The King of Pop Michael Jackson will be played by his 26-year-old grandson Jaafar Jackson in the biopic “Michael,” studio Lionsgate said on Monday, Reuters reported.

Jafar, one of Michael Jackson’s nephews, will star in the Michael Jackson biopicPhoto: CARL DE SOUZA / AFP / Profimedia

“Michael” will explore “the complex man who became the King of Pop,” Lionsgate said in a statement. The film is said to include “all aspects” of his life and his greatest performances that made him “an idol in the music world”.

Set to begin production this year, the film will be directed by Antoine Fuqua and produced by Graham King, both of whom say Jaafar Jackson has a natural ability to emulate his uncle and bring him back to life.

Michael Jackson, accused of sexual abuse of minors

Lionsgate did not directly address one of the most controversial aspects of Jackson’s life — his 2005 child molestation trial and additional allegations against the singer, which are covered in the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland.

In 2005, a California jury acquitted Jackson of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy.

A 2019 documentary featured the accounts of Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who claimed to have befriended Jackson in the early 1990s and were abused by Jackson at the ages of 7 and 10, respectively.

Jackson’s family denies the allegations.

Jaafar Jackson continues the artistic legacy of the family

Jackson became a child star thanks to the fame he achieved with the Jackson 5, which included Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael, and went on to a solo career that made him one of the most famous people on the planet until his death in 2009 year at the age of 50.

Jafar Jackson is the son of Michael Jackson’s older brother, Jermaine Jackson, who is also a singer and producer.

“Jafar embodies my son,” Michael Jackson’s mother, Catherine Jackson, said in a press release. “It’s so wonderful to see him carry on the artistic legacy of the Jackson family.”