A biopic of the late singer Michael Jackson is in the works, and it’s set to star his nephew Jaafar Jackson. Lionsgate, the studio backing the film, already has huge expectations for it.
‘Biggest Movie We’ve Ever Had’
“I think that’ll be the biggest movie we’ve ever had,” Lionsgate president of worldwide television distribution Jim Packer told The Hollywood Reporter.
The biopic Michael is being directed by Antoine Fuqua, and it is set to be released in April of next year.
“The buzz that we’re getting every time a photo gets released is kind of crazy,” Packer continued.
Jaafar is the son of Michael’s older brother Jermaine Jackson and Alejandra Genevieve Oaziaza. He has been busy for months working on portraying his late uncle in this biopic. Daily Mail reported that last month, Jaafar was seen filming scenes for the movie around the Los Angeles area. Specifically, he was spotted recreating scenes from the iconic “Thriller” music video.
Back in April, a trailer for Michael was shown at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Nevada. It reportedly got a strong reaction from the fans in attendance.
Check out that trailer for yourself in the video below.
Related: How Michael Jackson Made Sure His Daughter Didn’t Grow Up ‘Entitled’
Michael Will ‘Get Into All Of It’
The biopic’s producer Graham King recently said that the movie will be “an inside look at the most prolific artist who ever lived” as “there are elements of drama, intrigue and emotional states.”
King added that he’s spent seven years working on this project. During that time, he’s conducted hundreds of interviews so that he can get as much information as possible about who Michael really was.
Michael will cover every aspect of the singer’s life and career, including his legal issues. Indeed, the film will delve into the various child sexual assault lawsuits that Michael faced.
King promised that the movie will “get into all of it,” going on to say that “behind the unrelenting scrutiny and the accusations and the spotlight, he was simply a man – a man with a very complicated life.”
Meanwhile, King believes that Jaafar is the perfect person to play Michael.
“When I started out, everyone said, ‘You’ll never find anyone to play him,'” he recalled.
Michael also stars Colman Domingo and Nia Long in the roles of Jackson’s parents Joe and Katherine Jackson. Others who appear in the film include Miles Teller, Laura Harrier, Kat Graham, Larenz Tate and Jessica Sula.
Related: Michael Jackson Reportedly Paid A Voodoo Chief $150k To Curse Steven Spielberg
Michael’s History
Born in 1958, Michael began performing as a child with his siblings as The Jackson 5. Later, he broke out on his own as a solo performer in the 1980s and quickly became a superstar. His 1982 album “Thriller” remains the biggest-selling album of all time.
By the 1990s, however, fame had taken a toll on Michael. Soon, he began to exhibit strange behavior and acting remarkably childlike. Michael had two brief marriages, the first being to Elvis Presley’s daughter Lisa Marie Presley, who he was married to from 1994 until 1996. He married Debbie Rowe later that same year, but they divorced in 2000.
Michael died in 2009 at the age of 50 from cardiac arrest caused by a lethal combination of sedatives and propofol, an anesthetic.
It will certainly be interesting to see how this biopic of his life turns out.
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