Jaafar Jackson Insists Michael Sequel Will Address Allegations Against Late Singer

Michael star Jaafar Jackson is opening up about what viewers should expect in the follow-up to the musical biopic.

Earlier this year, Jaafar was seen in action as his late uncle in the movie Michael, which was widely panned by critics upon its release, largely due to the fact it fails to address many of the controversies surrounding the singer in his lifetime, most notably the allegations of child sexual abuse levelled against him.

In fact, Michael was supposed to include scenes depicting the allegations and their impact on the Billie Jean performer, and some of these were even filmed.

However, these sequences had to be axed when the Jackson estate found a legal clause in a settlement between the late musician and one of his accusers, insisting that his likeness and name must never be used in a film.

As a result, the cast and crew were called back for costly reshoots, with director Antoine Fuqua making the decision to end the film in the late 80s, before any allegations were made against the film’s subject.

It’s since been revealed that the wheels are in motion on at least one sequel, with Jaafar telling GQ Middle East that the script is still being written.

He claimed: “I think the second film will give even more insight from [Michael Jackson’s] point of view, because at the end of the day, [the allegations] are always from someone else’s.

“It’s someone else’s story. It’s someone else’s idea of what it is, and it’s mainly driven by an agenda. And that’s really the issue we’ve been having as a family – not having Michael’s voice being heard. I think that’s very, very important, especially in the late years.”

Defending the original film, he stated: “This first film focuses on Michael from his roots. So you get that idea of who he was before he had all the success and became the icon that people are familiar with, you understand who he was as a human being first, because at the end of the day, that’s who he was in the ’90s until he passed.

“He never changed that purity, that sense of always wanting to find the good in other people. And no matter all the stuff he went through, how he was treated, what things were said about him, he never stopped treating people with kindness. He never stopped believing in and wanting to look for the good in people… even though he was broken, his heart still stayed the same…”

“I hope that this is felt in the second movie,” he added.

Last month, Michael surpassed one million dollars at the box office, overtaking Oppenheimer to become the highest-grossing biopic in cinema history.

The vice chair of production company Lionsgate, Adam Fogelson, claimed recently that production on part two will get underway at “the end of this year or early next”.

“We do have a number of sequences, particularly some big musical sequences, that were shot previously, that are almost sure to be incorporated but we are mostly focused right now on how to make sure we can deliver, at the right price, the biggest, best sequel,” he was quoted as saying.

“That is what the audience is going to want and deserve after the experience we gave them the first time.”

Filmmaker Antoine Fuqua said earlier this year that moving into a Michael sequel, he’d hope to not “sensationalise anything”.

“Being a movie star, rock star, superstar like Michael, there’s enough of that already,” he said. “You don’t have to do much. But I think the key is, like, who was he as a human being?

“Stay on that path and then we’ll be OK, because that’s what it’s about. It’s a biopic, it’s about a human being, he’s a real person. So that’s the key. People have to remember that.” 

Read Jaafar Jackson’s full interview in GQ Middle East.