Michael Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson will portray the late singer in the forthcoming biopic Michael.
“I’m humbled and honoured to bring my Uncle Michael’s story to life,” Jaafar, 26, tweeted. “To all the fans all over the world, I’ll see you soon.”
The son of Jackson 5 member Jermaine Jackson and his ex-wife Alejandra Oaziaza, Jaafar will be making his acting debut in the film directed by Antoine Fuqua.
Jaafar has done music since he was a child and released his debut single “Got Me Singing” in 2019.
Michael, which was announced earlier this month, is scheduled to begin production this year. Fuqua is directing the film from a script by John Logan (Spectre). A release date has not been announced.
Before making films like Training Day and The Equalizer, Fuqua helmed music videos for a long list of artists, including Prince (“The Most Beautiful Girl in the World”), Stevie Wonder (“For Your Love”), Lil Wayne (“Mirror”), Toni Braxton (“Another Sad Love Song”) and Coolio (“Gangsta’s Paradise”).
“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,” Fuqua said, in a statement. “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.”
Among the producers is Graham King, who produced the 2018 Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody and the 2014 film adaptation of Jersey Boys.
Jackson died in 2009 at 50.
Since the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, there have been films about Elton John (Rocketman) and the late Elvis Presley (Elvis) and Whitney Houston (I Wanna Dance With Somebody).