Jaafar Jackson Joins Cast Of Will Smith's Action Flick 'Supermax'

Looks like Jaafar Jackson won’t be typecast as his uncle Michael Jackson.

The 30-year-old has already scored a new role, after the billion-dollar success of the Michael biopic, where he portrayed his late uncle, the King of Pop.

Jaafar is the son of Michael’s older brother, Jermaine. The biopic was his first movie and first time acting. As might be expected given his talented family, Jaafar was focused on pursuing a music career.

“I’d never acted, I’d never wanted to,” he told producer Graham King when he was approached to play the part. “I’m a big fan of films, and I more so want to do film scores.”

But just after Michael became the top-grossing biopic of all time in June, Jaafar was offered a role in another high-profile project. He’ll be playing a mysterious character attached to the Will Smith/AnnaSophia Robb project, Supermax, for Amazon/Miramax.

Robb and Smith will play FBI agents who investigate a seemingly impossible murder at a supermax prison that is completely cut off from the outside world.

Robb gained recognition for various roles, most recently for her turn in Rebel Ridge with Aaron Pierre. She’s also in I Play Rocky, the movie covering the behind-the-scenes drama around the making of Rocky.

Supermax is set to air on Prime Video.

Despite the controversy attached to his life and legacy, Michael became the highest-grossing biopic ever on June 28, passing Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer for the top slot. Oppenheimer, starring Cillian Murphy, is a biopic about nuclear bomb physicist Robert Oppenheimer, who helmed The Manhattan Project.

Despite passing in 2009 at the age of 50, Michael Jackson remains the top-earning dead celebrity. His estate has collected a cool $3.5 billion since his death, not including the Michael biopic, which will likely add another 9 or more figures to the total. The money has come from a combination of assets, including Michael’s music catalogue, the Sony ATV music catalogue, the Cirque de Soleil and MJ The Musical productions and more.

See social media’s response to Jaafar’s acting career taking off.