- Antoine Fuqua is “blown away” by the resemblance between Jaafar Jackson and his late uncle, Michael Jackson, in the upcoming biopic.
- The biopic will not shy away from the controversies surrounding Michael Jackson.
- Fuqua plans to tell the facts as they are known about Michael Jackson, allowing the audience to make their own judgments about the artist.
Michael Jackson comes to life again on screen thanks to new behind the scenes images of Jaafar Jackson playing his iconic uncle in the upcoming biopic, Michael. The first look images shared by Jaafar on his Instagram account show him in full costume, busting out moves that the King of Pop would approve of, as he teased an imminent filming start date of January 22.
During a previous interview with Entertainment Weekly, director Antoine Fuqua opened up about the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic, Michael, and revealed that he was “blown away” by the “uncanny” resemblance between the film’s lead and the late King of Pop.
Back in January, The Magnificent Seven director revealed that Jaafar would be tackling the role in the upcoming biopic on Instagram. Jaafar is the 27-year-old son of the iconic singer’s brother Jermaine Jackson. Michael will be his first major film role. While chatting about Jaafar’s ability to channel his uncle, Fuqua said:
It’s uncanny how much he’s like Michael. Sounds like him, dances like him, sings. It’s really uncanny. Graham King, who is a fantastic producer, found him, and introduced him to me, and I was blown away.
While Michael was on hold until the end of the dual strikes, the Equalizer 3 director stated that Lionsgate’s upcoming biopic will share the King of Pop’s story in full, hinting that the film won’t shy away from the controversies surrounding the late singer.
Back in the 90s, the superstar was involved in child sexual abuse allegations, all of which he denied. Following the trial, the singer was acquitted in 2005. He died at the age of 50 in 2009.
When asked about how he planned to approach the project (which is being created with the Jackson estate’s cooperation), Fuqua said, “Just to tell the facts as we know it, about the artist, about the man, about the human being. You know, the good, bad, and the ugly.”
Previously, while speaking about the late singer and the upcoming biopic, Fuqua told Good Morning America, “He was a great artist. And, he was human.”
The Training Day director went on to say, “[We’ll] just tell Michael based on the facts that I have. Me and Graham King, the producer who did Bohemian Rhapsody, we’re going to tell the facts as we know it, and it’s for the audience to make a decision how they feel about Michael, but we’re going to tell the facts as we know it.”
Previously, when the project was first announced, Fuqua said;
“The first films of my career were music videos, and I still feel that combining film and music are a deep part of who I am. For me, there is no artist with the power, the charisma, and the sheer musical genius of Michael Jackson. I was influenced to make music videos by watching his work — the first Black artist to play in heavy rotation on MTV. His music and those images are part of my worldview, and the chance to tell his story on the screen alongside his music was irresistible.”
Michael will feature a screenplay by John Logan, the screenwriter known for films including Skyfall, The Aviator, and Gladiator.