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Jaafar Jackson plays Michael Jackson in the 2026 biopic Michael, and the story of how the 29-year-old newcomer landed the role is more interesting than the film itself. It started with a voice note. It involved a two-year global casting search with no formal auditions.
It required Jaafar to keep the role secret from his own family for a full year. And it ended with his grandmother Katherine Jackson, the woman who knew Michael longest and loved him most, telling producers that her grandson didn't just resemble her son, he embodied him.
After tracking every interview, behind-the-scenes video, and production report released since the film was announced, I can tell you that the choice of Jaafar was not nepotism, not a publicity play, and not the obvious pick everyone assumes it was. It was a hard-earned outcome of the most unusual casting process in recent biopic history, and here is how it actually happened.
Jaafar Jeremiah Jackson was born July 25, 1996, in Los Angeles, which means he was 12 years old when his uncle Michael Jackson died in June 2009. He is the son of Jermaine Jackson, one of the original Jackson 5 members and Michael's older brother, and Alejandra Genevieve Oaziaza. That makes Jaafar Michael's nephew by blood and a direct member of the Jackson musical dynasty. He grew up in Encino, California, and spent time at Neverland Ranch as a child, where he attended family gatherings, played hide-and-seek with his cousins, and watched movies with his uncle. By his own account in multiple interviews, he had a warm and ordinary relationship with Michael, unshaped by the public controversy around him.
Before the biopic, Jaafar had a small but genuine creative career of his own. He started singing and playing piano at age 12, releasing his debut single "Got Me Singing" in 2019, and spent over a decade developing a sound that blends pop and R&B. He appeared in the 2015 reality series The Jacksons: Next Generation and in family member Tito Jackson's 2021 music video "Love One Another," but he had no formal acting credits before Michael. At 29, he was, by any standard industry measure, an unknown when producer Graham King first reached out to him in 2020.
The origin story of this casting is one of the oddest in modern Hollywood. Graham King, the producer who secured Michael Jackson's biographical rights in 2019, contacted Jaafar in 2020, years before a director was attached. There was no formal audition, no screen test, no Zoom reading from a sides script. Instead, Jaafar sent King a voice note of himself speaking in character as his uncle. Biography.com's feature on Jaafar describes King as impressed by the recording, but impressed was not the same as cast. What followed was a two-year process that Jaafar himself has called "not traditional" in interviews with the Today show and on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. "I definitely had to earn the role," he told Fallon.
That earning process involved acting coaches, choreography sessions, and what casting director Kimberly Hardin reportedly described as a global search that considered dozens of other candidates. Jaafar worked on Michael's dance vocabulary, vocal pattern, interview cadence, and the specific mannerisms that distinguished the adult Michael from the Jackson 5 child. His casting was officially confirmed in December 2023 and announced publicly in January 2023 alongside director Antoine Fuqua's attachment. Jaafar kept the news a secret from most of his extended family for a full year before the announcement, which is itself a detail that tells you how seriously the production took the confidentiality of the process.
The case for Jaafar comes down to four factors that no outside actor, no matter how talented, could replicate. Understanding these factors is the difference between calling the casting nepotism and understanding it as a solution to a specific casting problem.
The first factor is physical. Jaafar inherited a strong family resemblance to Michael, particularly in facial structure and body proportions. Producer Graham King told Hola! that his first reaction to meeting Jaafar was the question of "who can play Michael, how do you even start with that," and that Jaafar answered the question on sight. The resemblance is close enough that modern digital face work could thin the nose and refine features without the uncanny-valley problem that plagues most celebrity biopic prosthetics. That is a practical production advantage that saves money and avoids the CGI distraction that hurt films like Blonde.
