Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson in 'Michael'

What We Know About the Upcoming ‘Michael’ Biopic: Release Date, Cast, Troubled Production

By Dean Blake - News

Published: 19 Feb 2026

Readtime: 7 min

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There are few musical artists in the world who have had quite the cultural or artistic impact as Michael Jackson—having effectively redefined pop music with the launch of 1982’s Thriller, which is still the best selling album in history and host to perhaps the greatest music video of all time. This year, we’re getting a glimpse into the events that made the man in Michael, a musical biopic following Jackson’s early life, launching on 24 April, 2026.

There’s a lot to cover, of course: from Jackson’s childhood and the early success of his family’s pop group, The Jackson 5, to his choice to step out from under his family’s shadow and go it alone, and the explosive child abuse allegations that dogged his later career. So much so, that there are rumours the film has been split into two. While the film’s producers call the film “unbiased”, the end result remains to be seen.

If you’re interested in finding out more about ‘Michael’, check out the trailer below.

Watch the Trailer for Michael

What Do We Know about Michael So Far?

While it’s launching in April, ‘Michael’ actually began life in 2019, with full-production kicking off in 2023. As mentioned above, the film will detail the early life of Michael Jackson: from his days as the child of a working-class family in Gary, Indiana, to the formation of The Jacksons—a pop group consisting of brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Michael—to his adolescence, and desire to break free of his father’s vice-like control.

This eventually led Michael to kick off his solo career in 1971 which, as we all know, went on to completely eclipse the success of his family band and shot him into international super-stardom. Michael enjoyed about a decade at the top, dropping Thriller (1982), Bad (1987), and Dangerous (1991), all of which debuted at number 1 for several weeks and which contain some of Jackson’s most famous works.

In fact, the movie will feature 30 of the Jackson family’s biggest hits. The trailer showcases modified versions of Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough and Billie Jean for the marketing, but you can imagine, much like similarly dramatised biopics like 2024’s A Complete Unknown (which focused on Bob Dylan) that we’ll see plenty of classic hits played out in full for the enjoyment of the audience.

It’s not clear quite when the film will end the story, though, as there are rumours it has been split into two parts. If that ends up being the case, this first film will likely end around the launch of Thriller, when Jackson becomes the biggest musical act of the decade, with the second movie picking detailing his fame, the allegations of abuse that rocked his later career, and his eventual death via an accidental overdose.

How Will Michael Handle the Abuse Allegations?

While condensing one man’s life into a two-and-a-half-hour movie isn’t ever an easy task, Michael’s director Antoine Fuqua has run into other hurdles over the past several years trying to bring the King of Pop’s story to life. Rumours have circulated around legal issues with the film’s ability to depict Jackson’s alleged grooming and sexual abuse of young boys at his property, Neverland Ranch, which led to the production needing to dramatically reshoot and reframe parts of its story—though the film certainly was delayed from its initial planned launch in April 2025.

That legal spat over the ending allegedly disrupted the production so much that what was once going to be a three-to-four hour epic detailing Jackson’s entire life has been split into two films—one coming out this year, with a follow-up slated for release later—in order to give the production team enough time to figure out how to bring the film to a close in a way that will satisfy everyone involved.

It’s worth noting that Jackson was acquitted in court on several of these charges, settled for $20 million with another alleged victim, and Jackson’s family have maintained his innocence since the pop-star’s untimely death in 2009.

It’s still not entirely clear how the movie will approach the alleged abuse, though producer Graham King did tell The Guardian that Jackson’s life was complicated: “As a filmmaker, I look to humanise but not sanitise, and present the most compelling, unbiased story I can capture in a single feature film and let the audience decide how they feel after.”

While these kinds of films are often made with the blessing of an estate (or the subject themselves, if they’re still alive), the Jackson family has apparently had an unusually tight grip on the production of Michael: with the King of Pop being played by his own nephew, Jaafar Jackson, and with members of the Jackson family having reportedly been on set every day.

That’s not to say they all love what they’ve seen, of course. Jackson’s daughter Paris called an early version of the script “sugar-coated” and “dishonest”, but added that her father’s fans would probably be happy with the film regardless.

Dan Reed, director of the documentary Leaving Neverland, which details the abuse allegations against Jackson, also called the script “startlingly disingenuous” from what he had read, in that it allegedly discredited the children who allege abuse by the pop-star. If you want to understand the allegations against Jackson ahead of this film’s release, Leaving Neverland and Square One: Michael Jackson will give you a good idea of both sides of the story.

Juliano Valdi, Judah Edwards, Jayden Harville, and Jaylen Lyndon Hunter in ‘Michael’ | Image: IMDb

Confirmed Cast: Who’s Playing Michael Jackson?

Jackon’s nephew Jaafar is taking the reins as the King of Pop himself. Jaafar said that he never aspired to be an actor, but felt a “calling” to portray his uncle.

“Embodying Michael, I really had to earn the role and prove to the filmmakers that I was capable of becoming Michael,” Jaafar said. “Essentially it was starting at the roots and finding the authenticity.”

Casting someone as influential and singular as Michael Jackson isn’t an easy job, by any stretch, but King and Fuqua believe they’ve got the right man for the job.

“All I could think of was, ‘can Jaafar really pull this off?’,” said Fuqua. “(But) when the music started and he hit those first few moves, I mean, this guy killed it… he has the desire—like Michael—to be the best”.

Here’s the full cast list for Michael: