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"The Greatest Showman" reveals several first images on Entertainment Weekly. They offer glimpses at Hugh Jackman as the iconic showman P.T. Barnum and Zac Efron as his business partner. There are also pictures of Zendaya Coleman and Michelle Williams from the upcoming musical.

The film was originally envisioned as a traditional biopic, but director Michael Gracey had a different idea. "I said, 'If you're going to call it The Greatest Showman, you should play to your strengths and we should make it a musical,' " he said. "That ridiculous remark cost me seven years of my life."

The music is handled by duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the masterminds behind "La La Land" songs. "We were clear from the beginning that this wouldn’t feel like a period movie or a historical piece," Jackman revealed. "What would Barnum do now? I have an almost-12-year-old daughter. I wanted [the movie] to be as exciting for her as listening to Katy Perry's new song."

The movie is coming out nationwide on Christmas Day.

A post shared by Entertainment Weekly (@entertainmentweekly) on May 17, 2017 at 8:24am PDT

Your first look at @RealHughJackman's epic holiday musical 'The Greatest Showman' w @ZacEfron & @Zendaya https://t.co/gDF6bCQZxp pic.twitter.com/lzjaDcrzRT

— Tim Stack (@EWTimStack) May 17, 2017

ICYMI: We've got your first look at Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams in 'The Greatest Showman': https://t.co/c3mYij5iB0 pic.twitter.com/2HuzPkhMh9

— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) May 17, 2017