Michael
Directed by Antoine Fuqua · Jaafar Jackson, Nia Long, Colman Domingo
Biopic · 2026-04-24
“Antoine Fuqua making a Michael Jackson biopic starring Michael's actual nephew, with the Jackson estate as producer. If you were hoping for the version of this story that names names, you will be disappointed in exactly the way the estate wanted you to be.”
Michael is Antoine Fuqua's attempt to make a Michael Jackson biopic that is simultaneously an estate-approved hagiography and a legitimate piece of cinema. These two goals are mathematically incompatible, which is going to make the press tour fascinating and the movie itself probably frustrating. The budget is large, the casting of Jaafar Jackson is uncanny in a way that makes every trailer shot feel slightly cursed, and the production has been shrouded in secrecy for two years.
The cast is stacked in a way that suggests everyone involved knew what they were signing up for. Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson is the kind of casting that makes you realise how much of this story is going to live or die on one scene. Nia Long as Katherine is the kind of choice that tells you the film wants to be taken seriously. Larenz Tate is just there because Larenz Tate is always there and we should be grateful.
The problem is the pre-existing question that this movie will not be allowed to answer. You cannot make a Michael Jackson movie in 2026 without the audience pattern matching to a specific set of allegations, and you cannot make one with estate cooperation that engages with those allegations honestly. Fuqua is a strong enough director to thread that needle cinematically. The question is whether the film will pretend the needle is not there.
- 01
Jaafar Jackson is a revelation in every frame of every trailer. Uncanny is the word.
- 02
The budget is visible on screen. The period detail is meticulous.
- 03
Antoine Fuqua brings actual directorial ambition to what could have been a paint-by-numbers estate commercial.
- 04
The soundtrack, obviously, is going to sell this movie regardless of whether it is good.
- 01
Estate-approved biopics cannot tell the whole story, and this is the whole story.
- 02
Early word suggests the script sidesteps the most difficult parts of the mid-90s and early 2000s.
- 03
Colman Domingo deserves a version of Joe Jackson where he is allowed to be as frightening as he actually was.
- 04
The runtime is reportedly three hours, which is a lot of runway to still not answer the questions the audience brought in with them.
MJ fans who want to see a loving tribute with incredible musical numbers. Anyone who wants to watch Jaafar Jackson prove he is the only human on earth who could have played this role. People who go to biopics for the costumes.
Anyone who thinks a 2026 Michael Jackson biopic should engage directly with the allegations. Anyone who has already decided where they stand on Michael Jackson and is not interested in a film that picks either side too loudly.
The marketing is leaning on Jaafar Jackson's resemblance, the music, and the phrase 'the man behind the myth'. That phrase is doing a lot of heavy lifting and it is going to keep lifting all the way through the press tour.
Your website, CV, or whatever you made. I'll roast that too.
A full teardown from €2,99. No mercy.