The second factor is movement. Michael Jackson's choreography is the most imitated and most badly-imitated dance vocabulary in pop history. Getting the moonwalk, the toe stand, the spin, and the Jackson-specific mixture of fluidity and snappy angularity correct requires either years of dedicated study or a family connection that exposed the performer to Michael's movement vocabulary from childhood. Jaafar had both. Colman Domingo, who plays Joe Jackson in the film, described it this way to Black America Web: Jaafar didn't just move as Michael moved, he tapped into why Michael moved that way. That is an observation from inside a 22-day reshoot process, not a publicist's line.
The third factor is access. Jaafar had something no outside actor could have: the family archive. In his Interview magazine conversation with co-star Miles Teller, Jaafar revealed that his preparation included Michael's personal writings, private journaling, poems, mantras, and affirmations that were never publicly released. He started replicating Michael's habits of posting affirmations on walls and mirrors. No studio can hand that material to a hired actor. That level of primary-source access is a family-only asset, and it shaped Jaafar's performance from the voice outward.
The fourth factor is the estate. Michael was produced with active cooperation from the Jackson estate's co-executors John Branca and John McClain, and executive-produced by Michael's siblings Jermaine, Tito, Jackie, Marlon, and LaToya Jackson. Casting a family member was a political necessity as much as a creative one. But here the nepotism critique misfires, because the estate's reported first-choice was not Jaafar; the production spent two years considering alternatives. Jaafar's casting was ratified by the estate, not dictated by it. Katherine Jackson's public statement that he "embodies" her son came after the decision, not before.
The critical consensus on Jaafar is unusually unified given how divided the reviews of Michael have been overall. The film sits at roughly 32% on Rotten Tomatoes with a Metacritic score of 38, but almost every negative review carves out Jaafar's performance for praise. Variety's Owen Gleiberman wrote that Jaafar's performance captures the look, the voice, the electrostatic moves, and the mixture of delicacy and steel that defined Michael. Empire magazine, which gave the film two stars and called it a cosplay tribute with no artistic point of view, still acknowledged Jaafar as a hugely talented performer and dancer. The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw, another two-star review, credited Jaafar with fabricating Michael's onstage style with terrific intuitive flair.
Even the harsher reviews land on the same note. Daniel Howat wrote after the LA premiere that Jaafar is tremendous in the role and truly makes you forget he isn't the real thing, while arguing the rest of the movie is as generic as you can get. That is the prevailing view: a lead performance that exceeds the film containing it. For a first-time screen actor with no prior credits, that is an extraordinary outcome, and it is the strongest evidence that the two-year casting process worked exactly as intended.
This is the honest question, and the answer sits in the middle. Multiple reviews have distinguished between Jaafar's impersonation work, which is widely praised, and his dramatic acting outside the musical sequences, which is more contested. Consequence's review argued that his performance slides into mimicry more often than not in the dialogue scenes, while acknowledging he is never pushed beyond his abilities. That is a fair critique: Jaafar delivers a better Michael Jackson stage performance than any actor in recent memory, but his work as a dramatic lead in scripted non-musical scenes is newcomer work.
What that means practically is that Jaafar was the right fit for the specific film Michael needed to be, which is a career-celebration biopic built around musical set pieces. In a different kind of film, one that demanded extensive interior character work without the shelter of performance sequences, a more experienced actor might have served the material better. But that film was never going to get made by this estate, and the production the Jackson family approved always prioritized the performance element. For that film, Jaafar is close to irreplaceable.
A sequel has not been officially greenlit, but the signals are clear. The film ends with the on-screen tagline "His Story Continues," and Jaafar told ET that a second film is in early development, describing the scope of Michael's life as impossible to fit into a single movie. Producer Graham King previously told CinemaCon attendees that he hoped to turn Michael into a two-part story, and the opening weekend box office performance will likely determine whether Lionsgate commits to Part II.
