The road to Michael (2026), the long-anticipated biopic about controversial superstar Michael Jackson, has been nearly as dramatic as the life of its subject. A combination of external pressures and mishaps—from the involvement of the Michael Jackson estate to legal restrictions that came into play only after production was complete—reshaped the film, leading to delays, expensive reshoots, and a completely rewritten third act. On top of that, intra-Jackson family turmoil may have added to the drama surrounding what was initially meant to be the definitive, “unflinching” portrait of the troubled icon. Here’s a breakdown of the very fraught making of Michael.
November 2019: Graham King—the British producer behind Martin Scorsese films like The Aviator (2004) and The Departed (2006) as well as Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)—secures the rights from the Jackson estate to make a film about Michael Jackson with screenwriter John Logan attached. In one year, the producer moves from Queen to the King of Pop.
February 2022: Lionsgate announces its plans to distribute King’s Michael Jackson biopic.
January 2023: Antoine Fuqua, the critically acclaimed director behind Training Day (2001), The Equalizer trilogy (2014-2023), and Emancipation (2022), signs on as director of Michael. The original intention of the film, according to King and Fuqua, is to present a full, “unbiased” portrait of Michael Jackson—flaws and all—despite the heavy involvement of the Jackson estate, which is notorious for attempting to keep Jackson’s image as clean as it can. That potentially destabilizing conflict aside, a more pressing question has emerged: Who will be tapped to play the controversial pop superstar?
January 30, 2023: Michael Jackson has been found—and they didn’t have to look far to find him. Variety announces that after a two-year casting search, Michael’s very own nephew, Jaafar Jackson—the then 26-year-old son of Michael’s brother Jermaine Jackson and his ex-wife Alejandra Oaziaza—has been cast. It’s Jaafar’s debut film role, but people are abuzz with his “uncanny” resemblance to his late uncle. Katherine Jackson, Michael and Jermaine’s mother, says that her grandson “embodies” her late son, while Jaafar says that he’s “humbled and honored” to step into his famous Florsheim loafers.
July 2023: Jaafar’s moonwalk will have to wait. SAG-AFTRA goes on strike, delaying production on Michael.
October 2023: Lionsgate and Universal Pictures International announce that Universal will handle international distribution of Michael.
January 2024: The strike has ended, so Michael can begin in earnest. The rest of the starry cast is announced, including two-time Oscar nominee Colman Domingo as Michael’s domineering father Joe Jackson; Nia Long as his mother, Katherine, and Miles Teller as his longtime attorney John Branca, who also serves as a producer on the film. Production on Michael begins. The film is scheduled to be released on April 18, 2025.
May 30, 2024: Production on Michael wraps without a hitch…or so everyone thinks.
