When CinemaBlend spoke to director Antoine Fuqua and producer Graham King about the making of Michael, the filmmakers revealed to us a bunch of things like how Jaafar Jackson debuted his moonwalk<\/a> to them and what it was like to shoot those immersive concert scenes<\/a>. Here\u2019s what King said about the role of Michael Jackson\u2019s voice in the movie:<\/p>\n It\u2019s a blend with both of [masters and live singing] \u2013 with Jafaar and Juliano. I always think [of the] audience. They’re not there, obviously. They’re showing up to see a cinematic experience more than they are listening. But it’s always fun when they can sing a little, like Michael, especially Giuliano, \u2018Who’s Loving You\u2019. That acapella, he belted that out. So, it’s always a blend.<\/p>\n It sounds like both Michael actors definitely have the vocal chops to pass for MJ, but as it is ultimately a movie celebrating the King of Pop, it just wouldn\u2019t be right to not have his voice in there at all. The young Michael Jackson was played by Juliano Krue Valdi, who is currently twelve years old. He’d been a fan of the legend since the age of 5, when he was first shown Jackson\u2019s \u201cSmooth Criminal\u201d music video from Moonwalker.<\/p>\n Credit: Lionsgate<\/p>\n Then, with the approval from his family, he started recreating Michael Jackson routines online to a viral reaction, leading to him being cast in Michael at the age of 9. Fuqua told us there was a \u201cmagic about him\u201d that led to any of the other auditions for the role to fade away. And when it comes to the man behind adult Michael Jackson, the movie cast MJ\u2019s nephew Jaafar, who even lived in the same house Michael does in the movie<\/a>. Jackson also said this to Today<\/a> about the vocals in the movie:<\/p>\n When I was doing all the performances, I was actually singing out live in the microphone on top of Michael\u2019s track\u2026 but even, you know, the moments where there\u2019s no backing track, it\u2019s actually me singing the acapellas, which was really fun to do.<\/p>\n Jaafar also learned every move and recreated every moment in his uncle\u2019s life the movie chose to tell in his early life. The actor also has said he lived at the Hayvenhurst property in Encino while filming and made a \u201cresearch room\u201d for himself while making it to connect with the late King of Pop.<\/p>\n Michael has been such a smash success that there\u2019s already talk of Jafaar coming back for a sequel<\/a>, but nothing has been confirmed just yet. You can check out Michael in theaters now.<\/p>\n![\"Director](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/7175386bd509d40d6802310cbd05fcd1.jpeg\"\/)
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