Jaafar Jackson Says He Wants ‘Michael’ Sequel to ‘Give Even More Insight’ into Child Sex Abuse Allegations ‘from His Point of View’

Jaafar Jackson said the sequel to the biopic ‘Michael’ could offer more of his uncle Michael Jackson’s point of view on child sex abuse allegations and his controversial later years.

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Jaafar Jackson appeared on the cover of GQ Middle East to discuss his starring role in the biopic Michael

Jaafar played his uncle Michael Jackson in the Antoine Fuqua-directed film, which now has a sequel in development

The actor shared that he thinks “the second film will give even more insight” into the late pop star’s “point of view”

What will the sequel to the Michael Jackson biopic be like? Jaafar Jackson may have the answer.

The actor, who played his late uncle in the hit movie Michael, appeared on the cover of GQ Middle East to tease its follow-up and reflect on a whirlwind year. Jaafar, 30, clarified that he doesn’t have a say in what future stories from the King of Pop’s life will be depicted.

Michael, who died in 2009 at age 50, was embroiled in controversy when he faced child sex abuse allegations beginning in the 1990s. The biopic Michael ends its story in 1988, but director Antoine Fuqua has confirmed that it originally included scenes covering allegations against the musician.

Glen Wilson/Lionsgate

“I think the second film will give even more insight from his point of view, because at the end of the day, [the allegations] are always from someone else’s,” Jaafar told GQ Middle East.

“It’s someone else’s story. It’s someone else’s idea of what it is, and it’s mainly driven by an agenda,” he continued. “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.”

Jaafar is the son of Jermaine Jackson, who performed alongside brothers Jackie, Tito, Marlon and Michael for years. The breakout star led the John Logan-written Michael alongside Colman Domingo as the Jackson 5’s father Joe and Nia Long as their mother Katherine.

The movie spanned the family’s early success with Motown Records in the late 1960s until Michael’s hit solo album Bad in the late 1980s. Miles Teller, who played Michael’s lawyer-manager John Branca, confirmed in an interview in May that a sequel was in development.

Courtesy of Lionsgate

“This first film focuses on Michael from his roots,” said Jaafar, addressing his hopes for the sequel. “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.”

Adding that his late uncle “was broken,” Jaafar said, “his heart still stayed the same… I hope that this is felt in the second movie.”

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Lionsgate head Adam Fogelson confirmed earlier this month that the company was “targeting a production start towards the end of this year or early next” for the follow-up to Michael, per Deadline. The first film, released in April, crossed the $1 billion mark at the global box office in July, becoming the highest-grossing biopic of all time.

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