still pretty famous, so if he really wants a break, perhaps Scotland is the right vacation spot. Meanwhile. we'll keep you updated regarding whether or not the musical in question ends up getting a sequel and the original movie is already available on DVD and Blu-ray, to be watched to your heart's content. If the sequel moves forward, perhaps this time there will be no pockets involved.

Hugh Jackman clearly loved making The Greatest Showman almost as much as fans loved watching it. The musical was a phenomenal success after its December 2017 release, and the soundtrack set even more records for the musical than the box office.

That said, Hugh Jackman admitted the wide-reaching success of the movie has affected his life in a funny way. It's actually kind of fitting for the story, too, when you consider his P. T. Barnum ends up being so caught up in his career that it briefly overshadows his wife and kids back home.

Here's what Hugh Jackman told The Herald Sun in Australia (via Daily Mail) about one "difficult" thing about the movie's success:

I'm disappointed to hear local dance schools in Australia aren't doing Wolverine-themed performances. But it's true that PG-rated The Greatest Showman was a change of pace for Hugh Jackman. He shot to worldwide fame as Logan/Wolverine in X-Men in 2000 and has mostly done serious dramas or stage productions apart from his time as the Marvel Comics hero.

It didn't really occur to me that The Greatest Showman would be fully introducing Hugh Jackman to a whole new younger fan base, but it does make sense when you look at the rest of his filmography.

Hugh Jackman and his wife Deborra-Lee Furness have two children, including the now 14-year-old Ava. I wonder if she gets tired of hearing The Greatest Showman songs or loves them too.

I love Hugh Jackman almost as much as Ryan Reynolds loves him, but it is kind of a humble-brag for Jackman to point out how ubiquitous The Greatest Showman soundtrack has become. And in the past, he's expressed delight at overhearing songs from the soundtrack in his everyday life. But I can see how it might make things awkward at his daughter's dance class if he's expected to sing along to the movie's music -- or pretend like it's not playing in front of him.

The Greatest Showman made $434,993,183 worldwide off a production budget reported to be $84 million, per Box Office Mojo. Hugh Jackman previously told the BBC he'd be open to a Greatest Showman sequel:

Would you like to see a sequel to The Greatest Showman? I wonder if that soundtrack would do as well as the first one, and then it can play constantly at dance classes (and everywhere else). Hugh Jackman can next be seen in the comedy/drama Bad Education, which is premiering at the Toronto Film Festival in September. Keep up with all of the movies heading to the big screen this year with our 2019 movie release guide.

Zac Efron has come a long way from East High School with his starring role in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile, on Netflix now. Looking back to 2006, Zac Efron was at the forefront of High School Musical, a corny-but-peppy-and-bubbly Disney Channel original movie that became a full pop culture phenomenon, the likes of which likely surprised even the folks at Disney. It was an overnight sensation — literally — once it aired on the Disney Channel that fateful evening. Since then, Zac Efron has been a household name, and has earned no shortage of adoring fans.

However, because of his success in this three-part film series, there are some folks out there who still associate Zac Efron's acting with his work as Troy Bolton in High School Musical. Despite his best efforts to branch out and expand himself as an actor, there are some musical lovers out there who only see Zac Efron for the work he did in the past without recognizing his developing talents. That's not really fair. In the past decade, Zac Efron has proven to be a versatile, charismatic performer, having varied himself well enough to be more than his work in the Disney Channel trilogy. He should be accredited as an accomplished, talented and dedicated actor.

Much like how we are not much like our high school selves once we get older, Zac Efron has grown up and matured in a strong, promising actor. He has developed an esteemed resume and shown himself to be an established actor in many different respects. So, let's take a moment to showcase a number of the roles that prove that he's bigger than his hit performances in High School Musical 1, 2, and 3.

Me And Orson Welles

In 2008, shortly after he rose to celebrity through his appearances in High School Musical 1 & 2, Zac Efron worked alongside director Richard Linklater in the period piece biopic Me and Orson Welles, which followed a starry-eyed teenager who got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with the great Orson Welles in his 1937 production of Julius Caesar. It was certainly the work of a young performer, but it gave audiences outside of the High School Musical fanbase a chance to see an actor on the rise.

Plus, it showcased that had dramatic range and potential that wasn't fully explored in those TV movie musicals. Sure enough, as the years went on, the actor would continue to prove himself in a variety of different performances.

