7 Blockbusters Michael Jackson Almost Starred In

Singer, songwriter, and entertainer Michael Jackson had an unchallenged run as the most successful recording artist of the 20th century. Jackson, however, harboured ambitions beyond creating music and throughout his career, the musician made several attempts to become a movie star.

Owing to his distinctive appearance and persona, disappearing into a role was an uphill battle — though he continued to pursue it, even taking acting lessons from long-time friend Marlon Brando.

His first taste of the silver screen came in the form of the film adaption for The Wiz in 1978, where Jackson played a leading role as the scarecrow. He was flooded with positive reviews for his performance, unlike the rest of the cast who were universally panned, and the film was considered to be a critical and commercial failure at the time.

As his musical stardom was catapulted into the stratosphere during the early 80s, his movie career inevitably took a back seat. His next solid attempt came in the form of 1988’s experimental musical film Moonwalker. Critics praised the music, though complained that there was no plot, and that it seemed like a series of music videos tied together without any capacity to showcase Jackson’s acting abilities.

After his record shattering Bad album and the extensive solo tour that ensued upon its release, Michael Jackson was riding high and looking for new creative challenges after conquering the music industry.

So, let’s get into the detail and take a look at seven blockbuster film productions the singer surprisingly tried his very best to get a lead role in.

EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1990)

A wild-haired, black-clad, misunderstood artist adrift in suburbia, Edward Scissorhands is clearly based on Burton himself as a teenager growing up. He and screenwriter Caroline Thompson had been developing the character and the story for years, but Burton waited until the enormous success of 1989’s Batman gave him the clout to make the highly-personal movie without creative interference.

Michael Jackson caught wind of the character and expressed a keen interest in the role, lobbying himself to Burton over an extended period of time. But unfortunately, Burton never responded to Jackson’s attempts and Johnny Depp was ultimately cast in the role.

Although there are many parallels between the character of Edward, as the sensitive misfit, and Jackson’s own public persona. Even the way the character was dressed bared uncanny resemblance to Jackson’s own stage attire during this period, questioning Michael Jackson’s influence on the character’s development and they on him.

HOOK (1991)

Jackson, who had long been obsessed with the idea of flying, took a special interest in Peter Pan, author J.M. Barrie’s boy who never grew up. According to director Steven Spielberg, Jackson was close to being cast as Pan in Spielberg’s 1991 film Hook, which examined Pan’s life as a world-weary adult who discovers the young man he used to be. That twist was apparently disagreeable with Jackson, who didn’t envision a revisionist Pan in the same way Spielberg did. Ultimately, the role would eventually go to Robin Williams.

THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1996)

Jackson was so infatuated with the Victor Hugo story about a deformed cathedral occupant Quasimodo and his love for a street dancer that he screened the 1939 film adaptation countless times. Screenwriter Tom Hedley recalled that he and Jackson spent many nights discussing the possibility of Jackson taking over the role of the hunchback. However, the project never got off the ground; and Hugo’s story was later the basis for a 1996 Disney animated feature.

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK (NEVER RELEASED)

The project was part of a record contract Jackson had signed with Sony in the early 90s, which also included film projects like Jack and the Beanstalk. But owing to negative publicity surrounding Jackson in the years to come, none of the proposed ideas ever got off the ground. During a meeting to discuss his film opportunities, Jackson allegedly ‘inexplicably placed his head on the table and began to cry uncontrollably.’

STAR WARS: EPISODE I — THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999)

The critically maligned Star Wars prequel took a particular beating over computer-generated comic relief Jar Jar Binks. According to motion-capture actor Ahmed Best, who was recalling the controversy surrounding the role for a Vice interview in 2015, Jackson had petitioned director George Lucas for the role. ‘[Lucas] said, ‘Well, Michael wanted to do the part but he wanted to do it in prosthetics and makeup like Thriller,’ Best said. ‘George wanted to do it in CGI. My guess is ultimately Michael Jackson would have been bigger than the movie, and I don’t think [Lucas] wanted that.’

SPIDER-MAN (2002)

A little known fact is that for years, Jackson had attempted to acquire Marvel Comics, which was experiencing financial issues in the late 1990s and had even filed for bankruptcy in 1996.

In 1999, Jackson met with writer Stan Lee to discuss the possibility of an acquisition — though Lee had no direct involvement with Marvel at the time — and to get Lee’s thoughts on the potential for Jackson starring as Spider-Man in a feature film.

According to Lee, Jackson felt buying the company would be the only way he’d get the part. Jackson was unable to gather the financing needed to buy Marvel; and Sony produced a Spider-Man feature in 2002 with Tobey Maguire. Curiously, Jackson also lobbied to be Professor Xavier in Fox’s 2000 adaptation of X-Men.

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (2005)

When Jackson learned Warner Brothers had hired Tim Burton to reimagine Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory — which had been previously filmed with Gene Wilder in 1971 — the singer became so preoccupied with being considered for the role of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka, that he recorded a soundtrack to surprise studio executives.

Although they loved the music, no one was behind the idea of casting him as Wonka. When they offered to pay an exorbitant sum for the soundtrack and give him a small supporting part, an offended Jackson dropped out of participating entirely. The role eventually went to Johnny Depp (can you see a pattern here), who later denied he based his portrayal of the character on Michael Jackson.