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In the early 1990s, Michael Jackson had plans to buy Marvel to play its most famous superhero, Spider-Man, in a film adaptation. He discussed his plans with none other than the creator of the superhero, Stan Lee, who was a friend of Jackson. However, his plans never materialized. According to one rumor, Jackson may have played a role in Sony acquiring the rights to the character from Marvel.
This rumor suggests that Sony was supposed to give the role of Uncle Ben in the Tobey Maguire-led film to theSmooth Criminalartist. However, Sony couldn’t cast him in the role and instead gave him a cameo role of Agent M inMen in Black II.
Michael Jackson May Have Kicked Off The Events That Led To MCU v. SSMU Over Spider-Man
Michael Jacksonhad eyes for Marvel’s web-slinging superhero for a long time. Spider-Man was just one of the few characters the legendary pop artist wanted to play in his acting career. He approachedStan Leein the early ’90s intending to acquire the rights ofSpider-Manfrom Marvel. While Jackson never said it outright, Stan Lee believed that theDangerousartist wanted to play Peter Parker in the films.
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When Stan Lee shared that the company wouldn’t sell its best superhero character, Jackson responded that he would buy the entire company if needed. However, that deal didn’t happen despite Marvel filing for bankruptcy in 1996 and selling off its major characters like Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men. Stan Lee shared withAssociated Pressin 2009:
“He wanted to be Spider-Man. To buy the rights to Spider-Man. I think he wanted to play the part of Peter Parker. He never said that, but I gathered that. When I told him I don’t think the company would sell it, he then wanted to buy Marvel. He said ‘Then I’ll buy Marvel!’. I don’t know what happened, I mean, obviously he didn’t buy Marvel, but he wanted to, very much.”
According to YouTuber & comedianTroy Bond, Michael Jackson played a big part in Sony buying theSpider-Manrights from Marvel. At the time, Jackson owned half of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which later turned into Sony Music Publishing. Bond further claimed that Jackson wanted to play another Spider-Man character in Sony’s film adaptation. Jackson rumoredly wanted to play the character of Uncle Ben, originally played by late actor Cliff Robertson.
The YouTuber also shared that Jackson had a contract with Sony to put him in one of their movies, which resulted in his role inMen In Black II. These claims of the comedian should be taken with a grain of salt as they have not been verified by Sony or Jackson’s representatives. If these claims hold true, Michael Jackson may have even started the on-again, off-again feud between Sony and Marvel over Spider-Man.
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Michael Jackson Also Eyed Several Other Roles
In the ’90s and early 2000s,Michael Jackson pursued several rolesin big-budget films that never came to fruition. Troy Bond shared that Jackson wanted to portray the role of Jar Jar Binks inStar Wars: The Phantom Menace. He was even willing to put on full prosthetic makeup for the role. Jackson visited Fox Studio to meetX-MendirectorBryan Singerto ask him for the role ofProfessor Charles Xavier(via The Hollywood Reporter).
Jackson actively lobbied for the role of The Riddler inJoel Schumacher‘sBatman Forever(via ScreenRant). However, Schumacher believed that Jackson didn’t fit his vision and choseJim Carreyinstead. Schumacher was not the firstBatmandirector he met with, as he also approachedTim Burtonfor the lead role inEdward Scissorhands(via Marca).
The King of Pop only had a few acting credits to his name, debuting with his performance as Scarecrow in the film,The Wiz.
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Sony’sSpider-Manfilms are now available for streaming on Disney+.
Hashim Asraff
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3018
Hashim Asraff is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,800 articles published on celebrity culture, comic book movies, and major TV franchises. With a background in Sociology and a keen interest in pop culture, Hashim brings a unique lens to breaking news stories, character deep-dives, film rankings, and fan-driven perspectives.His coverage often includes the MCU, DCU, hit network shows, and celebrity profiles, giving readers a rich blend of entertainment and analysis. A longtime fan of crime and investigative series, Hashim has watched thousands of episodes of NCIS, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: SVU, Bones, Blue Bloods, and The RookieA passionate storyteller and wordsmith, Hashim has also worked as a ghostwriter and managed multiple social media handles. He brought his writing expertise to FandomWire to also pursue his lifelong love for cinema and television.
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Michael Jackson
