The King of Pop is getting the biopic he deserves – here is what we know about Michael.
Plenty of music icons have received the movie treatment over the last several years. We could talk about Bohemian Rhapsody and its awards, and the fact that Rami Malek won an Academy Award for it. Or we could speak about Rocketman and the wonderful music of Elton John. We could bring up the new movie One Love as an example.
But today, we are talking about the one and only Michael Jackson and the fact that he's getting the music biopic that most of us knew would happen. But, when is Michael releasing? And who is going to star in it? Here is what we know so far.
What Is The Michael Release Date?
As of updating this in April 2024, Michael will be released on April 18, 2025, according to a Variety article from January. While it won't be appearing on any 2024 movie schedule, we at least know that the film will be coming next year.
There are already plenty of movies planned for 2025, from the upcoming Marvel movie releases like Thunderbolts, Fantastic Four, and more, to the latest live-action Disney movie, Snow White. Having Michael join that impressive list is incredible and a little overwhelming, considering how many contenders there are for the box office already.
But, I feel it'll still be a hit no matter what – this is MJ we're talking about.
The Michael Cast Will Include Jaafar Jackson, Colman Domingo And More
With a star-studded movie like Michael, you can only imagine what the cast will be like. Here is who we know will be in the upcoming biopic:
Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson
Variety confirmed in January 2023 that Michael is keeping the casting in the family for its main star – meaning Michael Jackson's nephew, Jaafar Jackson, will portray the iconic singer.
The actor is the son of Jermaine Jackson, Michael Jackson's brother, and a part of the Jackson 5, which started Michael on the road to super fame in the first place. The actor even shared his excitement for the role on Twitter, saying he was "humbled and honored" to be playing his uncle:
I’m humbled and honored to bring my Uncle Michael’s story to life. To all the fans all over the world, I’ll see you soon.
Jackson has appeared in several music videos with his family, was featured on Jacksons: The Next Generation, and he also sings, so personally, I think this is the best decision – and I have a feeling he'll bring all of his talent to the screen.
Antoine Fuqua (who was confirmed to be directing Michael by Variety in January 2023), even commented on Jaafar Jackson's casting in an interview with Entertainment Weekly in August 2023, saying that the resemblance between Jaafar Jackson and his uncle was "uncanny:"
It's uncanny how much he's like Michael. Sounds like him, dances like him, sings. It's really uncanny. Graham King, who is a fantastic producer, found him, and introduced him to me, and I was blown away.
Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson
In late January 2024, it was confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter that Colman Domingo had signed on to play Joe Jackson, the famous patriarch of the Jackson Family. Domingo had quite the 2023, appearing in The Color Purple cast, as well as the Academy-Award nominated film, Rustin. Aside from that, he’s appeared in films like If Beale Street Could Talk, Lincoln, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and more.
Nia Long as Katherine Jackson
In late January 2024, Deadline announced that Nia Long would take on the role of Katherine Jackson, Michael’s mother. She starred as Lisa on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and has appeared in several films like The Best Man, Big Momma’s House, and more. She also had a leading role in Empire.
Miles Teller as John Branca
The Wrap confirmed early February 2024 that Miles Teller would play John Branca, the well-known attorney of Jackson. Teller even spoke about the upcoming part with Variety (via Instagram) and how “excited” he was to play the role in such a huge film:
You only get so many opportunities in this business to make films. I'm really excited to be a part of it. I think it's going to blow people away. Regardless of what you know or what your opinion may be, Michael is one of the greatest to ever do it, if not the greatest. He deserves a movie, and I'm excited to be a part of it.
Teller has appeared in movies like Top Gun: Maverick, Whiplash, Too Old to Die Young and more. He even starred in The Offer on Paramount Plus.
The Jackson Five
Before Michael Jackson was a solo act, he was a part of The Jackson Five, a singing group made up of him and his brothers. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed in late February 2024 that all four of the other Jacksons were cast to make up the group.
Jayden Harville, Jaylen Lyndon Hunter, Judah Edwards, and Nathaniel Logan McItyre will play Jermaine, Marlon, Tito and Jackie in their younger years. The older versions of Jermaine, Marlon, Tito and Jackie will be played by Jamal R. Henderson, Tre Horton, Rhyan Hill and Joseph David-Jones.
