- After much on and off-screen drama, the Michael Jackson biopic starring Jaafar Jackson and directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer, Emancipation) finally has a trailer.
- While the footage is rich with the King of Pop’s triumphs, as several have pointed out, it seems to conveniently sweep everything else under the rug.
- Michael release date:
October 3rd, 2025,April 24th, 2026.
Much has been said about the genre of music biopics and its trite form factor (essentially Marvel flicks for boomers who are now tourists of their own youth), but as several publications and netizens alike have already pointed out, the trailer for Antoine Fuqua’s Michael seems to present its own can of worms.
Setting aside the major elephant in the room for a moment – which legally required redacting from the feature-length picture, given a decades-old agreement with the family of Jordan Chandler (hence the reshoots and delayed release date) – the first-look footage previews a suspiciously feel-good chronicle incongruent with the plain reality.
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Yes, the King of Pop’s artistic image has been defined by major chart-topping accomplishments – one needn’t look any further than the montage in said trailer, which glitzy references every iconic hit from ‘Don’t Stop ‘Till ‘Til You Get Enough’ and ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Something’ to ‘Thriller,’ and the Spotify streaming metrics for the more sceptical bunch out there.
The danger with editorialising the less-than-savoury elements out to focus entirely on radio play and packed stadiums goes beyond making for a boring by-the-numbers story: it reduces the man with a complex legacy to an even blander caricature, and eventually, becomes accepted as fact. What childhood abuse? No, no, no… he had a full childhood and a perfectly healthy relationship with fame. And don’t read too much into the self-medicating now…
Though that’s almost to be expected considering how much the Jackson estate was involved with this one, to the extent that MJ’s own nephew Jaafar Jackson takes centre stage as the King of Pop. Well… most of the surviving members.
“The film panders to a very specific section of my dad’s fandom that still lives in the fantasy. And they’re going to be happy with it,” noted daughter Paris Jackson around the same time she publicly distanced herself from the project.
We hope that we’re proven wrong. But we’re also not holding our breath.
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Aside from Jaafar Jackson, the cast also includes Academy Award nominee Colman Domingo as father Joe Jackson, Nia Long as mother Katherine Jackson, Juliano Krue Valdi as young Michael, Top Gun: Maverick’s Miles Teller as lawyer John Branca; along with Jessica Sula as sister LaToya Jackson, Larenz Tate as Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, Laura Harrier as music exec Suzanne de Passe, Kendrick Sampson as Quincy Jones, and Kat Graham as Diana Ross.
The screenplay has been accomplished by John Logan, the Hollywood scribe behind Gladiator, The Last Samurai, The Aviator, Skyfall, and Spectre, with Graham King of Bohemian Rhapsody fame producing.
In terms of a release date, Michael will now premiere internationally on April 24th, 2026 (instead of the originally intended October 3rd, 2025) – check out the first trailer above and the official synopsis below:
An in-depth portrayal of Michael Jackson (Jaafar Jackson), a complicated man, who became the King of Pop. The biopic will bring to life Jackson’s most iconic performances as it gives an informed insight into the entertainer’s artistic process and personal life.
