A lot of things in Hollywood almost happen but don’t, for better or for worse. Nicolas Cage almost played Superman, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl almost joined gross-out rock group Gwar, and Michael Jackson once asked Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling to oversee a musical adaptation of the famous story.
Rowling revealed the news during an interview with Oprah. Oprah asked the famous author if she was interested in expanding her empire.
“I can only say to you, it could be so much worse. Michael Jackson wanted to do the musical,” she told Oprah. “I’ve said no to a lot of things.
The interview took place before Harry Potter actually made it to the stage, in the form of a play called Harry Potter and The Cursed Child.
Rowling has the final say on what happens to the franchise, and it makes sense that she wouldn’t want to give over creative control to the Bad singer.
“For me, I love the films, I love the books and there’s elements that I love around it… like the theme park. But I only wanted to do it because I knew it would be incredible,” she said in the interview.
Jackson, who passed away in June 2009 from an overdose of propofol and benzodiazepine, will be the subject of an upcoming Broadway musical called MJ.
Jackson was famously a huge fan of Peter Pan. In the documentary Leaving Neverland, which tells the story of how Jackson allegedly molested underage boys, there were some disturbing details regarding Peter Pan. Wade Robson, who alleges that the pop singer molested him repeatedly, said Jackson kept a full-sized replica of Peter Pan in his bedroom, and that the replica played a pivotal part in their uncouth escapades.
Michael Jackson once lobbied heavily to play Peter Pan, but he was talked out of it by director Steven Spielberg. Spielberg was reportedly considering Jackson for the role in his Pan movie until the story went in a different direction, ultimately becoming the smash hit Hook.
