Michael is a 2026 American musical biographical drama film directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by John Logan. It follows the life of American singer Michael Jackson, covering the period from his involvement in the Jackson 5 in the 60s to his early solo career. Jackson is portrayed as an adult by his nephew Jaafar Jackson and as a child by Juliano Krue Valdi, both in their film acting debuts. The supporting cast includes Nia Long, Laura Harrier, Miles Teller, and Colman Domingo. Development began in November 2019, when it was reported that producer Graham King had secured the rights to produce a film about Michael Jackson, with Logan attached to write the screenplay. Lionsgate Films announced the film 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 in January 2024, after being delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, and ended that May. Additional photography took place in June 2025 and several effects houses, including Industrial Light & Magic, provided the visual effects. Michael premiered in Berlin on April 10, 2026, and is scheduled for release on April 24 in the United States, by Lionsgate domestically and by Universal Pictures in other territories. It has received generally mixed to negative reviews. == Cast == == Production == === Development and casting === In November 2019, Deadline Hollywood reported that the English producer Graham King had secured the rights to produce a film about pop singer Michael Jackson, with John Logan as the screenwriter. In February 2022, the film was announced with Lionsgate Films owning the global distribution rights. In October 2023, Lionsgate announced that Universal Pictures International would handle the international distribution. In July 2024, Deadline reported that Kino Films had agreed to a deal with Lionsgate and GK Films to distribute the film in Japan. The last theatrical film about Michael, Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009), had been distributed by Columbia Pictures, which was a sister company to Michael's record label, Sony Music, although they are not involved with this film. In January 2023, it was announced that Antoine Fuqua would be the director. Casting began that month, with casting director Kimberly Hardin, and Michael's nephew, Jaafar, was announced to play Michael. Michael's mother and Jaafar's grandmother, Katherine Jackson, was quoted as approving of the casting, saying he "embodies" her son. Jaafar himself stated he was "humbled and honoured" to be cast in the role, after a two year casting process. In January 2024, the newcomer Juliano Krue Valdi was cast as a young Michael, with Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson, and Nia Long as Katherine Jackson. In February, Miles Teller was confirmed to play John Branca. The cast for the rest of the Jackson 5 was announced later that month, with Laura Harrier, Kat Graham, Larenz Tate, Jessica Sula, Liv Symone, Kevin Shinick, KeiLyn Durrel Jones, and Kendrick Sampson cast as Suzanne de Passe, Diana Ross, Berry Gordy, La Toya Jackson, Gladys Knight, Dick Clark, Bill Bray, and Quincy Jones, respectively. In April 2024, Derek Luke joined as Johnnie Cochran. Michael's daughter, Paris Jackson, criticized the decision to cast "A-list" actor Miles Teller as Branca through a legal filing against the executors of the Michael Jackson estate (John Branca and John McClain), as it is possibly risking a portion of the Estate's assets. She also accused Branca of considering himself "central to the Michael Jackson story" and trying to "enrich and aggrandize himself" through such costly casting. === Writing === The screenplay was initially planned to include content regarding child sexual abuse accusations against Michael, with King saying that he wanted to "humanize but not sanitize and present the most compelling, unbiased story". According to Variety, the film was reportedly considered to open in medias res in 1993, following allegations of child molestation against Michael Jackson, with him sorrowfully staring at his reflection as police arrive at Neverland Ranch. However, this scene and all other scenes discussing the allegations were allegedly removed from the final script. This was reportedly a result of Jordan Chandler's settlement with Jackson containing a clause preventing any film from depicting or mentioning him. Michael’s daughter, Paris, said she had no involvement in the film and described an early script as “sugar-coated,” adding that Hollywood biopics often shape narratives and may contain inaccuracies. In response, Colman Domingo expressed hope that the film would honor her father. Variety reported that Janet Jackson, Michael's sister, would not appear in the film. === Filming === 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. Filming was delayed in September 2023 due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Filming began on January 22, 2024, and ended on May 30, 2024. Dion Beebe was the cinematographer, Barbara Ling the production designer, and Marci Rodgers the costume designer. === Post-production === In January 2025, it was reported that the third act would be reshot, as the film could not legally depict Jordan Chandler, who alleged that Jackson sexually abused him in 1993. Lionsgate refuted the report, telling Variety that the film remained scheduled for release in October. A source close to the production told People, "The Michael Jackson biopic is not in total chaos. The inflammatory headlines about the [movie] halting are simply not true. The film is moving forward, and reshoots are happening in March." Following reshoots, the budget reportedly grew to $200 million, with the new sequences adding a new ending costing roughly $50 million. However, Variety reported that the reshoots only added $10-15 million to the budget, funded by the Jackson estate. In its annual earnings call in February 2025, Lionsgate said production was nearing completion. In April 2025, it was reported the film could be split into two films, due to its four-hour runtime. The following month, the film was delayed to 2026 with a runtime of three and a half hours. It was later reported the film would undergo 22 days of additional photography in June 2025. The visual effects were provided by Cinesite, Industrial Light & Magic, Folks, Rodeo FX, Rising Sun Pictures, and Lola Visual Effects. Louis Morin was the visual effects supervisor. John Ottman and Harry Yoon edited the film. In January 2026, the final writing credits were revealed: John Logan received sole writing credit, with additional off-screen literary material attributed to Kenya Barris and Peter Saji. === Music === The Michael soundtrack features 13 songs showcased in the film, spanning his early career with the Jackson 5 (later known as the Jacksons), as well as selections from his solo recordings, including material from the albums Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), and Bad (1987). Lior Rosner had composed the score for the film. == Release == Michael premiered in Berlin on April 10, 2026, and is scheduled for release in the United States on April 24, 2026, in IMAX. It will be distributed by Lionsgate in the United States, Universal in international territories, Kino Films in Japan, and Volgafilm in Russia. It was previously scheduled for April 18, 2025, and October 3, 2025. A first look was shown to theatre-owners at CinemaCon on April 10, 2024, to positive reception. 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". Variety reported that 30% of material from the original three and a half hour cut could be reused in a potential future film. === Marketing === Lionsgate released a teaser trailer on November 6, 2025. It features a mashup of Jackson songs including "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", "Beat It", "Human Nature", "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough", and "Billie Jean". 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. == Reception == On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 34% of 96 critics' reviews are positive. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 38 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. Writing for BBC News, Nicholas Barber gave Michael one out of five, calling it "a bland and barely competent daytime TV movie". Owen Gleiberman of Variety called it a "surprisingly effective middle-of-the-road biopic". He praised Jaafar Jackson's performance, writing that he "nails the look, the voice, the electrostatic moves — and the mix of delicacy and steel that made Michael who he was". Robert Daniels of RogerEbert.com gave Michael one out of four, writing: "Antoine Fuqua might've had some cameras and microphones on hand to produce moving images and sound for this estate-approved King of Pop biopic. But make no mistake about it: Michael isn't a movie. It's a filmed playlist in search of a story." John Nugent of Empire gave Michael two out of five, calling it a "cosplay tribute with no artistic point-of-view". Peter Bradshaw gave it two out of five in The Guardian, writing: "Jaafar fabricates Michael's onstage dancing and singing style with terrific, intuitive flair and the film naturally zaps you with the superb tracks themselves... But this is a frustratingly shallow, inert picture, a kind of cruise-ship entertainment, which can't quite bring itself to show