First Look at Hugh Jackman in LES MISERABLES [Updated with More Images]

2012 is shaping up to be a killer year for movies. We were recently tantalized by a bevy of Prometheus goodness, we’ve got the one-two superhero punch of The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises, and towards the end of the year we’ve got some promising stuff from Quentin Tarantino, Peter Jackson, Judd Apatow, Kathryn Bigelow and Baz Luhrmann. One of the more high profile projects coming later this year is director Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech follow-up: a large-scale movie musical adaptation of Les Miserables. The all-star cast is lead by Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe, and today the first image of Jackman as Jean Valjean has surfaced.

The actor is obviously filming the Valjean scenes that involve his imprisonment, as Jackman is looking incredibly dirty and scraggly. Gone are those perfectly coiffed locks of hair, replaced by a bad buzzcut and nasty beard. It’s a fun look at one of the more exciting productions of 2012, and I’m interested to get a look at Crowe as the nefarious Javert. Hit the jump to check out Jackman’s Valjean. The film also stars Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried and Helena Bonham Carter. Les Miserables opens on December 14th. [Update: We've added a couple more images to the article after the jump]

Images courtesy of Courier Mail and Just Jared (via The Film Stage):

Here’s the synopsis for Les Miserables:

Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France, Les Misérables tells an enthralling story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemption–a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit. Jackman plays ex-prisoner Jean Valjean, hunted for decades by the ruthless policeman Javert (Crowe) after he breaks parole. When Valjean agrees to care for factory worker Fantine’s (Hathaway) young daughter, Cosette, their lives change forever.