The unresolved question is whether any sequel would address the 1993 and 2003 allegations that the first film deliberately avoided. Most critics who have reviewed Michael expressed doubt on this point, noting that the same estate structure and legal constraints that shaped the first film would apply to the second. Jaafar himself has not commented on the creative direction of a potential sequel, though his continued involvement as the lead seems all but certain if a Part II moves forward. He has spent six years of his life becoming Michael Jackson for this project. Recasting at this point would be commercially unthinkable.
Yes. Jaafar Jackson is the biological son of Jermaine Jackson, Michael's older brother and an original member of the Jackson 5. That makes Jaafar Michael's nephew by blood, not by marriage or adoption. His mother is Alejandra Genevieve Oaziaza. Jaafar is one of Jermaine's children and has eleven siblings and half-siblings.
Jaafar was 26 when producer Graham King first approached him in 2020, 27 when he was officially cast in January 2023, and 27 when principal photography began in November 2023. He is 29 at the time of the film's April 2026 release. Michael Jackson was 26 himself during the 1984 Thriller peak the film covers, which aligns Jaafar's age closely with the period being portrayed.
Partially. The film primarily uses Michael Jackson's original master vocal recordings, blended with Jaafar's own singing voice for continuity in certain sequences. Juliano Krue Valdi, who plays the young Michael, also contributed vocals for the Jackson 5-era songs. This hybrid approach means viewers hear the authentic Michael Jackson voice while watching Jaafar perform convincingly on screen.
Yes. Michael's mother and Jaafar's grandmother Katherine Jackson publicly endorsed the casting, stating that Jaafar embodies her son. Her approval carried significant weight both for the Jackson estate and for public perception of the project. Given her personal connection to Michael and her position within the family, her endorsement functioned as a kind of family consensus signal.
No. Michael is Jaafar Jackson's feature film debut. He previously appeared in the 2015 reality series The Jacksons: Next Generation and had a brief role in the unaired series Living with the Jacksons, along with a cameo in Tito Jackson's 2021 music video "Love One Another." None of these count as professional acting work. His casting as Michael is one of the highest-profile debut roles in recent memory.
Here is the honest summary: Jaafar Jackson was chosen to play Michael Jackson because he was the one person on earth who combined physical resemblance, family-archive access, dance-trained movement fluency, and Jackson estate approval in a single package. An outside A-list actor with formal training might have delivered stronger dialogue scenes. A professional impersonator might have nailed the stage performance. A different nephew might have had the family access. No single alternative candidate had all four factors, and the producers knew that going in. The two-year search was not about finding Jaafar. It was about confirming that no better option existed.
Whether that decision produced a better film is a separate question that reviewers have answered in mixed ways. What is not in dispute is that Jaafar earned the role through a process that was genuinely rigorous, and that his on-screen work as Michael Jackson is the single element of Michael that critics and audiences have agreed on. The nepotism critique, which sounds intuitive on first hearing, collapses under the actual casting history. Jaafar was not handed this role. He spent two years becoming the only acceptable answer to an impossible casting question, and the finished performance is the evidence.
Jocasta_Lavender
1h ago
The Colman Domingo casting as Joe Jackson is inspired. Watching him described as a chilling presence playing the domestic Svengali monster is exactly what that role demands.
Edgy-Elegance
1h ago
Back when I was studying film casting in school, the professor used to say the hardest roles to fill are the ones where the audience already has a fully formed internal image of the person. Michael Jackson might be the most extreme version of that problem in pop culture history.
PowerCoupleMode
2h ago
Why did it take six years from the rights being secured in 2019 to the film actually opening in 2026? That is a very long development timeline even for a complicated project.
PrimeTimeViewer
2h ago
Been a fan of Michael Jackson since childhood and I will say this carefully: I can love the music and the artistry and still think a complete biographical film owes the audience the full story. Those two things are not in conflict.
JocelynX
2h ago
The film uses a hybrid approach. Michael's original master recordings are the primary vocal tracks but Jaafar's own voice is blended in for continuity in certain sequences. So you are hearing the authentic voice while watching a performance that matches it.
