‘Michael’ Trailer Debuts First Footage of Michael Jackson Biopic

To a certain extent, you know what you’re going to get in a movie about Michael Jackson. It’s going to have incredible music. It’s going to have amazing dancing. It’s going to detail Jackson’s fascinating and in many ways tragic life from his days growing up in the Jackson 5 to his ascent to the very apex of popular culture with his album and music video for Thriller.

And the trailer for the Michael Jackson movie, Michael, delivers all of that. It also features Jaafar Jackson — Michael Jackson’s real-life nephew — playing the King of Pop. And he absolutely looks and sounds like his uncle. (From the brief glimpses we see, he’s got Jackson’s moves down as well.)

That said, there’s a fair amount that’s still unclear from the trailer. How much will this movie, which was made in conjunction with Jackson’s estate, deal with his scandals and private controversies? How much of this movie has been reshot and reworked in post-production? In recent years, its distributor has openly discussed splitting this film into two parts and releasing them separately. That doesn’t seem to be happening anymore, but, again, it’s not entirely clear.

You can watch the trailer for Michael below.

Ultimately, we won’t know the answers to a lot of those questions until the movie comes out. But the film has been in production for several years, and it’s undeniably gone through several delays and reshoots. (It was first announced way back in 2022; Jaafar Jackson was cast in early 2023.)

There have been reports online regarding the film’s storyline needing to be changed, supposedly because the movie included scenes addressing allegations of sexual abuse that may have violated a legal settlement Jackson made in the 1990s. Then, after reshoots, we started to hear the film was something like four hours long and might get split into two parts. According to Wikipedia (which is never wrong), Michael is back to being a single film “now expected in 2026 with a runtime of three and half hours.” Even for someone with a life as complex as Michael Jackson, and with as many incredibly songs as he made, that’s a very long biopic.

Here is the film’s official synopsis:

MICHAEL is the cinematic portrayal of the life and legacy of one of the most influential artists the world has ever known. The film tells the story of Michael Jackson’s life beyond the music, tracing his journey from the discovery of his extraordinary talent as the lead of the Jackson Five, to the visionary artist whose creative ambition fueled a relentless pursuit to become the biggest entertainer in the world. Highlighting both his life off-stage and some of the most iconic performances from his early solo career, the film gives audiences a front-row seat to Michael Jackson as never before. This is where his story begins.

Michael is currently scheduled to open in theaters on April 24, 2026.