Decades after Michael Jackson reshaped pop music, cinema, and global culture, his story is finally arriving on the big screen with the weight it deserves — a decades-in-the-making biopic directed by Antoine Fuqua, written by John Logan, and carried by a performer who shares not just Jackson’s DNA but the memory of the man himself.
Michael opens in theaters and IMAX on April 24, 2026, with early access screenings beginning April 22 exclusively in premium formats. What began in 2019 with producer Graham King securing the rights to Jackson’s story has become one of the most anticipated film events of the year — a project that shattered trailer records before a single frame reached theaters.
The Making of a Film Years in the Making
Development began in November 2019, when producer Graham King secured the rights to produce a film about Michael Jackson, with John Logan attached to write the screenplay. Lionsgate announced the film in February 2022. Antoine Fuqua was announced as director in January 2023, and filming began in January 2024, after being delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, ending that May, with additional photography taking place in June 2025.
Fuqua spent “two years and one month” making the film, which traces Jackson’s rise from his earliest performances with the Jackson 5 through the Bad era — the moment Michael fully emerged as a global solo superstar. The film covers the defining milestones of Jackson’s career, including Off the Wall, the Thriller era, and the legendary moonwalk performance at Motown 25.
Fuqua called the project “a very spiritual journey.” He explained: “I don’t think you can understand Michael Jackson as a human being unless you went back and go on a bit of a journey. He was struggling between his love for his family and his love for his music. Michael’s life was epic, but you have to still focus on the human being to understand who he was.”
The Cast That Brings the Jacksons to Life
The full cast includes Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson, Juliano Krue Valdi as young Michael, Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson, Nia Long as Katherine Jackson, Miles Teller as attorney John Branca, Kendrick Sampson as Quincy Jones, Kat Graham as Diana Ross, Laura Harrier as music executive Suzanne de Passe, Larenz Tate as Berry Gordy, and Derek Luke as Johnnie Cochran.
The ensemble reflects a deliberate commitment to assembling Black talent with the range and cultural fluency to carry the weight of the Jackson story. Colman Domingo, coming off an Emmy-winning turn in Rustin, brings the kind of transformational presence the role of Joe Jackson demands. Fuqua praised Domingo, saying the actor transformed so completely in makeup that he barely recognized him, and that one of Domingo’s earliest scenes in character ended up making the final cut immediately.
Jaafar Jackson: The Weight of a Legacy
No casting decision in the film carries more significance than the one at its center. Jaafar Jackson, son of Jermaine Jackson and Michael’s nephew, was cast in January 2023 — his film debut. Jaafar himself stated he was “humbled and honoured” to be cast in the role, after a two-year casting process.
Fuqua recalled an early screen test: “He walked out of the room, and it was Michael Jackson.” Jaafar, who had never acted before, impressed the entire crew during his first day of filming, which required him to perform “Bad” in front of 500 extras.
The preparation was not casual. In a behind-the-scenes featurette, Jaafar described the process: “I wanted to prove to myself, my family, and the filmmakers that I can do this. I started to rehearse for hours upon hours until one single move was right. Dancing until my feet would bleed or go numb.”
To prepare for the role, Jaafar took rigorous dance classes with Rich + Tone — Michael Jackson’s own choreographers. The duo described the challenge: “It took a lot of work with Jaafar because there are so many different elements: African dance, jazz dance, as well as Michael’s signature moves. We had to make sure Jaafar had all of that language in his body. That initial walk of one, two, then the hand, then the head, had to grab you.”
The moonwalk scene from the 1983 Motown 25 special is among the film’s focal points. Rich + Tone said of “Billie Jean”: “It’s probably Michael’s most iconic dance performance — the one that changed space and time. If Jaafar could get that performance, we knew he could do it all.”
Record-Breaking Anticipation
Before the film has even reached theaters, it has already made history. The trailer was viewed 30 million times in its first six hours and 116.2 million times in the first 24 hours — more than any other Lionsgate film and more than any trailer for a musical biopic or concert film in history, surpassing Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour at 96.1 million views.
The trailer features a mashup of Jackson’s catalog — “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” “Beat It,” “Human Nature,” “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,” and “Billie Jean” — and arrives alongside the announcement that the full soundtrack, Michael: Songs From the Motion Picture, will be released the same day the film opens. Early Access screenings on April 22 will be presented exclusively in IMAX and Dolby — a premium format release strategy that signals the film’s scale.
The Broader Cultural Conversation
The film arrives in the middle of a broader Jackson cultural moment. Viral TikTok challenges recreating his dances have resurged. Spotify playlists blending his catalog with contemporary artists are trending. The biopic lands as a new generation of audiences is discovering Jackson through algorithm-driven discovery rather than lived memory — making the film’s context and storytelling all the more consequential.
For many Black audiences in particular, the film represents an opportunity to revisit the magnitude of what Jackson achieved — not despite his Blackness, but through the fullness of his Black identity and artistic vision. Jackson’s success in breaking racial barriers at MTV, his pioneering of the music video as high-concept art, and his role in opening doors for Black artists who followed him are threads the film is expected to weave throughout its narrative.
The film does carry the complexity of its subject — Paris Jackson, Michael’s daughter, criticized an early script as “sugar-coated” and said Hollywood biopics often control the narrative. Colman Domingo expressed to Paris “hope” that the finished film could ultimately honor her father.
The story of Michael Jackson has never been simple. The film that arrives April 24 does not promise to resolve every question. What it does promise is a front-row seat to how one man — shaped by his family, his talent, and the relentless pressure of a world that could not stop watching — became something that defied every category the music industry had ever built.
