When Michael Jackson, the late King of Pop, gets portrayed in a developing biopic, it will be from a young member of his prestigious family of performers.

Jaafar Jackson, an emerging singer/songwriter who happens to be the nephew of Michael, will star in the biopic as his late uncle, reports Deadline. The untitled film will see the 26-year-old Jackson -- the son of Michael's brother and Jackson 5 bandmate, Jermaine -- step in front of cameras for director Antoine Fuqua, who is heading the project off a script by The Aviator screenwriter John Logan. It will also serve as the Jackson Family progeny's very first acting role, having spent his adolescence and young adulthood singing and dancing going back to the age of 12.

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Jaafar Jackson Portrays His Uncle Michael

The would-be onscreen Michael Jackson, Jaafar, wasted little time celebrating his casting, having quickly taken to Instagram to express his gratitude. "I’m humbled and honored to bring my Uncle Michael’s story to life," he exuded. "To all the fans all over the world, I’ll see you soon." However, he had more to offer than his thanks since the post also included a photo of himself in front of a mirror, wearing a certain signature fedora and posed in mid-dance in a manner immediately evocative of his uncle. Auspiciously, the resemblance, at least based on this black-and-white image, appears to be uncanny.

In an aspect that seemingly telegraphs the project's aspirations, the Michael Jackson biopic is being produced by Graham King, who was instrumental to the success of another notable music biopic -- focused on the late Queen singer Freddie Mercury -- in director Bryan Singer's 2018 film, Bohemian Rhapsody. Additionally, GK Films will produce, joined by John Branca and John McClain, both of whom are the co-executors of Jackson’s estate. Perhaps by no coincidence, King produced the aforementioned Martin Sorsese-directed 2004 film The Aviator -- itself a biopic, in this case about the enigmatic businessman Howard Hughes. Indeed, given Jackson's controversial past, the project was put in the hands of personnel familiar with a necessarily nuanced approach.

Related: Michael Jackson Pitched Himself to Star as Morpheus in a Sandman Adaptation

Antoine Fuqua's Michael Jackson Movie

For director Fuqua, the film feels like a culminating entry, given how his career started. "The first films of my career were music videos, and I still feel that combining film and music are a deep part of who I am," he recently said. "For me, there is no artist with the power, the charisma, and the sheer musical genius of Michael Jackson. I was influenced to make music videos by watching his work – the first Black artist to play in heavy rotation on MTV. His music and those images are part of my worldview, and the chance to tell his story on the screen alongside his music was irresistible."

For now, the untitled Michael Jackson biopic is still in its earliest of stages. In fact, director Fuqua still needs to tackle his upcoming Denzel Washington-headlined sequel, The Equalizer 3, before the work begins. Thus, production is reportedly set to commence later this year, during which he will be joined by his cinematographer from the sequel, Robert Richardson.

Source: Deadline