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| Michael | |
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| Directed by | Antoine Fuqua |
| Written by | John Logan |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Dion Beebe |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $155 million [1] |
Michael is an upcoming American biographical musical drama film based on the life of the American singer, songwriter, and dancer Michael Jackson. Directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by John Logan, the film stars Jaafar Jackson, Jackson's nephew, in his film debut as Michael Jackson. The ensemble cast also features Colman Domingo, Nia Long, Miles Teller, Laura Harrier, Kat Graham, Larenz Tate, and Derek Luke.
Development for a biopic about Michael Jackson was reported to have begun in November 2019, with Logan attached to write the screenplay. Lionsgate announced the film in February 2022, and casting began later that June. Fuqua was announced as film's director in January 2023, when Michael's nephew Jaafar was cast in the main role, and 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 for release in the United States on April 24, 2026, by Lionsgate domestically and by Universal Pictures internationally. [2]
The film follows Michael Jackson's life and career from his time as a child performer with The Jackson 5 in the 1970s, up to his eventual abuse allegations in 1993. [3]
In November 2019, Deadline 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”. [4] In February 2022, the film was announced with Lionsgate as the studio owning the global distribution rights. [5] In October 2023, Lionsgate announced that Universal Pictures would be the international distributor. [6] In July 2024, Deadline reported that Kino Films would distribute Michael in Japan. [7] 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 Entertainment, although they are not involved with this film. [8]
Casting began in June, with Kimberly Hardin as the casting director. Production was expected to start in 2023. [9] In January 2023, Antoine Fuqua was announced as the director. [10] Casting began that month, with Jackson's nephew Jaafar Jackson announced to play Jackson. [11] In January 2024, the newcomer Juliano Krue Valdi was cast as a young Michael, [12] with Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson [13] and Nia Long as Katherine Jackson. [14] In February, Miles Teller was confirmed to play John Branca. [15] The cast for the rest of the Jackson 5 were announced later that month, [16] with Laura Harrier, Kat Graham, Larenz Tate, Jessica Sula, Liv Symone, Kevin Shinick, KeiLyn Durrel Jones, and Kendrick Sampson as Suzanne de Passe, Diana Ross, Berry Gordy, La Toya Jackson, Gladys Knight, Dick Clark, Bill Bray, and Quincy Jones in March. [17] [18] In April 2024, Derek Luke was added to the cast as Johnnie Cochran. [19]
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". [20]
Principal photography was scheduled to begin in mid-2023 over 80 days in Santa Barbara, California, and was projected to spend $120 million on crew wages and vendors, according to the California Film Commission. [21] Filming was delayed in September 2023 due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. [22]
Filming began on January 22, 2024, and ended on May 30, 2024. [23] [24] Dion Beebe was the cinematographer, Barbara Ling the production designer, and Marci Rodgers the costume designer. [25]
In January 2025, it was reported that the third act would be reshot, due to the film not being able to legally showcase the alleged victim of the 1993 sexual abuse allegations Jordan Chandler. However, these reports were denied by Lionsgate, who told Variety that the film is still on track to release in October with no truth to the claims brought forward regarding the allegations causing a potential delay of the film or issues with the script. [26] [27] 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." [28] According to Lionsgate during their annual earnings call, production for the film was nearing its completion as of February 6, 2025. [29] In April 2025, it was reported that film could possibly be divided into two parts due to the current 4 hour runtime, and that the October 2025 release date was in flux. [30] In May 2025, the film was once again delayed, now expected in 2026 with a runtime of three and half hours. [31] Later that same month, it was reported that the film would undergo 22 days of additional photography in June 2025. [32] [33] [34]
Michael is scheduled for release on April 24, 2026, [35] being distributed by Lionsgate in the United States and Universal Pictures internationally. [36] It was previously scheduled to be released on April 18, 2025, [37] and October 3, 2025. [38] A first look was shown to theatre-owners at CinemaCon on April 10, 2024, to positive reception. [39] On May 22, 2025, the release date was again delayed. The Lionsgate film chief Adam Fogelson said Lionsgate was considering splitting Michael into two films. [34]
A source close to production denies this (report by Puck), and tells Variety that characterization is Reed's "personal opinion", and that, "the script never portrayed the Chandlers in the way Mr. Reed has opined".
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.
Works by John Logan | |
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