Mindful-Beauty_24
2h ago
Growing up as a massive MJ fan, I always said no one could ever play him convincingly. I was wrong about that and I am genuinely happy to admit it.
BelieveAchieve
2h ago
The detail about Jaafar posting Michael's affirmations on his walls during preparation is so specific and so unusual that it could only have come from someone with deep personal access to the subject. That is method acting meeting family devotion.
ChakraBalance
2h ago
La Toya saying she forgot it was Jaafar and thought she was watching Michael is the kind of endorsement no publicist could write. That is coming from someone who knew him her entire life.
NebulaWalker
2h ago
The article makes a point I had not considered before, that Jaafar was the right fit for the specific film this production was always going to be. A different director or a different mandate might have needed a different actor.
Jocelyn_Blossom
2h ago
Last year I went back and rewatched a ton of Michael Jackson concert footage to try and understand what makes his stage presence so hard to replicate. The answer is that it is not one thing, it is the combination of precision, spontaneity, and emotional transparency all happening at once. That combination is incredibly rare.
Wellness_Vision_101
2h ago
Realistically the pool of people who could plausibly portray Michael Jackson's physicality, replicate his voice patterns convincingly, and survive the scrutiny of the Jackson family was never very large. Dozens of candidates still narrows very fast when you apply all those filters.
RavenclawGenius
2h ago
Genuinely blown away that his first acting credit is playing one of the most iconic performers who ever lived. No pressure or anything.
Kristina-Barnes
2h ago
Estate-approved biopics are basically a subgenre at this point. You get the music, you get the performance, you get a version of the life story that has been pre-approved for palatability. Michael is just the most expensive example so far.
Molly_Brooks
2h ago
The scene I keep seeing clips of where Jaafar teaches the gang members the Beat It choreography looks genuinely electric. That specific moment is apparently one of the most praised sequences in the whole film.
Nostalgic_Cartoons_999
2h ago
Will the Michael Jackson biopic sequel actually address the 1993 allegations or will it dodge them too?
Soundtrack_Connoisseur_666
2h ago
The film getting a projected $150 million worldwide opening weekend kind of proves the article's point that the audience for this is enormous regardless of what critics think. Fan enthusiasm for Michael Jackson does not expire.
Pixar_Lover2002
2h ago
Four hours. The original cut was apparently four hours long. Part of me desperately wants to see that version.
NeonDreamscape
2h ago
The fact that even the harshest reviews carve out Jaafar for praise is really the story here. You can disagree with every creative decision the film makes and still acknowledge that what he does on screen is extraordinary.
Phoebe_Soul
2h ago
Critics calling it feature-length publicity are not wrong, but that framing also ignores that most fans going to see this film are not expecting a documentary. They want the music and the performances and this film delivers those.
NoahHall
2h ago
First time I really paid attention to Jaafar was when the casting was announced in January 2023. I remember thinking it was either going to be revelatory or a disaster and there was no middle ground possible. Turns out it was revelatory, which honestly surprised me.
AnastasiaHarrison
3h ago
The reshoots adding a new ending for around $50 million is a jaw-dropping number for post-production work. Something significant clearly had to change in the third act.
RetroCartoonCollector
3h ago
Reminds me of when I was a kid watching the Motown 25 performance on a VHS my grandmother had recorded. Seeing that moment recreated in a modern film with someone who moves with that same quality is something I genuinely did not expect to feel emotional about.
Maya
3h ago
Is there any chance the Michael Jackson biopic will get a streaming release soon after theaters, or is Lionsgate planning a long theatrical window?
MovieBuff247
3h ago
Hot take: the film being criticized for avoiding the allegations is legitimate, but pretending that any estate-controlled production was ever going to include them is a fantasy. The question was always going to be whether the rest of the film was worth watching on its own terms.
ClarissaH
3h ago
Jaafar keeping a secret from most of his family for a full year while simultaneously preparing for the biggest role of his life is a level of emotional complexity I had not thought about before. He could not process any of it with the people who mattered most to him.
