No. He would not have been as good. Less charisma. Less talent. He would have been weird in all the wrong ways for this film. For all of his ability as a performer Michael Jackson could not have pulled off Labyrinth as well as David Bowie did.

I could see Alice Cooper pulling off the role far better.
Metallica, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fan

Plus, one of the major themes of this film is growing up. I doubt Michael Jackson would want to do a film about growing up since he was a creepy ass man child with Peter Pan syndrome.
RIP
Freddie Mercury
1946-1991

Yeah,
The movie about Michael kidnapping a baby wouldn't have aged well considering the child molestation scandal in 1993.
Make 3,000 a month for only $18!
http://jamesthenderson.com/4corners

Perish the thought. Michael Jackson was a freak AND a pedophile with a huge ego.
RIP
Lemmy
1945-2015

He wouldn't have been as scary and intimidating as the character was supposed to be
Maybe not at the time, but knowing what we now know it would've been very sinister indeed

He wouldn't have been as scary and intimidating as the character was supposed to be

Everyone knows MJ was the self proclaimed King Of POP/King of Pop in name only. James Woods or John De Lancie couldve played Jareth since Woods was Hades and De Lancie was Discord in My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic. Or maybe Willem DaFoe

Agreed. And the thing about Jareth is, that although he's a bad guy, this is still a family/kids' film and so you don't want Jareth to be too disturbing/creepy. Thus, the warmth you mention is important.

Great point about the 70s soul mode. I was always thinking he was in New Romantic mode, but that's probably As the World Falls Down on eternal replay in my head. (Indulge me, please! I know it's cheesy, but as far as cheeses go, this is Beaufort d'Ete!
)
Another thing about Bowie was that despite his "bad boy" image (onstage and off), he's also a really great guy. He practically headlined Live Aid, a cause he strongly believed in. As mentioned by the cast and crew of Labyrinth (and pretty much everything Bowie worked on), he was a joy to work with brilliant but completely devoid of the self-absorbed diva airs typical of rock stars, including Prince (at that time).
Bowie radiates this added warmth through Jareth whom he considers a reluctant Goblin King. And so we have a supposed villain who spends a good portion of the film with a baby snuggled contentedly in his arms that I actually wonder if Toby would have been better off with Jareth than his bratty sister.
Prince/Jareth is a cool cat. Bowie/Jareth is a panther at rest. Michael/Jareth is a puppy. (Doh!
That would have saved me about 600 words)

Prince would in no way be as awesome as Bowie was in the part, but I only bring him up because Bowie seemed to be in his Thin White Duke, 70s soul mode during Labyrinth, particularly with Magic Dance, the chorus of Underground (with Chaka Khan and Luther Vandross on backing vocals) and Chilly Down (which Bowie wrote but did not perform), and I could imagine Prince bringing a similar flavour, musically-speaking, to the film. Plus, he could project an air of mystery and maybe even menace, although he perhaps wouldn't seem as imposing and unlike Bowie I don't think Prince would have been as capable as projecting his stage/music video charisma to an acting role. The thing about Bowie is that he was always incredibly charismatic even when he wasn't performing.

Well, Michael was already "Bad" as early as 1985 (and you know it, you know!)
. I'd go out on the limb here and imagine that if Jareth ever turns Hoggle into a prince (not of the Land of Stench, mind you!), it would actually be Michael Jackson!
Prince would have been an interesting choice, inasmuch as he can pull of the androgynous and dangerous. I think on the musical level, he would have put an entirely different spin (Magic Dance a la Starfish & Coffee, anyone?). He'd still be eating Ziggy's spacedust, IMHO.
Again, I'm not too sure what Prince would bring to the character as he didn't have that much acting creds at this time either, although I remember he was quite boyishly charming when he was on the Muppets which came out later.
Prince does have that kind of magnetic presence, but I think when he plays sexy, he tends to be pushy, rather than come-hither, and come across as overt. He'd probably scare me right off and I'd be so glad Sarah vanquishes him in the end, instead of that burning sense of regret.
Even if he does get that balance right, I'm also not too sure if Prince has the gravitas and articulateness to deliver some of Jareth's lines, such as the the offhand, "What of her?", the slithering "Let's see how you deal with this little slice," and the heart-wrenching "I ask for so little" Prince's normal speaking voice is similar to Michael's which tends to be thin and high. Height-wise, Prince is not that tall, so it would be hard for him to "dominate" Jennifer Connelly as Bowie pretty much does in every scene together.

Well some people clearly though Michael Jackson was 'dangerous', and I'm not just referring to his 1991 album.
Anyway, Bowie already had more experience/acclaim as an actor having appeared in 'The Man Who Fell to Earth' and 'Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence', whereas Jackson had only appeared as The Scarecrow in the critically-maligned 'The Wiz'.
I do recall reading somewhere that Sting, who also had some acting experience by this stage, had been considered for the part.
Personally, I don't think anyone else but Bowie could have played Jareth, although I do wonder how Prince might have fared, since many people consider him to be 'dangerous' and 'sexy', his music was awesome, particularly around this period, and he has the enigmatic, otherworldly presence the part requires.

The main difference I see is that Michael Jackson, while a awsome performerjust never screamed 'dangerous' and 'sexy' to me. Sure it was amazing watching him dance, but like you saidoff stage Michael was very nice guy type.
David always managed to exclude this magnetic charisma both on and off the stage, he seemed to have 'bad boy' genes in his blood, lol

King of Pop vs. Rock God? Hmmm
Michael might have actually worked as Jareth, but on a completely different dynamic. He is certainly electrifying as a performer, but when he's offstage, he has this vibe (at least to me) of a schoolboyish, Daddy-approved high school boyfriend. Not sure what he might have brought to the character as Michael's resum as an actor is rather limited, but my guess is his take as Goblin King would be someone pretty much just equal to Sarah, almost like a nerdy wizard, if rather ultra-cool. Mischievous rather than serpentine, codpieces notwithstanding. Michael's family demographic during the 80s might have actually propelled ticket sales as the movie can be solidly marketed as "kiddie coming of age."
But we would not be having this conversation 30 years later.
The very reason why Jareth is such a compelling character, one that has inspired countless discussions, essays, swoons and guilty pleasures, is because he shares DNA with Ziggy Stardust, the Thin White Duke, and pretty much David Bowie himself. Certainly not the type of man you would normally allow within a country mile of your front door, let alone meet your Daddy, if you know what's good for you. Yet we see ze Starman Magic Dance-ing with Muppets (for goshsakes!), while looking like a heckuva sizzling babysitter, while tormenting the older sister, while he grants her every wish, etc. etc I really can't imagine that kind of complex and polarizing persona coming from Michael.
Moreover, MJ might be a brilliant songwriter, but Bowie is the friggin Sirius A. MJ can probably come up with his version of Magic Dance (along with slicker moves), but most likely he will not have Underground, and certainly not Within You in his repertoire.
The Puppetmaster had chosen wisely.

As much as I like Michael Jackson, I just can't picture him in this role. It was made for David Bowie IMO.

There would have been a lot of mileage from it during his trials if he had done it