We’ve just received a first look at the controversial Michael Jackson biopic directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) and starring the King of Pop’s own nephew Jaafar Jackson.
In the image shown above and below, the younger Jackson has taken to the stage and recreated his legendary uncle’s ‘Man in the Mirror’ look from the Dangerous Tour (1992-1993). According to Variety, the photograph was snapped by Kevin Mazur, who notably captured MJ throughout his career and during his This Is It rehearsals.
“With Jaafar, every look, every note, every dance move is Michael,” said producer Graham King (Bohemian Rhapsody) in a statement.
“He embodies Michael in a way that no other actor could.”
Director Antoine Fuqua added: “We have assembled an incredible team of artists for this project — hair and makeup, costumes, cinematography, choreography, lighting, everything — and some who knew and worked with Michael are reuniting for this film.”
“But most importantly, it’s Jaafar who embodies Michael. It goes beyond the physical resemblance. It’s Michael’s spirit that comes through in a magical way. You have to experience it to believe it.”
Aside from Jaafar Jackson, the cast also includes Academy Award nominee Colman Domingo as father Joe Jackson, Nia Long as mother Katherine Jackson, Juliano Krue Valdi as young Michael, and Top Gun: Maverick’s Miles Teller as lawyer John Branca.
Entitled Michael, the forthcoming film will, “give audiences an in-depth portrayal of the complicated man who became the King of Pop. It will bring to life Jackson’s most iconic performances as it gives an informed insight into the entertainer’s artistic process and personal life.”
Hopefully, this encompasses everything from his legendary rivalry with Prince to the time he acquired Eminem’s music rights for $515 million as a means of putting the rapper back in his place. The screenplay has been accomplished by John Logan — the writer behind Gladiator, The Last Samurai, The Aviator, Skyfall, and Spectre.
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As rightly pointed out by Variety when this project was initially announced, given the Jackson family’s active involvement in the project, we shouldn’t be surprised if the film downplays the multiple allegations of child sex abuse fired at MJ towards the end. Or perhaps they’ll find a way to omit it entirely like the recent Broadway production MJ.
Michael Jackson was, of course, tried for child molestation in 2003 but eventually found not guilty on all counts; maintaining his innocence right until his untimely death circa 2009 at age 50.
A fresh(er) batch of allegations was brought to public attention in 2019 by the HBO documentary Leaving Neverland, namely from choreographer Wade Robson and former child actor James Safechuck (both of whom had documented relationships with Michael Jackson since childhood). It did, however, spark widespread debate questioning whether this was the bare-faced truth or “tabloid character assassination.”
In any case, enlisting Graham King makes more and more sense, considering how he negotiated a partially sanitised version of Freddie Mercury’s life story with Bohemian Rhapsody at the behest of the surviving Queen members. As harsh as it may be to say, this is the bloke who robbed us of an R-rated flick directed by David f**king Fincher and starring Sacha Baron Cohen (not that we have anything against our boy Rami Malek).
As we’ve previously noted, our only solace is that John Logan is on the job. Assuming he refused to pull any punches as he did for Martin Scorsese’s take on the life of industrialist Howard Hughes (portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio), this Michael Jackson movie might still pack some heat.
Michael starring Jaafar Jackson, Colman Domingo, and Nia Long is set to be distributed by Lionsgate and Univeral Pictures International. As for a release date, it’s currently scheduled to premiere sometime in 2025.