Lena_Schmidt
3h ago
Saw early footage from the Berlin premiere event and the concert sequences look genuinely spectacular in IMAX. Whatever the critics think about the screenplay, the performance scenes are something else entirely.
Outdoor_Explorer_77
3h ago
Jaafar literally looks so much like Michael it gives me chills every time I see a clip.
EvanRussell
3h ago
Paris Jackson not showing up to the premiere and saying she had zero involvement speaks volumes. When the subject's own daughter is publicly distancing herself from the film, that is not a good look for the estate narrative.
Oliver_Opinion
3h ago
Does anyone know if Jaafar Jackson trained with any of Michael's original choreographers, or did he develop the moves entirely on his own?
Urban_Chic
3h ago
Does the film cover Michael's vitiligo and the whole skin change narrative, or does it gloss over that too?
PrimeVideoGuru_Emily
3h ago
Does this film actually explain why Jaafar was chosen over someone with more acting experience, or does it just present the family connection as sufficient explanation?
Orla_Starry
3h ago
The Thriller era concert sequences being described as reproduced with stunning accuracy by someone who attended the premiere is the detail that sold me on seeing this opening weekend.
MadisonMorris
3h ago
The moonwalk alone would eliminate most candidates. People forget how technically specific that move is and how badly most imitations fall apart up close.
SelfLove_Workout_10
3h ago
Jaafar having grown up at Neverland and watching movies with his uncle is the kind of biographical detail that changes how you think about the performance. He is not playing a stranger.
MetalHeadX
3h ago
With a $200 million budget and $150 million projected opening, Lionsgate will almost certainly want a full theatrical run before any streaming release. Expect at least 45 to 60 days in theaters minimum before any streaming announcement.
Trend_Designer
4h ago
To be fair to the production, Paris has her own legal issues with the estate that are separate from the film itself. Her absence might be as much about that dispute as about any artistic objection to how her father is portrayed.
MidnightRider
4h ago
I keep seeing people online ask whether Jaafar Jackson is a good actor or just a skilled impersonator. The article addresses this honestly and I think the answer is both, depending on which scenes you are watching.
RomComCritic_2023
4h ago
The whole global casting search thing is interesting because it raises the question of who else was seriously considered. The article says dozens of candidates were evaluated and yet Jaafar apparently stood apart even before the formal process concluded.
SilentStorm
4h ago
Had something similar happen when I watched the Judy Garland biopic a few years back. Renee Zellweger's performance was so committed and so technically precise that I completely forgot the surrounding film was mediocre. Jaafar sounds like he is doing something in that same category.
Yvette_Luxe
4h ago
The article's point about digital face work being easier when you start from a genuine family resemblance is a practical production detail that gets overlooked in the nepotism conversation. Prosthetics and CGI that replace rather than refine always look wrong.
Valeria_Bailey
4h ago
From what has been reported, Jaafar worked with professional choreographers and also had access to private family footage and Michael's personal rehearsal materials. So it was a combination of formal training and that insider family access no outside actor could replicate.
FitnessWithIntention
4h ago
Two hours and seven minutes to cover Michael Jackson's life from the Jackson 5 to the end of the 1980s is honestly very tight. No wonder the pacing is getting criticized.
SarahKing
4h ago
As someone who has followed music biopics closely for years, the estate-controlled narrative problem is not unique to this film. Bohemian Rhapsody went through the same thing, got mixed reviews, won four Oscars, and made nearly a billion dollars. The pattern is familiar at this point.
JosephBennett
4h ago
The casting process described here, two years, a global search, no formal auditions, starting with a voice note, is genuinely unlike anything I have read about a major studio production. Hollywood usually works in very specific ways and this broke almost every convention.
