Jaafar Jackson ‘Put Himself Through Hell’ to Embody Late Uncle Michael Jackson in Upcoming Biopic

The highly-anticipated Michael Jackson biopic, Michael, has hit a few bumps along the road, including reshoots planned for the spring and a release delay of several months. A source exclusively tells In Touch that Jaafar Jackson, Michael’s nephew and the actor playing the King of Pop himself, is taking the brunt of the stress and tension behind the scenes.

“I feel sorry for Jaafar in this case because he has put himself through hell to master his late uncle’s performance style, dance moves and general manner,” says an insider close to the production, “and he’s had to maintain that peak conditioning and extremely low body fat for more than two years, starting with the early stages of the project and continuing through to the reshoots they’ve been doing this spring.” 

The film, directed by Antoine Fuqua, of Training Day fame, and produced by Graham King, who’s proven to be able to score big biopic wins with his work on Bohemian Rhapsody in 2018, promises to paint as near a total portrait of such a complicated figure as Michael Jackson as possible. The movie will depict the late superstar’s life “from his childhood of being the star of the Jackson 5, through times of abuse by his father Joe Jackson, to his hit ‘Thriller,’ and the purchase of Neverland Valley, into his tragic and unsuspected death on June 25, 2009,” according to its synopsis.

The production is being heavily supported by Michael’s family and estate, but many are concerned the picture will be too one-sided when depicting the more controversial parts of the late singer’s life or even ignore the more glamorous and triumphant moments in favor of court controversy. Namely, how will they handle the bombshell accusations of molestation that led to one of the most-covered trials in history in 2005. Michael was ultimately acquitted on all counts, but many alleged victims who weren’t being directly represented by the state in the criminal complaint still maintain the “Billie Jean” hitmaker abused them.

The source explains it’s obvious the estate will play up his innocence and attempt to clear the air, but that controversy is totally out of Jaafar’s control as a leading man, who is more worried about how it will affect the final cut.

“It’s also frustrating to him because apart from his own performance, he doesn’t have a lot of control over the rest of the process and the movie still has a delicate balance to strike between covering the Jackson Family’s side of Michael’s legal troubles, while also presenting a couple of dozen of Michael’s most famous musical moments.” 

That very high-wire act is why producers postponed the movie’s original April 2025 release date several months. “Getting that balance just right, within the story and the final cut of the movie, is why they had to delay the release and why they have gone back to reshoot and adjust things,” the insider explains.

At the end of the day, a lot rides on the charisma of the film’s 28-year-old star, making his acting debut. But if it falls flat, it won’t be for a lack of trying.

“Everybody knows they only have one shot at this and Jaafar has been a team player who pushes himself to the limits every time he gets into his ‘MJ’ makeup.”