Antoine Fuqua, director of the upcoming biopic Michael, about Michael Jackson, has confirmed who will star in the film. On Instagram on Monday (January 30), he shared a picture of Jaafar Jackson in a dance studio. It shows him with patent leather shoes and a fedora in an iconic pose of the King of Pop.
Jaafar is the nephew of the 2009 deceased, son of his older brother Jermaine Jackson, who was also a member of the Jackson Five. Jaafar Jackson confirmed the news by simultaneously posting the same photo. The 26-year-old is apparently already preparing for his role.
The parties
In addition to Antoine Fuqua, Graham King, John Logan and two representatives of Jackson’s estate administration, John Branca and John McClain, are involved in the execution of the film. King previously produced the hit Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. Logan, who has a background in writing Martin Scorsese’s Aviator and made his own directorial debut with 2022’s slasher They/Them, is writing the script.
The participation of two people officially involved with the estate promises a high level of authenticity and extensive access to musical and visual archive material. However, it also allows the critical question of whether the consideration of all aspects of the musician’s life and career announced by the studio Lionsgate will do without any whitewashing. About the HBO docuseries “Leaving Neverland”, released in 2019, the narrative strand of which is the allegations of child abuse against Jackson by two now adult victims, the estate administration had said that it was acting on the level of cheap tabloids.
director and leading actor
Director Fuqua shot a number of music videos for Prince and Toni Braxton, among others. He also directed the films “Training Day”, “Southpaw” and most recently “Emancipation” with Will Smith. He is currently reportedly working with Denzel Washington on the third installment in the “Equalizer” series.
About his film “Michael” he said:
“For me, there is no other artist with as much charisma, charisma and sheer musical genius as Michael Jackson. Seeing him had a huge impact on how I produced my music videos – he was the first Black artist to have clips featured heavily on MTV. His music and these images are part of my worldview and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to bring his story and his music to the screen.”
It is the first acting role for young Jafaar Jackson. However, he is also active as a musician himself. In a video released in 2019, he also proves that the number of preparatory dance lessons should not be too large. He wrote on Instagram that he was honored to bring his uncle’s story to life for his fans. Official production is scheduled to begin later this year.