The upcoming Antoine Fuqua directed Michael Jackson biopic has every ingredient to be a recipe for disaster, and casting Jackson’s nephew to play the troubled — but otherworldly talented — King of Pop is a legitimate wild card that could either save or completely destroy the film.
Deadline announced Monday that 26-year-old Jaafar Jackson, the son of Michael’s brother Jermaine Jackson, is set to give life to his late uncle. This is adding to growing suspicion that the Fuqua biopic will be nothing but a eulogy for the late pop star, whose life was anything but harmonious.
From pedophilia scandals to the abuse Michael suffered at the hand of his own father (and Jaafar’s grandfather) — and even including the drastic changes in his appearance — the Michael Jackson biopic has potential to become a deeply interesting exploration of a genius’ difficult life. With so many giant elephants in the room, however, it’s hard to picture a good movie about Jackson that avoids controversy or strips the singer of any and all psychological depth in favor of a “herofied” image.
Deadline reports that neither Fuqua nor screenwriter John Logan intend on shying away from these hot topics, but Jaafar’s casting might indicate that, even if they are approached in the film, it won’t be under a particularly unbiased light.
Jaafar Jackson largely built his career as a singer-songwriter until now, which should be a good premonition in case Fuqua decides to use his voice in place of Michael’s in the name of authenticity (think Rocketman vs. Bohemian Rhapsody). As the second generation Jackson’s acting debut, this will not be an easy role to take on right off the bat, but hey, maybe he’s a natural!
Essentially, we have nothing to compare Jaafar to, which means he could still surprise us all, but the pieces seem to all be in place for an epic cascading domino effect.