January 30, 2023 : Michael Jackson’s Nephew Jaafar to Star in Biopic ‘Michael’ : Jaafar Jackson is portraying his uncle Michael Jackson in Lionsgate’s upcoming biopic “Michael,” directed by Antoine Fuqua. “Michael” is expected to depict the complicated legacy of the man who became known as the King of Pop. According to the studio, the film will explore all aspects of his life, “including his most iconic performances that led him to become the greatest entertainer of all time.” The film is being made with the cooperation of the Michael Jackson estate,
Prince Jackson on Instagram : “My cousin @jaafarjackson is going to be playing my father in the upcoming biopic produced by @gkfilms and directed by @antoinefuqua! Truthfully I couldn’t be happier and prouder for him, he’s been working his ass off and I know he’s going to do an amazing job. Just being himself, he embodies so much of my dad and I’m confident we are all going to do our best to show the world a part of my father they’ve never seen and that they deserve to see. To all of my family’s fans and supporters out there thank you for your continued support and love. We all know my father and Jaafar’s uncle was such an incredible human being and everyone at @gkfilms is dedicated and excited to bring my father’s story to the big screen. This project means so much to me for many reasons, I’m really happy that my family and I can go on this journey together. @jaafarjackson i know you’re going to be great bro and again I couldn’t be prouder and happier for you cuz. @jourdynnjackson with the to start us off”.
Jaafar Jackson on Instagram : I’m humbled and honored to bring my Uncle Michael’s story to life. To all the fans all over the world, I’ll see you soon” Photo by Jourdynn Jackson
March 06, 2023 : Michael Jackson biopic to spend a record $120 million in California under state tax credit program : A Lionsgate Entertainment film about the life of singer Michael Jackson is on track to break records for spending under California’s film tax credit program. The movie known as “Michael” — directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson — is projected to spend $120 million on crew wages and vendors, according to the California Film Commission, which administers the state’s film and TV tax credit program. California has allocated $21.1 million in tax credits to the Santa Monica-based studio for “Michael.” That exceeds other top spenders in the state tax credit program for features from previous years, including Walt Disney Co.‘s “Captain Marvel” ($119 million) Paramount’s “Bumblebee” ($102 million) and Netflix’s “The Gray Man” ($102 million).
March 9, 2023 Heal Los Angeles Foundation and Prince Jackson just announced that his annual event “Thriller Night” on Halloween will not take place this year. The reason given is that the Hayvenhurst property owned by the Michael Jackson Estate wil be used for the filming of the upcoming biopic “Michael”.
June 27, 2023 : Prince Jackson shares a picture at a production meeting for the MJ biopic.
August 7, 2023 : John Branca revealed in a video that they would be releasing the full cast for the biopic but due to the actor’s strike, the video was deleted. Let’s hope the strike ends soon so we can get more updates. #mjbiopic #MichaelJackson
August 17, 2023 : “And why Michael Jackson?” “He’s a great artist. He was Human. We’re gonna show the good, bad and the ugly…We just gonna tell the FACTS” Antoine Fuqua talks about how the biopic will portray Michael
August 30, 2023 : Prince Jackson about Graham King, the producer behind the Michael Jackson biopic “Michael”. “After I read the first draft of the script, I called him, because I was crying afterwards, and I told him that he had the most authentic picture of my father”
September 1, 2023 : The production, for the biopic, will have a cast of 64 and 300 crew members. It is expected to be filmed over 80 days in California, primarily Santa Barbara (this is where Neverland is located)
October 03, 2023 : Lionsgate’s Michael Jackson Biopic ‘Michael’ To Be Released Internationally By Universal : Lionsgate and Universal Pictures International announced on Tuesday that Universal will serve as the international distributor for the Michael Jackson biopic Michael, starring the pop superstar’s nephew Jaafar Jackson, which we were first to report on. Uni will handle all territories apart from Japan, with Lionsgate repping the film on the domestic front.
Antoine Fuqua will direct the film from a script by three-time Oscar nominee John Logan, with Graham King (Bohemian Rhapsody) producing alongside John Branca and John McClain, the co-executors of the Michael Jackson Estate. Production is set to kick off as soon as the SAG-AFTRA strike resolves.
November 09, 2023 : The actor’s strike has officially ended in California : On November 9th, Lionsgate Entertainment had a conference call regarding their Q2 2024 Earnings. Jon Feltheimer – CEO, Jimmy Barge – CFO, Michael Burns – COO, Kevin Beggs – Chariman of the Motion Picture Group, Nilay Shah, head of Investor Relations and Joe Drake, president of Worldwide TV discussed the foreplaning of the corporation and the future revenue coming into place during the Quarterly Calendar of April, May and June. Later on in the conversation Joe Drake confirmed: “Just quickly on the Motion Picture side, we were able to strategically really get ahead of it. We were able to secure a number of waivers and really lined our productions up so that as soon as we came out of the strike, we could be running the Michael Jackson movie starts in January.” They also recently confirmed crew and staff on the biopic : Robert Richardson will be in charge of the cinematography. Kimberly Hardin and Victoria Thomas are in charge of the casting. The production design will be done by Academy Award winner, Barbara Ling. Visual effects will be attributed to Pasquale Antonelli and Wesley Barker.
November 12, 2023 : Neverland has been completely revamped for the biopic
November 29, 2023 : A video of Jaafar Jackson interpreting Michael Jackson’s “Man In The Mirror” for the official Michael Jackson Biopic is posted online. As production has resumed after the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, this might be the first rehearsal or reference video for the biopic which is due to start filming in January 2024.
Jackson Dynasty 