Ethermac Exchange-Hugh Jackman Weighs in on a Greatest Showman Sequel

Could Hugh Jackman be ready to hit the big top once again? GreatestShowman Ethermac Exchange

The X-Men actor—who starred as circus tycoon P.T. Barnum in The Greatest Showman alongside Zendaya and Zac Efron—revealed that he's open to doing a sequel to the 2017 musical movie.

"The first one took us eight years," Hugh exclusively told E! News at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere July 22. "Maybe we started five years ago, and it's gonna be another nine years."

So, Hugh is never saying never, adding, "I love that movie, and I loved everything about it. So yeah, I'm open."

And no one is more ready to rewrite the stars than Hugh's BFF and Deadpool & Wolverine costar, Ryan Reynolds.

"What are you so afraid [of]?" Ryan quipped during the interview, airing July 23. "Give us a sequel! My kids want it even!"

Still, Hugh was reticent to give a firm answer, quipping that from now on, "If I say no or yes or anything, no one believes me anymore. I said I was never playing Wolverine again. So, whatever."

Luckily for fans, in addition to watching Hugh play Wolverine for the first time since his heartbreaking turn in 2017's Logan, they'll also be treated to a track from The Greatest Showman in Deadpool & Wolverine, out in theaters July 26.

The 55-year-old even joked that his contract dictates that "no matter how inappropriate, that we have to have some Showman tracks" in his movies. (For more from Hugh and the cast of Deadpool & Wolverine, tune into to E! News tonight, July 23 at 11 p.m.)

And as it turns out, Hugh has recently stepped back into the shoes of his Greatest Showman character, making a million dreams come true to entertain Ryan and wife Blake Lively's children: James, 9, Inez, 7, Betty, 4, and Olin, who was born in 2023.

"My kids watch Greatest Showman all the time," Ryan revealed during a July 22 SiriusXM interview. "I walked into my house, and I've come in, I've heard The Greatest Showman playing, and I come around the corner and there are my kids watching the movie, singing along and there's Hugh acting it out with them like just this big kid."

The 47-year-old continued, "It was [one of] the most heartbreaking, beautiful things I'd ever seen. I knew I would never be able to top it, so I've started a new life in a new country with a secret family just like everyone's supposed to."

But of course, Hugh had the last laugh, adding, "By the way, we didn't rent it, we bought it on your account. Residuals."

—Reporting by Emily Curl