April 24th, 2026, Michael, the biopic of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, was released in Theatres. Early development started in November 2019, when Graham King got the rights to produce the film, and the plan to distribute the artists’ story was announced in February 2022, with no immediate casting announced.

Directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by John Logan, the musical biopic drama film follows the early life of American singer Michael Jackson and his rise to fame. In January 2023, Jaafar Jackson, son of Jermaine Jackson, Michael’s older brother, was announced as the casting for his uncle in January of 2023, further casting took place in January 2024.

This story wasn’t an easy one to film, share, and re-live for anyone involved. A clause was discovered in a legal settlement that any reference to the 1993 child sexual abuse allegations against Michael had to be removed. The third act was completely revised, and reshoots took place in June 2025, with recent pushbacks from audiences to the “avoidance” of Michael’s allegations.

However, audience ratings exceeded critics’ reviews, and Rotten Tomatoes had a score of 27%, while the audience’s were at 97%. Jaafar Jackson, who played his uncle in the biopic, was asked if the responses he received exceeded his expectations, and he responded, “And then just the first 24 hours seeing all the social media posts and videos that were shared of people dancing in the theater, coming out in their outfits – I couldn’t have been happier to see the joy and love that the film brought to a lot of people. It definitely exceeded my expectations.”

Casting the actor for Michael Jackson was the most important part for the success of this movie. Antoine Fuqua admitted that making the choice wasn’t easy. He and the casting director, Kimberly Hardin, wanted a different take on Jackson, as a human being, not just the King of Pop.

Jaafar Jackson was sought out, but not immediately offered the job. He knew he had to work for it and was aware of the worldwide casting Graham King was leading, which would be held just the next year. Jackson took the chance and sent King a voice message instead of a traditional audition tape. The message was a recording of Jaafar speaking and singing as his uncle, and that’s when Graham King called back and got Jaafar Jackson a vocal coach immediately. The two-year casting process was for Jaafar to prove his dedication to playing his first, and one of the biggest roles, at the box office.

So far, the Michael Biopic, following Michael Jackson’s early life in the Jackson 5, and his solo debut, has surpassed $424 million at the global box office. However, there is more of Michael’s story to be shared, Jaafar says, “His story’s not finished being told. So it’s in the early process of figuring that out. I can’t wait to see what comes next.”