Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson are starting a Neil Diamond tribute band in the Australian actor’s latest transformation.

Focus Features has released the official trailer for Song Sung Blue  ahead of the movie’s release in January.

For the musical drama, Jackman swaps his Wolverine claws and signature hair for a jumpsuit and flowing Diamond-esque ‘do as he plays a real-life “Neil Diamond interpreter”.

Song Sung Blue – the title of one of Diamond’s hits – sees Jackman and Hudson as a married couple who form a Neil Diamond tribute band.

The story is based on a 2008 documentary of the same name, which followed the true story of Milwaukee couple Mike and Claire Sardina.

The Sardinias were aspiring musicians who became local icons by performing as Lightning & Thunder. 

“You don’t want to be a Neil Diamond impersonator. You want to be a Neil Diamond interpreter,” Hudson’s character says to Jackman in the trailer.

The real Lightning & Thunder were the subject of a 2008 documentary. Photo: Reel as Dirt

“I was looking for the right way to say it, and you just came right out and said it,” responds Jackman.

Rounding out the cast are Michael Imperioli, Ella Anderson, King Princess, Mustafa Shakir, Hudson Hensley, Fisher Stevens and Jim Belushi. 

Mike Sardina, whose stage name was Lightning, died in 2006 due to a head injury. His wife Claire lost part of her leg after being struck by a car.

“I’m elated and a little dumbfounded,” she said when the film was announced last year.

“All of the hype has taken me back to when my wonderful husband was alive and by my side. It’s been wonderful to go back in time.”

The trailer begins with Jackman passionately proclaiming: “I’m not a songwriter, I’m not a sex symbol, I just want to entertain people.”

Hudson responds: “I don’t want to be a hairdresser, I want to sing, I want to dance, I want a garden, I want a cat.”

The clip goes on to show the band selecting their act, discussing their stage name, perfecting their sound during kitchen rehearsals and sharing a first kiss.

The tone then shifts as Mike Sardina struggles with alcoholism and trauma wrought from a stint in the Vietnam War.

“I can’t thank Neil [Diamond], because every thank-you I got belongs to you, doll,” Jackman says in the trailer’s dramatic climax.

“You’re my August Night, my September Morn, my Cracklin’ Rosie,” he adds, all references to Diamond songs.

Focus Features first announced that Hudson and Jackman would costar in Song Sung Blue in October 2024.

In December, Hudson shared post on Instagram saying that she and Jackman were finishing filming and recording songs for the movie.

“A little scroll of my final days filming and playing before holiday crunch time. What a work hubby @thehughjackman,” she wrote in the caption.

Song Sung Blue will be released in Australian cinemas on January 1, 2025