Development began in November 2019, with Logan attached to write the screenplay. Lionsgate Films announced the project in February 2022. Fuqua was announced as the director in January 2023, and casting began that month when Jaafar was cast; further casting took place from January to April 2024. Filming began that January, after being delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, and ended that May. Additional photography took place in June 2025. Michael is scheduled to be released in the United States by Lionsgate on April 24, 2026, and by Universal Pictures internationally.
Premise
The film follows Michael Jackson's journey from his time with the Jackson 5 to becoming a global pop icon in the 1980s.
In November 2019, Deadline Hollywood reported that Graham King had secured the rights to produce a film about Michael Jackson, with John Logan responsible for writing the screenplay, but it was still "not set up at a studio at this point".[2] In February 2022, the film was announced with Lionsgate Films as the studio owning the global distribution rights.[3] In October 2023, Lionsgate announced that Universal Pictures International would be responsible for the international distribution.[4] The last theatrical Jackson film, 2009's This Is It, had been distributed by Columbia Pictures, which was a sister company to Jackson's record label, Sony Music, although they are not involved with this film.[5]
The screenplay includes content regarding child sexual abuse accusations against Jackson, with King saying that he wanted to "humanize but not sanitize and present the most compelling, unbiased story".[17] Jackson's daughter, Paris, said the script was "sugar-coated" and dishonest, but that fans would likely enjoy it.[18]
In January 2025, it was reported that the third act would be reshot, as the film could not legally depict Jordan Chandler, whose father alleged that Jackson sexually abused Chandler in 1993. Lionsgate refuted the report, telling Variety that the film remained scheduled for release in October.[24][25] A source close to the production told People, "The Michael Jackson biopic is not in total chaos. The inflammatory headlines about the moving halting are simply not true. The film is moving forward, and reshoots are happening in March."[26]
In its annual earnings call in February 2025, Lionsgate said production was nearing completion.[27] In April 2025, it was reported the film could be split into two films, due to its four-hour runtime.[28] The following month, the film was delayed to 2026 with a runtime of three and a half hours.[29] It was later reported the film would undergo 22 days of additional photography in June 2025.[30][31][32] The visual effects were provided by Cinesite, Industrial Light & Magic, Folks, Rodeo FX, Rising Sun Pictures, and Lola Visual Effects. Louis Morin is the visual effects supervisor.[33]
Release
Michael is scheduled for release on April 24, 2026, in IMAX.[34][35] It will be distributed by Lionsgate in the United States, Universal in international territories,[4] and Kino Films in Japan.[36] It was previously scheduled for April 18, 2025,[21] and October 3, 2025.[37] In November, the Lionsgate chairman, Adam Fogelson, said the studio was "not ready yet to confirm plans for a second film" but was "making sure that we're in a position to deliver more Michael soon after we release the first film".[38]
Marketing
A first-look was shown to theatre-owners at CinemaCon on April 10, 2024, to positive reception.[39] Lionsgate released a teaser trailer on November 6, 2025.[40] It features a mashup of Jackson songs, including "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", "Beat It", "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough", and "Billie Jean".[41][42] It was viewed 30 million times in its first six hours and 116.2 million times in 24 hours, more than the first 24 hours of any other Lionsgate film and more than any trailer for a musical biopic or concert film in history, surpassing Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (2023) at 96.1 million views.[43]
↑ "Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (LGF.A) Q3 2025 Earnings Call Transcript | Seeking Alpha". seekingalpha.com. Retrieved February 7, 2025. Ruben Fleischer just showed us an exciting new director's cut of the third installment of Now You See Me extending a franchise whose first two films grossed nearly $700 million at the worldwide box office. And we're well on our way to completing production on our highly anticipated event movie, Michael.
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