Mike Floorwalker of Looper and pretty much anyone else can’t say much about The Greatest Showman 2 at this point other than the fact that it’s an idea that seems to be gaining speed as those in charge are seriously considering that it could be a worthy sequel to the first movie. At this point even the cast is uncertain since some people would no doubt love to see Zac Efron come back, though it does seem as though Hugh Jackman would be more of a peripheral character than anything since Barnum was seen to be moving on and possibly spending a lot more time with his family. While this might be the case however it could be that he might be seen taking on fakers and hoaxers in an attempt to keep people wasting money on practices and experiences that were considered to be a giant waste of money at that time. The story lines for this movie are so wide and varied that at this moment it’s hard to say just what direction it could take and if the movie in question will even be able to come close to the original. As a lot of people know a sequel is usually inferior just by definition since it absolutely needs the first movie in order to even exist, thereby leeching off of its success in an attempt to become its own movie and therefore another success. In other words, sequels get a bad reputation largely because a lot of them are building off ideas that have already come around, and people aren’t always willing to sit down for another couple hours or more to see something they already paid to see, unless it’s for free and in the comfort of their own home.
On top of that it’s really hard to say that anything but the full cast would be able to bring people back since that’s a big reason why some people went to see the movie in the first place. The fact that Hugh Jackman can actually sing as well as he does is amazing, and in fact it’s great to see that just about everyone in the movie could really belt out a tune in such awe-inspiring fashion. But without the lot of them standing together and delivering the kind of pulse-pounding show that earned the first movie such acclaim it’s hard to say whether or not it would work again. As a lot of people need to realize and hopefully some do, the sequel has a tall order to fill most times since it has to reach the bar set by the first movie and then top it somehow by being bigger, better, or somehow even more entertaining than its counterpart. Throughout the history of movies this has been done before, but not so often that people could say that it’s a common practice. Sequels have almost always suffered in some sense, though if you go by box office numbers you might not think so. In the case of this movie it feels safe to say that topping the first one is going to be akin to trying to climbing Everest without oxygen AND without the proper gear, in some realm it’s possible, but in the reality we know it’s not seen as possible.
If the sequel could even come close to the first movie, and that’s certainly possible, it’s likely that it could be seen as a nice compliment to the first movie, but this is still a tall order since getting people to like musicals is sometimes an iffy proposition. The story has to be on point, the songs have to be fun and engaging or at least meaningful, and on top of it all a well-known cast does a world of wonder when it comes to promoting the story. The Greatest Showman had world-renowned stars that were currently some of the hottest names in all of show business, and as a result it did manage to get that extra push that helped it out in a big way. A sequel will need to tap some seriously big names to make it worth going to see, though it does seem safe to say that enough people would likely go in the expectation that they would be granted yet another show that would leave them breathless and wanting a little more.
It’s too easy to criticize a sequel no matter if it’s been released or isn’t even a fully-conceptualized idea yet, so in all fairness I’ll state that the first movie was amazing, and that by extension a sequel could at least be worth holding out hope for. The only downfall of any sequel comes when it actively tries to outdo the original story rather than pursue another avenue that might have been left open. Hopefully this coming movie will continue the story and not try to bury the first one but instead bolster it.
Follow Us
