The first trailer for Michael, the biopic of the late Michael Jackson, has been released, and it’s a thriller. The long-awaited movie about the King of Pop was supposed to arrive earlier this year, with Lionsgate pushing it back from April 2025 to October, and then again to April 2026. That date, at least, is sticking, and now they’re starting something with the marketing campaign for the movie, which puts the focus on Jaafar Jackson – Michael’s real-life nephew – taking on the iconic role.
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Michael, directed by Antoine Fuqua, will chart the pop sensation’s rise to stardom with the Jackson 5, before breaking out into his solo career, and is expected to follow more of his life through to his death in 2009. The trailer begins with a knowing nod to the movie’s delays, as we hear Quincy Jones (Kendrick Sampson) say: “I know you’ve been waiting a long time for this. The tracks are made, the songs are ready. Let’s take it from the top.”
The footage very much puts the focus on Jackson’s pop career and hits, as we get snippets of songs like “Wanna Be Startin’ Something” and “Billie Jean,” as well as a glimpse of the music video for “Thriller.” There are also some looks at his iconic live performances, including Jaafar Jackson pulling off the moonwalk in style.
Michael‘s Trailer Suggests It’ll Be A Guaranteed Hit
The decision of the Michael trailer to focus on highlighting the singer’s biggest hits is a smart one. With Jaafar looking a lot like his uncle and seemingly inhabiting the role as well as anyone possibly could, this looks designed to be a real crowd-pleaser. “MJ” is one of the biggest pop-culture icons of all time, and it’d be a major surprise if we didn’t see this movie earning big money at the box office. The film has a reported budget of $155 million [via Variety], but it should easily clear that. While biopics can be hit or miss, this feels like it could easily be in the range of something like a Bohemian Rhapsody (which grossed $910m and is the biggest music biopic of all time).
Still, it hasn’t been a (moon)walk in the park getting to this point. As well as Michael‘s delays, the film also reportedly underwent significant third act reshoots. A report from Puck claimed that the film had to be changed due to its depiction of Jordan Chandler, whom Jackson was accused of sexually abusing in 1993. As per the report, the movie could not legally dramatize Chandler’s story on-screen. However, a source later denied this to Variety, and it remains unclear exactly how the movie will handle the controversies and allegations surrounding the singer.
Alongside Jackson, Michael also stars Colman Domingo and Nia Long as the singer’s parents, Joe and Nancy, while Miles Teller appears as lawyer John Branco. The movie is scheduled for release in theaters on April 26th, 2026. There had previously been discussions of the film being split into two parts due to its runtime, but it remains to be seen if that actually happens.
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