A behind-the-scenes image from Michael reveals the first look at the movie's star in costume as pop icon Michael Jackson. The upcoming music biopic will feature Michael Jackson's real-life nephew Jaafar Jackson playing the role of the late superstar. The movie will be directed by Antoine Fuqua from a screenplay by John Logan, featuring an as-yet largely unannounced ensemble cast that includes Juliano Krue Valdi as young Michael Jackson.
On his official Instagram account, Jaafar Jackson shared a post celebrating the impending production of the Michael biopic. Check out his post below:
The image shows Jackson in costume as his uncle, wearing his signature hat and performing a balletic dance move that involves standing on his tiptoes while light pours in through the windows of a rehearsal room.
The caption that accompanies the image reads "The Journey Starts Monday," giving photo credit to his half-brother Jourdynn Jackson.
Michael Will Need To Do More Than Just Mimic Michael Jackson
This image shows that, even before production has begun, the creative team behind Michael is dedicated to recreating the iconic imagery that Jackson brought to the pop sphere. Their faithful recreation of the aesthetics of the iconic performer includes casting a real-life member of his family to portray him. This is a move that is in keeping with a modern casting trend that has included O'Shea Jackson Jr. playing his father Ice Cube in Straight Outta Compton and Michael Gandolfini playing a younger version of his late father James' Sopranos character in the prequel The Many Saints of Newark.
However, the close involvement of the real-life Jackson family could complicate many elements of the movie. This includes the complex relationship that Michael had with his father, Joe Jackson. Additionally, the movie has already courted controversy because of high-profile sexual abuse allegations against Michael Jackson that were chronicled in the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland.
Fuqua has promised that Michael will be a movie that is unafraid to explore the darker side of its subject. However, it will be a difficult balancing act to capture that alongside the glitzy costumes and complicated choreography that filled Jackson's career. It remains to be seen if the movie can accomplish this, but at the very least, this new image reveals that they are providing solid attention to detail when resurrecting the image of the late pop star.
