Every movie Michael Jackson really wanted to star in, but didn’t
The highly anticipated Michael biopic is expected to be one of the biggest films of 2026, and might finally fulfil Michael Jackson’s dream of being on the big screen.
MJ’s influence in the world of music is unparalleled, and not just because he’s one of the biggest-selling artists ever, but because, beyond the stage persona that sold out stadiums, his audiences felt that they ‘knew him’.
You’d think that the performative abilities Jackson picked up on would have made him a perfect movie star, and although the ‘King of Pop’ was a massive cinephile, prevailing circumstances denied him the chance to star in several key films.
Like many moviegoers who had seen Pee-wee’s Big Adventure and Beetlejuice, Jackson had become obsessed with the work of Tim Burton, twice trying to collaborate with the quirky auteur, but lost the role to Johnny Depp in both instances. Burton, reportedly, never answered his messages when he asked to audition for Edward Scissorhands, and the studio refused to endorse his casting for the remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
In a better chance of his dream working out, he at least got the chance to meet with Steven Spielberg to talk about the opportunity to realise his obsession with the story of Peter Pan, wanting to portray the fairy tale character in a live-action remake, which would eventually become controversial in light of the allegations of sexual abuse levelled against him.
However, he soon realised that Spielberg’s Pan would be about an older version of Peter who had grown up and become a lawyer, thus dashing his hopes.
Another book character the musician was enamoured by was Quasimodo, the lovable protagonist of Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which had already been adapted as an acclaimed 1923 silent film starring Lon Chaney. Jackson was adamant that he was the perfect case for the titular role, should a live-action remake see the light, but then Disney got there first to make the animated The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which has since become the definitive version of the story, putting his aspirations to rest once and for all.
In addition to classical literature, MJ was also a massive Marvel Comics buff, and even considered purchasing the company so that he could star in a live-action Spider-Man film. And while the proposed Spider-Man film went through many development iterations before Sam Raimi took over, Jackson’s plans fell through in every way, which led him to even try to make his own superhero movie, an original story called MidKnight, which was shuttered when the studio realised he’d have a mask over his face for nearly the entire run time.
It’s possible that the only phenomenon bigger than Jackson in the ‘80s was Star Wars, and he had already gotten friendly with its creator on the back of George Lucas being an executive producer on Captain Eo, a short film starring Jackson that appeared at Disney theme parks. You would think this time he’d land his dream, and so he fought to play the part of Jar Jar Binks in the prequel trilogy, but talks broke down due to creative disagreements: Jackson wanted to appear in makeup and prosthetics, whereas Lucas was interested in using computer-generated imagery.
In all this, perhaps the greatest barrier that Jackson faced was his nonstop touring and recording schedule, which made it nearly impossible for him to do an extended shoot. He had considered starring as a mime in an unmade script called Streedy Dandy that he found “too fanciful” back in 1987, and by the time he considered starring in a live-action Jack and the Beanstalk film years later, the controversies surrounding his court cases made the project impossible.