Additional Cast Members
Variety confirmed in early March 2024 that Laura Harrier will portray Suzanne de Passe, a “pioneering female music producer.”
Variety also confirmed several castings in late March 2024, including:
- Larenz Tate as Berry Gordy
- Kat Graham as Diana Ross.
- Jessica Sula as La Toya Jackson
- Liv Symone as Gladys Knight
- Kevin Shinick as Dick Clark
- KeiLyn Durrel Jones as Bill Bray
- Kendrick Sampson as Quincy Jones.
I mean, this just makes me even more excited. Can this movie get here already? This cast is awesome.
When Can We Expect The Michael Trailer?
While there isn’t a trailer yet for the movie, footage was shown at CinemaCon 2024, which CinemaBlend’s Sean O’Connell recapped for fans to read about. The first-look showed stretches of Jackson’s life all the way back to his time in Indiana, and then would jump to major points in his career.
With this being said, it sounds like a decent amount of the film was already completed, but there’s no trailer just yet. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Michael Will Be All About The Legendary King Of Pop, Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson has a heck of a history, from his time as a young child star in the Jackson 5 to his vast career as a soloist, releasing some of the most famous albums of all time. He's also had a lot of legal trouble as well, and several allegations thrown his way, even more than a decade after his death.
The director of Leaving Neverland had a lot of thoughts about the new biopic.
Thankfully, we have an idea of what Michael will be about, as reported by Variety when the film was confirmed to come out in 2025. The story will follow the life of Michael Jackson, from his rise to fame and the complicated life he faced, including his "personal struggles" and more, where fans will get an "inside look" into what his mind was like.
To me, that sounds like many other biopics that we have seen from several different artists, but Antoine Fuqua said in that same interview with Entertainment Weekly that the movie wasn't going to stray from the controversies that Jackson faced and that it would tell Michael's story "as we know it" – meaning it would not shy from his complex legacy:
Just to tell the facts as we know it, about the artist, about the man, about the human being. You know, the good, bad, and the ugly.
I am so excited about this movie – and I have a feeling we'll be getting a great film from Fuqua no matter what.
Antoine Fuqua Is Directing
As discussed above, Antoine Fuqua will be directing Michael. The director has been behind many popular franchises, including The Equalizer trilogy. Some of his other movies you might have heard of include King Arthur, The Guilty, The Magnificent Seven, Brooklyn's Finest, and Emancipation.
Fuqua has also worked as a producer on other films, such as Infinite and Bullet Train, so he's been all over the place regarding genre. But I feel he'll be great with Michael just from how he talks about the film in his interviews.
John Logan Wrote THE SCRIPT
Something else that we know from the Variety article regarding the release date is that John Logan wrote the script for Michael.
The screenwriter is known for several critically acclaimed and blockbuster movies, such as Gladiator, Hugo, The Aviator, Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and two James Bond movies, Skyfall and Spectre.
With a resume like that, it's hard to imagine Michael not being a great story.
Michael Will Be Using Michael Jackson's Music
When Deadline confirmed that the movie was happening in November 2019, it was also confirmed that the Michael Jackson estate gave Graham King (one of the producers) the rights to use Jackson's music in the film – and permitted him to make the film overall.
This is a significant deal when it comes to biopics about music stars. The most prominent example I can think of is when the Elvis estate slammed the new Priscilla movie regarding the portrayal of Elvis Presley. It's almost never a seamless process when an adaptation is made regarding these famous stars, but to hear that the estate gave the studio the rights to use the music and produce the film is great. It was even confirmed at CinemaCon 2024 that there are going to be “more than 30 songs” of Jackson’s career used in the film (via The Hollywood Reporter), so get prepared to dance.
Filming Began In January 2024
As reported in the Variety article regarding the release date, Michael began production on January 22, 2024. Considering the film is set to release in 2025, I feel it won't be too much longer before we get updates – or even a trailer. Filming is still continuing as of April 2024, as confirmed at the 2024 CinemaCon Lionsgate Panel, but hopefully it won’t be that far away before we get a trailer.
What are you the most excited for when it comes to Michael? I will have to brush up on my Jackson playlists because I can almost feel the songs sticking in my head for hours on end.
