How does one introduce Michael Jackson? What else can you say that hasn’t already
been said? It’s been sixteen years since the death of The King of Pop. But it would be
hard to find anyone who has never at least heard of him. From every clothing brand
playing “ABC” during every Back-to-School commercial, to “Thriller” being on every
Halloween playlist, or dancing your heart out to “Ghosts” with that Michael Jackson:The
Experience video game
He was and is an iconic figure in pop culture. I’m surprised that it took them long to
make a proper biopic about the man. The official teaser-trailer for ‘Michael’ (in theatres,
April 24th, 2026) released early November, and I watched it a few times over. I cannot
wait for this movie to be released. There are clips that made me question if they just
took real b-roll from Entertainment Tonight from the 1990s. That is how convincing this
Michael is-
Speaking of “this Michael”, Michael Jackson will be played by his own nephew, Jaafar
Jackson (Jermaine’s son). I think that is such a tasteful casting- it adds this level of
sincerity to the movie. If there is one thing a biopic is going to be criticized on, it’s the
main actor. Which is a fair critique. Think about Cynthia Erivo’s portrayal of Harriet
Tubman. Casting a British-Black woman playing a Black-American woman would have
been fine but Harriet Tubman is a very important figure in Black history. Throw in the
fact that Erivo had mocked the way African Americans identify themselves and how they
speak, it was hard to feel the sincerity because she is not aligned with that culture. I
would speculate that Jaafar put in a lot more love and care into this role.
Another big critique about biopics, if the family is against it, the audience may be less
forgiving. I have not found statements about the movie overall coming from the surviving
member of the Jackson family. I found praise towards Jaafar’s portrayal from his uncle
Marlon.
“There’s a lot of people out there imitating Michael Jackson, and they do a great job. But
Jaafar did not imitate Michael Jackson- he became Michael Jackson and his
performance is impeccable.”
Marlon admitted during a press conference in Germany with his brothers, Jackie and
Tito (a few days before he passed away in 2024), and Tito’s son Taryll. While Marlon
was the one to answer the question, when asked, the others were in agreement that this
movie would “blow us away”. A link to the video of the press conference posted by
Jackson source can be found below.
The only person part of Michael’s family that has been public with disapproval about the
movie is his own daughter, Paris Jackson. The 27 year old model said in an Instagram
story that the movie was “dishonest” and “sugar coated.” Now she is facing backlash
from people who never knew her FATHER, on a personal level.
Her brother, Prince Jackson, supports the film and is a producer. But siblings don’t
have to agree on everything and they both were young when their father passed. Grief
can change the way someone remembers a loved one.
A lot of people say that Paris doesn’t have enough information to speak about this
movie. You could say that about any of his kids, they weren’t around for his entire life
and it’s possible that even his siblings don’t know everything. There is no way this
movie can be 100% true. This is about Michael Jackson. He’s not here to confirm or
deny anything this movie says about him, all we can do is hope that it is as accurate
and doesn’t just become another ‘Elvis’ (2022).
I do think that this has potential to be a good movie, great even. If the vocals in the
trailer is Jaafar, then the music is going to be the best part of this film. But I do hope we
get quieter scenes that represent the quieter moments of Michael’s life. There was a clip
that had a younger, Jackson 5 era, Michael (played by Juliano Krue Valdi). It was sweet,
seeing a younger version with his family at home, laughing. I think people forget that
without that Michael, there wouldn’t have been the adult Michael that really rocked this
world.
Overall, I am excited. Michael Jackson’s music has always been a constant in my life,
he was a brilliant artist and produced absolute bangers that makes me nostalgic for an
era I didn’t even live in. I have high hopes for this movie and I really hope they surpass
them.
Sources:
https://people.com/paris-jackson-distances-herself-from-michael-jackson-biopic-118026
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https://people.com/michael-jackson-biopic-cast-director-release-date-news-11844839