Miriam_Twinkle
4h ago
The article addresses this directly and the argument is essentially that no amount of acting experience can substitute for the physical resemblance, the movement vocabulary, the family archive access, and the estate cooperation that Jaafar brought as a package. Experience could not have replaced any of those.
StarGlitch
4h ago
Antoine Fuqua getting Colman Domingo and Jaafar Jackson both delivering at this level in the same film is an achievement regardless of script quality. Two first-rate performances do not happen by accident.
LorelaiS
4h ago
Regardless of what you think about how the estate has controlled this narrative, the fact that Jaafar closed the Hollywood premiere by saying he hoped his uncle was smiling from above is genuinely moving. That is not a publicist's line.
DelilahL
4h ago
He released a debut single called Got Me Singing back in 2019 and has been developing his own pop and R&B sound for years. His voice is distinct from Michael's but the family resemblance in tone is there if you listen for it.
CyberMystic
4h ago
Jaafar vs any outside actor for this role is not even a close comparison when you think about what playing Michael Jackson actually requires. The physicality, the voice pattern, the family archive access. An outsider starts at zero on all of that.
CharlotteBrown
5h ago
The critics are trashing the film but praising Jaafar. That gap between performance quality and overall movie quality is honestly fascinating to read about.
Edgy-Elegance
5h ago
There were reports that a storyline involving one of Michael's accusers had to be removed for legal reasons after a settlement. Whether that is fully accurate or not, the finished film noticeably avoids the allegations entirely.
Trendy_Twist
5h ago
Most biopics about musicians are really just concert films with biographical framing. The criticism that this film is essentially a filmed playlist is not unfair but it also describes a lot of beloved films in this genre.
Trendsetter_Hub
5h ago
Hot take: the 32 percent Rotten Tomatoes score actually tells you more about what this film chose not to include than about what Jaafar delivers on screen. Two completely different conversations.
Iris_Dew
5h ago
That is a fair point but also worth noting that Fuqua clearly got an exceptional performance out of a first-time screen actor, which is itself a significant directorial achievement regardless of script issues.
Siegel_Summary
5h ago
Comparison between this and Bohemian Rhapsody is apt. Critical score in the low thirties, massive fan enthusiasm, great central performance, significant omissions from the true story. The template is identical.
Clara_Bailey
5h ago
Honestly the low Rotten Tomatoes score is going to send a lot of casual viewers away from a film they would probably enjoy. Critic scores for fan-service biopics consistently underestimate audience response.
HunterRussell
5h ago
Jaafar is the son of Jermaine Jackson, who is Michael's older brother. That makes Jaafar Michael's nephew, not his son. Michael's actual children are Prince, Paris, and Bigi.
Allyson-Clarke
5h ago
What I want to know is whether Jaafar's own singing voice is in the film at all or if it is entirely Michael's original recordings.
MarvelFanatic
5h ago
Does anyone else think Antoine Fuqua was the wrong director for this? His style tends toward big visceral impact and Michael Jackson's story needed someone with more psychological interiority.
Bernstein_Bulletin
5h ago
The moonwalk recreation in IMAX sounds like a genuinely physical experience. I have tickets for opening weekend and this detail is making me more excited than anything else I have read.
Marathon_MovieGoer
5h ago
Paris Jackson not attending the premiere is being discussed separately from the question of whether the film is good. Those are two different issues and conflating them muddies both conversations.
BehindTheScenesX
5h ago
The question of whether a biopic sequel would cover the Michael Jackson abuse allegations is the most loaded question in Hollywood right now. There is no version of that film that does not create massive legal and cultural controversy.
ZenModeActivated
6h ago
Jaafar learning Michael's specific mannerisms, the way he held his shoulders, the way he tilted his head in interviews, is the kind of granular preparation that separates a great impersonation from a transformative performance.
Piper_Shine
6h ago
How is Jaafar Jackson related to Michael Jackson exactly, because I keep seeing people online who think he is Michael's son rather than his nephew.