The Lorax

While Zac Efron rose to super-status through his vocal pipes, singing tunes for High School Musical, the actor reached a new career phase when he did his first voice-only performance in The Lorax, Illumination Entertainment's 2012 feature-length adaptation of Dr. Seuss beloved children's book. As the voice of Ted Wiggins, the child protagonist, Zac Efron uses his popularity with the younger crowds to draw viewers into this new take on the old environmental tale. While the film itself didn't win over many critics, it provided Zac Efron with one of his first major box office smashes. During its 2012 release, The Lorax made over $348 million worldwide.

During its 2012 release, The Lorax made over $348 million worldwide. That's not too bad for a first big animated outing.

Neighbors

After a series of unremarkable performances in inert or underwhelming dramas, Zac Efron finally found his calling outside of High School Musical. And it was in the comedy department. In a role that allowed the rising actor to finally be free from the restraints of Disney's child-friendly image, Zac Efron appeared alongside Seth Rogen in 2014's surprise hit R-rated comedy Neighbors, allowing the actor to prove his comedic chops (while also not being afraid to take off his shirt a few times).

Though the comedies he appeared in afterwards didn't acquire the same success (See: Baywatch and Bad Grandpa), Efron's work in Neighbors proved that he was on his way up the ladder, creatively. Plus, could be really funny, to boot.

The Disaster Artist

As anyone who has seen The Room will note, the role of Chris-R is just as puzzling and bizarre as anything else in Tommy Wiseau's elusive passion project. Yet, the actor who played the role, Dan Janjigian, gave a convincingly menacing and surprisingly compelling performance, channeling more believable and palpable emotion intensity in just one scene than anyone else did throughout the entirety of the movie. It is often considered the one good performance in a film that's certainly less-than-great, and Zac Efron certainly had his work cut out for him.

In James Franco's dramedy biopic, The Disaster Artist, Efron played Janjigian/Chris-R in a similar memorable sequence, and he reportedly went method in the same way his on-screen persona did. Once again, Zac Efron proved his talents are quite versatile.

The Greatest Showman

Following 2008's High School Musical 3, Zac Efron opted not to participate in any more movie musicals. The actor was focused more on comedic and dramatic roles, challenging himself as an actor and pushing himself more as a performer. It wasn't until nine years later when he appeared in The Greatest Showman that he got a chance to sing and dance again.

Sure enough, while it was nearly a decade after his first movie musical, Zac Efron was far from rusty in the singing department. The box office numbers and chart-topping album sales also suggest that audiences will continue to come out in droves to see Efron belt out a tune or two in a theater near them. Plus, this time, Zac Efron got to sing as a very much adult character dealing with the period issues of the day.

The Beach Bum

Similar to how fellow High School Musical alum (and Efron's former fling) Vanessa Hudgens moved away from her Disney image with Harmony Korine's cult hit Spring Breakers, Zac Efron wanted to work with the auteur indie director to push himself as an actor into more adult territory. The result is a limited-but-impressive turn in The Beach Bum, Korine's recent follow-up to Spring Breakers, which finds Efron playing the role of Flicker, a hard-drinking, Creed-loving, Panini beard-wearing party-lover who mirrors Matthew McConaughey's titular Beach Bum on his path to self destruction.

Even though he is only in the movie for 10 minutes -- maybe 15 minutes max -- it is a great and unique turn for Zac Efron. And it's another performance that shows Zac Efron's talents as a supporting actor, beyond his leading man roles. Plus, just look at that facial hair.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile

In what could easily be described as his most controversial role to date, Zac Efron's performance as Ted Bundy in the historical drama Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile was met with a great deal of trepidation and concern from the media due to the subject matter at hand. The story of Ted Bundy is not for the faint of heart, and it was certainly a far cry from Zac Efron's Disney days. Yet, through his involvement in this film, Zac Efron provided a meta thesis to the dramatization of this true story.

Zac Efron's charisma and good looks are eerily similar to the late serial killer, and it shows how the media painted a muddled picture of the events that caused people to question whether a person like Ted Bundy could commit such heinous crimes, despite the stark evidence that suggested — over and over — that he did. It's an intriguingly metatexual performance, and one that shows Efron's dramatic range.

