Michael Jackson's Nephew Will Play Michael Jackson In Upcoming Biopic

It sounds like the Michael Jackson biopic, first announced in 2019, is finally making some major headway. Not only was it recently announced that the film, titled "Michael," would be directed by Antoine Fuqua, but we now know who will play the iconic King of Pop. In what is quite a shocking twist, Jackson will be portrayed by another member of the Jackson family.

Lionsgate announced that Jaafar Jackson, a singer and the nephew of the biopic's subject, has been tapped to headline the film. Jaafar is the 26-year-old son of Jermaine Jackson, who shot to fame with his brother as part of The Jackson 5. It sounds like this casting has been in the works for a while, as producer Graham King wrote in a statement that even after conducting a worldwide search, he could not imagine anyone else but him in the role.

"I met Jaafar over two years ago and was blown away by the way he organically personifies the spirit and personality of Michael," King wrote. "I am beyond thrilled that he has come on board to portray his uncle and cannot wait for the world to see him on the big screen as Michael Jackson."

Jackson himself posted a statement on the casting to his Twitter profile. In that same statement, he posted a photo that appears to confirm that rehearsals for "Michael" are underway.

I'm humbled and honored to bring my Uncle Michael's story to life. To all the fans all over the world, I'll see you soon. 
 
Photo by Jourdynn Jackson pic.twitter.com/Xow9Mkakup

— Jaafar Jackson (@JaafarJackson) January 30, 2023

As previously mentioned, "Michael" was first announced in 2019 after the runaway success of the Freddie Mercury biopic, "Bohemian Rhapsody." While that film received mixed critical reviews and had a hefty controversy hanging over its promotion, it did gross almost a billion dollars at the box office. Because of this, it is likely that King wanted to replicate the success he achieved producing "Bohemian Rhapsody" with another important, yet controversial figure in music history.

After that initial announcement, however, further details on the project remained scarce. This was likely to do with the COVID-19 pandemic, which ground a halt to countless film projects. Work seemed to resume in early 2022 when it was announced that the film had landed a distributor with Lionsgate, but yet again, not much else was released. But earlier this month, it was confirmed that Fuqua will direct the script written by John Logan, with filming slated to begin earlier this year. Jackson's estate will be closely involved in the film, which may complicate the integrity of the film somewhat, but we'll have to wait and see how it turns out.

"Michael" currently does not have a release date.