Giselle_ShootingStar
6h ago
The article comparing the CGI problem in Blonde to the approach taken here is really insightful. The uncanny valley effect broke every scene in that film and it would have been catastrophic for a performer whose image is as culturally embedded as Michael Jackson's.
Simplicity-Rules_24
6h ago
What does Jaafar Jackson actually sound like as a singer separate from Michael? Has he released music people can listen to before seeing the film?
SierraH
6h ago
The detail about Jaafar accessing Michael's private journals and personal writings for his preparation is something I find genuinely moving. That is not research an actor does. That is a family member trying to understand someone they loved.
LiveConcertFreak
6h ago
The final theatrical cut is running at approximately two hours and seven minutes based on the IMDB listing. So it was trimmed significantly from the original four-hour edit.
Angelina_Sunlight
6h ago
The part about Katherine Jackson saying Jaafar embodies her son rather than just resembles him is worth sitting with. That distinction is enormous coming from someone who knew Michael from birth.
Gloria_Twilight
6h ago
Based on what Jaafar said at the premiere, the film actually goes into the vitiligo story in some depth, including how early it affected him. He specifically said one of the biggest misconceptions the movie corrects is the idea that Michael wanted to be white.
NeonPulse101
6h ago
The thing people keep getting wrong about this casting is assuming nepotism explains it. The article lays it out clearly and the answer is way more interesting than that. The voice note origin story alone is something I had never heard before reading this.
DreamLabX
6h ago
Same. A four-hour Michael Jackson film with a proper second and third act covering the 1990s would have been a completely different and probably much more acclaimed piece of work.
LincolnBryant
6h ago
What is the film's actual runtime after all the editing, because I read reports about it being cut from four hours down and I want to know what we are actually getting?
Style_Bold
6h ago
Honest answer is nobody knows yet, but the same estate structure and legal constraints that shaped part one would absolutely apply to part two. The article covers this and the odds do not look good for a more candid second film.
Happily_Dating_777
6h ago
Ok but the $200 million budget for an estate-approved biopic is a level of commitment I was not expecting. That is a serious film even if the creative constraints are real.
NamasteEveryday
6h ago
Jaafar doing this as his first acting role with no prior screen credits is either the bravest thing or the most inadvisable thing in recent Hollywood history and apparently it worked out to be the former.
ForeverTogether
6h ago
The detail about Jaafar keeping the role secret from his own family for a year is wild. That kind of discipline from someone who had never acted professionally before says something real about how seriously he took it.
Trendy_Babe_09
7h ago
Critics who are upset about what the film leaves out should be upset with the estate for controlling the narrative, not with Jaafar. He gave everything to this performance. The creative limitations are above his pay grade.
HealthyHabitsDaily
7h ago
The timeline makes more sense when you account for the two-year casting search, the global COVID disruption to production, the extensive reshoots, and the decision to cut the film down from a four-hour runtime. Each of those alone adds months.
Conscious_Choices_99
7h ago
That vitiligo context matters so much. Generations of people grew up with that rumor presented as fact and it was never accurate.
Michael Scott Cringe moments from The Office
The Michael movie review verdict is in, and it is more complicated than the 26% Rotten Tomatoes score suggests. Antoine Fuqua's long-delayed Michael Jackson biopic, simply titled Michael, hit theaters this weekend with Jaafar Jackson playing his late uncle, and the critical response has been brutal. The BBC gave it one star. Roger Ebert's site called it a filmed playlist in search of a story. Yet early audience reactions on social media have been warmer, ticket pre-sales suggest an $80 million opening, and Variety thought it worked as an engrossing middle-of-the-road biopic. After tracking coverage across more than a dozen outlets over the past 48 hours, I think the honest answer to "should you watch this?" depends almost entirely on what you want from a music biopic, and this guide breaks down exactly what the film delivers, what it skips, and who will actually enjoy sitting through its two-hour-and-nine-minute runtime.