As a young, on-the-rise actor, Zac Efron is continuing to prove himself with a variety of different movies and shows. The actor is steadily expanding and challenging himself in different roles and with different opportunities, and there's a good chance that we'll continue to see Zac Efron's stardom rise in the future. For now, though, we hope we showed you how Zac Efron continues to develop and excel an actor, and how he is much bigger than his work in the High School Musical movies.

Zac Efron is currently out and about promoting his Ted Bundy flick Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, but when it comes to Zafron, a lot of people still have The Greatest Showman tunes on the brain. On the bright side, according to the actor, a sequel to the popular movie could still be in play. He recently said on The Graham Norton Show:

Speaking on a couch with some other big name actors, including Matthew Broderick, Zac Efron explained what he knows about a potential sequel to the 2017 musical. It's honestly amazing that we could be talking about a sequel these days, given where the movie was when it first kicked off in theaters.

Honestly, when The Greatest Showman first premiered, it wasn’t to an auspicious start. The movie routinely was in third or fourth place at the box office in its first few weeks in theaters at the end of 2017, as it competed with the likes of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle and Pitch Perfect 3. Then a funny thing started happening—people kept going to see it.

In fact, the movie remained in the Top 10 domestically through the weekend of March 2-4 in 2018, a weekend in which Black Panther was already out and dominating.

Clearly, there’s an appetite for more tunes set in the world of The Greatest Showman. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul wrote the music for the film, after gaining fame from creating original music for Smash and La La Land.

However, if you’ve seen the musical movie, you should already know that it covers a pretty large span of time in the life of the circus dreamer. We get to see P.T. Barnum’s early failures, his big dreams and his big successes. Toward the end –and spoilers--fictional character Phillip Carlyle (played by Zac Efron) ends up getting involved as a partner and takes over the open-air circus while Barnum takes a step back to spend more time with his family.

It’s hard to tell exactly where a sequel could go with the narrative, but Zac Efron also told Graham Norton that he would be game to work opposite Hugh Jackman and with the music and writing team again, noting though that scheduling could eventually be a problem.

I think a lot of people hope there is a sequel. Although in real life, P.T. Barnum’s story wasn’t all about overcoming obstacles, the musical narrative really entranced people. It helps that circus set pieces and costumes are lovely and lively. It also helps that the music is so catchy, leading to group sing-a-long screenings.

It was a good holiday season at the movies the year The Greatest Showman came out, but in particular that movie had staying power because it became a cultural film that people could experience together in groups or with one or two of their friends. In turn, the soundtrack became a success and the music for the movie was everywhere.

Part of this could be because the whole thing was originally conceived as a Broadway musical, and there has been some talk about turning the movie into a stage production, as well. So, theoretically even if a sequel does not end up happening, the movie could branch out into other mediums.

Is The Cast On Board For A Greatest Showman Sequel?

Several other people related to the movie, from director Michael Gracey to Hugh Jackman himself, have expressed optimism about telling more of the story about the famed circus. Jackman previously revealed:

This was a passion project for all of the people involved. The movie was also seven years in the making, so it's no real surprise that people related to the movie might have enthusiasm toward doing more, whether that be Zac Efron or Hugh Jackman. Some time after Jackman made the above comment, Gracey also confirmed that discussions were underway about producing a script for another movie. Now, Efron has said something similar.

Talk is not the same as forward movement, unfortunately. It’s also probably worth pointing out that The Greatest Showman was a 20th Century Fox movie, so if this project were to move forward, it would have to nab the greenlight from parent company Disney these days. Disney actually recently cut a few Fox movies from its docket, and it's been hard to tell what the company has been championing in terms of projects and franchises from Fox so far.

That said, The Greatest Showman is in a lot of ways like many Disney movies. It’s fun, it’s mostly family-friendly and it has musical components (and dancing, don't forget the dancing). Most importantly, in a world that is chock full of PG-13 movies, The Greatest Showman was a rare PG outing that didn't feel as if it were just for kids. Clearly it's a likable property, but figuring out what a sequel would be about that would make sense given the historical premise could be a real challenge.

We’ll let you know if The Greatest Showman 2 ever gets an official script, but in the meantime take a look at what is hitting theaters in 2019 with our full guide to what's coming up and catch Zac Efron in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, which is heading to Netflix starting on May 3.

Now for the real question? Would you like to see more from Zac Efron and company's "greatest show?" Or do you think the movie ended on a final note?

This poll is no longer available.

