Regardless of what horrible accusations still hang over Michael Jackson’s legacy, his new biopic Michael has proven to be a smash hit at the box office. Sure, the guy’s music is fantastic, but we should have been spared from this shallow film that in no way examines the seriousness of the charges against him — not only for the sake of his victims, but so that yet another generation isn’t tricked into fawning over a guy who was an allegedly terrible person.
I wish we’d been spared of it the same way we were spared from the many times Jackson tried to use his fame, money, and influence to force his way into IP that he liked, regardless of what a terrible fit he was for the part he wanted. While he managed to get himself a guest spot on The Simpsons (and the result was pretty great), there were many more times that he tried to insert himself into comic book adaptations and other kinds of pop culture projects. Fortunately, most people had the foresight to tell Jackson “no.”
Here are seven times Michael Jackson tried, and failed, to put himself into a movie, ranked from total miscasts to ones that actually might have worked.
7
Professor X in X-Men
While the 2000 X-Men film was casting, Michael Jackson visited the film’s director and producers to lobby for the part of Professor Charles Xavier. According to Rolling Stone, when producer Lauren Schuler Donner asked Jackson “Do you know Xavier is an older white guy?” the King of Pop replied “I can wear makeup.”
Even with more makeup than he wore in the “Thriller” video, there’s no way Jackson could ever have brought the proper weight, wisdom, and authority to the role that eventually went to Sir Patrick Stewart. The people behind the film undoubtedly realized this and refused him the part.
6
Spider-Man in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy
According to stories told by Stan Lee, and recounted in the 2012 biography Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson, Jackson repeatedly tried to get himself cast as Spider-Man in what became Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films. There was even a scheme to buy Marvel (possibly with Stan Lee going in on the purchase with him) to muscle his way into the role. Obviously this never happened, but Lee apparently said of Jackson’s potential casting, “I think he’d have been very good” as Spider-Man. Then again, Lee did have a track record for endorsing any project, regardless of quality, that offered him a cameo.
5
Jar-Jar Binks in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
Jar-Jar Binks has traditionally been the most hated character in Star Wars history, though he could have been even more maligned had George Lucas decided to go forward with casting Jackson as the clumsy gungan. The actor who played Jar-Jar, Ahmed Best, told a story to Vice about how Jackson was originally considered for the role, but he and Lucas had a falling out because Jackson wanted to play Jar-Jar with prosthetics whereas Lucas wanted to use CGI.
While there are a million reasons why Jackson should not have played Jar-Jar — not the least of which is the character’s proximity to a young Anakin Skywalker — Lucas put his foot down over his obsession with CGI, which sounds very on-brand.
4
Doctor Who in a Doctor Who movie
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jackson could have played Doctor Who in a late 1980s movie. Honestly, with so many broadly different takes on Doctor Who over the years, I guess there’s some potential this could have worked and Jackson was interested in the part, but the film fell apart.
Ironically, Jackson’s main competition for the role was apparently Bill Cosby.
3
Peter Pan in Hook
Jackson’s obsession with Peter Pan has been well documented for decades. It was so famous that, according to a story told by Steven Spielberg himself, when the director was first putting together Hook, he considered Jackson for the part of Peter Pan. As Spielberg told Entertainment Weekly in 2014, “I called Michael and I said, ‘This is about a lawyer that is brought back to save his kids and discovers that he was once, when he was younger, Peter Pan.’ Michael understood at that point it wasn’t the same Peter Pan he wanted to make.”
Yes, you read that right. Michael Jackson told Steven Spielberg “no” to playing Peter Pan. I honestly don’t know whose judgement there seems more impaired, Jackson’s or Spielberg’s.
2
The Riddler in Batman Forever
In an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times not long before his death, Batman Forever screenwriter Joel Schumacher said Jackson “called me a few times. He wanted to play the Riddler in Batman Forever.”
Given how broad Jim Carrey’s take on the character would be, and the kinds of outfits he wore, I actually don’t think this is too crazy of a casting decision.
1
Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
When Michael Jackson heard that they were remaking Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, he desperately wanted to play the role of Willy Wonka. He wanted the role so badly that he even created an entire soundtrack for the film, recorded in secret, as a way to pressure the filmmakers into casting him, according to the 2012 biography Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson.
The team at Warner Brothers loved the soundtrack, but refused to cast Jackson in a movie that was intended for children as the accusations against him were well established by the time the film began production in 1999. Apparently, Warner wanted the soundtrack for the film, but Jackson said they couldn’t use the soundtrack without him as the lead.
Looking back, this one actually could have worked as Willy Wonka, especially in the 2005 Tim Burton adaptation, is already a pretty creepy dude. Perhaps the creepiness would have been overkill as even the selfish kids invited to tour the chocolate factory would have thought twice before trying that guy’s candy.
