3 weeks ago
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A new, full-length trailer for Michael, the long-awaited, embattled biopic about Michael Jackson from director Antoine Fuqua, has been revealed. The film stars Jackson’s own nephew, Jaafar Jackson, as the superstar pop star, alongside Nia Long (as Michael’s mother, Katherine), Colman Domingo (as his father, Joe), Miles Teller (as his attorney, John Branca), Laura Harrier (as Suzanne de Passe), and Juliano Krue Valdi (as young Michael). It will be released in theaters and IMAX on April 24th, 2026.
Last fall, Jackson’s daughter, Paris Jackson, distanced herself from the biopic, saying she felt the story was overly sanitized. “The film panders to a very specific section of my dad’s fandom, that still lives in the fantasy, and they’re going to be happy with it,” Paris said in an Instagram post back in September. “It’s Hollywood. It’s fantasy land. It’s not real… The narrative is being controlled. There’s a lot of inaccuracies, and just full-blown lies.”
The newly released trailer seems to back that up: it plays like a greatest-hits reel of Jackson’s career, from his rise with The Jackson 5 to his blockbuster solo peak. So far, there’s no sign the film will address the more controversial chapters of his life.
In fact, Michael reportedly underwent significant rewrites and reshoots to its third act due to a previously overlooked agreement signed by the Jackson family, which promised that no film about the musician would include the story of Jordan Chandler, the 13-year-old who made molestation allegations against Jackson in 1993. Matt Belloni of Puck News previously reported that the original plan for the film’s third act was to focus on the 1993 investigation and Chandler’s statements, portraying Jackson as naïve in the face of opportunistic individuals with allegedly unfounded claims. After the reworks, it’s believed the film doesn’t touch on the allegations whatsoever.
English (US) · 