If Kidz Bop proved anything, it’s that you can never underestimate the power and appeal of music you can sing along to. The Greatest Showman released in theaters all the way back in December of 2017 and the musical’s powerful earworms held sway over the charts all of last year. So much so that The Greatest Showman Soundtrack was the best selling album in the world in 2018.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, an organization that represents the recorded music industry worldwide, tracks the sales of both physical and digital albums to rank the best-selling albums of the year. According to Billboard, the IFPI has announced that with 3.5 million units sold, The Greatest Showman Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was the best-selling album in the world in 2018.

The Atlantic Records release topped the charts in Japan and the English-speaking countries of the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, where the soundtrack spent 28 straight weeks at No. 1 on the albums chart. Even now, 63 weeks later, The Greatest Showman (OST) is still at No. 4 in the U.K. The soundtrack also managed to hit No. 1 on iTunes in more than 77 countries, showing the worldwide appeal of the film’s music and message.

This level of success defied expectations and was a pleasant surprise according to the CEO of recorded music at Warner Music Group, who cited the soundtrack’s success as a triumph of the music, the marketing, and the fans. The Greatest Showman soundtrack also bucked the trend with, in this streaming and digital download age, about half of its sales coming from physical formats.

To land at No. 1 on IFPI’s charts, The Greatest Showman soundtrack beat out two albums from K-Pop supergroup BTS as well as the likes of Johnny Halladay, Ed Sheeran and Eminem. The Greatest Showman soundtrack wasn’t the only feature film soundtrack to crack the top 10 though.

Sitting at No. 4 with 1.9 million units sold is superstar Lady Gaga’s soundtrack for A Star is Born. Bohemian Rhapsody was the most successful musical film of last year and Queen’s album for the mega-hit also landed on IFPI’s chart at No. 7 with 1.2 million units sold. Rounding out the top 10 was the soundtrack for Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again with 900K sold.

We had already heard that the soundtrack for The Greatest Showman was the best-selling album of the year domestically but this latest news shows that the appeal of that film and its music was truly global. The incredible success of the soundtrack for The Greatest Showman is reflective of the success of the film itself. Despite never hitting No. 1 at the box office, The Greatest Showman sung and danced its way to around $435 million worldwide. It even had special sing-a-long screenings and a cover album.

Clearly this music connected with people in a major way to the point that they not only wanted to listen to it, they wanted to own it. And in an era where you have an all-you-can-eat musical buffet with streaming, that is saying something.

Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for all the latest movie news you can dance to and check out our 2019 Release Schedule to see the biggest movies headed to theaters this year.

The Greatest Showman was a massive success, so of course, people want to know if we could get a sequel. While the movie may not have necessarily lent itself to an obvious follow-up, that doesn't mean it could never happen. In fact, Hugh Jackman says that he loved making the first one so much he would absolutely be on board for a sequel if it felt like the right thing to do. According to Jackman...

While Hugh Jackman doesn't elaborate on what "right thing to do" means exactly, we can probably safely assume he's talking about a good script with a story worth telling. The story of The Greatest Showman follows Jackman as P.T. Barnum through most of his life, and ends with him seemingly leaving the circus life behind, more or less, so it would appear that the story was complete, but if somebody found a reason to make a sequel, Jackman would certainly listen to the pitch.

And if we're being blunt, it's not like The Greatest Showman was a particularly historically accurate movie, so there's really no reason a sequel can't contrive a reason to get P.T. Barnum back under the big top one more time.

It's not too shocking that people would be curious about a potential sequel to The Greatest Showman. The film grossed over $400 million at the box office despite never finishing a weekend in higher than third place. The soundtrack was also a massive hit, outselling every other album last year by a huge margin.

Hugh Jackman does point out to BBC Radio Five Live that there is one potentially large hurdle to any talk of a sequel. The original Greatest Showman was a 20th Century Fox movie which means that the film is now, or shortly will be, the property of Disney. This means that there's going to be a fair amount of work to be done on the business side of things before any consideration of a sequel could really be made.

Having said it, it certainly feels like The Greatest Showman is something that would fit perfectly within the Disney family. It's family friendly. It's a musical. It's got songs that get stuck in your head. It made giant piles of money. Everything about that just screams Disney. I feel like the studio would be all for a sequel.

Time will tell whether a sequel actually happens. Once the Disney and Fox merger is complete and all the details are worked out you can be sure Disney will be looking at every film that's been acquired to see what the new company can do with it, so maybe a sequel isn't that crazy an idea after all.