Michael Jackson Biopic Aims for Pop Perfection—But Will It Deliver?

In a move that feels both overdue and impossible, Hollywood is finally taking a proper swing at telling the story of Michael Jackson, one of the most dazzling, divisive, and dissected figures in the history of modern music. The biopic, fittingly titled Michael, has officially wrapped filming and is now crawling toward a delayed release date of April 24, 2026.

Its goal? To balance triumph with tragedy, spectacle with sensitivity, in a runtime that reportedly threatens to outlast most of his concert tours.

Crucially, the film is a family affair. Jaafar Jackson, nephew of the King of Pop and son of Jermaine, is set to moonwalk directly into the biggest pair of loafers in showbiz history. He’s young, relatively unknown, and, according to the producers, the only person on Earth capable of “organically” capturing Michael’s essence. “Jaafar embodies my son,” says Katherine Jackson, with the kind of proud finality that shuts down argument.

Even the younger Michael will be represented, with viral child dancer Juliano Krue Valdi cast to bring the Jackson 5-era prodigy to life. And if all that wasn’t enough, a sprawling cast of characters has been assembled to bring the Jackson orbit to the screen, including Colman Domingo as notoriously complex patriarch Joe Jackson, Nia Long as mother Katherine, and Kat Graham as Diana Ross.

Behind the camera, the production is stacked with pedigree. Director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) and writer John Logan (Gladiator, Skyfall) bring heavy prestige, while Bohemian Rhapsody producer Graham King returns to the musical biopic arena, backed by the full blessing of the Jackson estate.

So yes, expect the hits. ‘Billie Jean,’ ‘Thriller,’ ‘Black or White,’ and many more are almost guaranteed to feature. Whether they’ll be sung live by Jaafar or mimed to Jackson’s master tracks remains to be seen.

Of course, this is not a career that can be easily summarized. With decades of musical genius, innovation, eccentricity, and deeply polarizing controversy behind him, portraying Michael Jackson in any form is a Herculean task.

While the official line is that the film will “humanize but not sanitize,” the estate’s close involvement has understandably led some to question whether Michael will offer unflinching honesty, or fall back on reverent myth-making.

The delays don’t help. Originally due in April 2025, the film was first pushed to October, and now to spring 2026, likely due to its ambitious scale, hefty runtime (reportedly over three and a half hours), and whispers of a potential two-part release.

Still, the weight of expectation is immense. For fans, Michael isn’t just a biopic, it’s a chance to relive the highs, confront the lows, and maybe understand the man behind the mirrored sunglasses just a little better. Whether it soars or stumbles, one thing’s for certain: it won’t go unnoticed.