Jaafar Jackson to star opposite Will Smith in first post-“Michael” role

Derek LawrenceMon, August 3, 2026 at 6:50 PM UTC

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Jaafar Jackson; Will SmithCredit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty; Phil McCarten/CBS via GettyKey Points -

Jaafar Jackson is joining Will Smith in Supermax.

The action-thriller will be Jackson’s first post-Michael role.

Supermax takes place within the impenetrable walls of a maximum-security prison.

Will Smith might have just found one smooth criminal in Jaafar Jackson.

After making his acting debut in the $1 billion hit Michael, the King of Pop’s nephew has lined up his follow-up gig: a role in Smith’s action-thriller Supermax.

“Y’all ain’t ready,” Smith declared on social media on Monday, alongside a video of a text message exchange between him and Jackson.

“Love what you do,” Smith wrote to Jackson. “You are the TRUTH.” No details are available yet on who Jackson will play, but Smith described it as a “fun part.”

Directed by Halloween’s David Gordon Green, Supermax stars Smith and AnnaSophia Robb as a pair of FBI agents investigating a seemingly impossible murder within the impenetrable walls of a maximum-security prison.

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The 30-year-old Jackson earned rave reviews for transforming into his late uncle Michael Jackson in the recent biopic Michael, and his show-stopping performance will likely have his name in the awards conversation.

Jackson’s casting in Supermax comes as he waits for the official word on a Michael sequel. The film concluded well short of the end of Jackson’s life, sidestepping the impending controversies. And just before the credits roll, a title card that reads “His Story Continues” appears onscreen.

“This first movie stops well short of telling the full story of Michael Jackson,” Lionsgate boss Adam Fogelson told The Hollywood Reporter. “There is a lot of amazing music in this catalog that this part of the story doesn’t get to. So we have said that there is room for another film, and I can tell you that the filmmaking team has been hard at work being ready for a second film, and when the right moment comes, we would be excited to announce that that is definitively happening.”

For Smith, it’s been more than two years since his last film, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, which grossed over $400 million.

on Entertainment Weekly

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