Michael Jackson Biopic: First Glimpse of Jaafar Jackson Debuts at CinemaCon

THE first glimpse of the much-anticipated Michael Jackson biopic, Michael, was an absolute thriller. On Wednesday, movie theater owners at CinemaCon were given an a peek into director Antoine Fuqua’s Michael which features the King of Pop’s nephew Jaafar Jackson as the music legend. The film will be released on April 18, 2025.

Producer Graham King confirmed that the project will include over 30 songs and that it’d be “long” to do justice to the music star’s story.

“Behind the unrelenting scrutiny and the accusations and the blinding media spotlight, he was simply a man. A man who lived a very complicated life. The movie will get into all of it,” King said.

The trailer kicked off with a look at the Jackson 5 performing ABC on TV. Next, the viewers are given an insight into 1990s-era concert of Jackson where he performed Man in the Mirror. The trailer also brings to the viewers sequences of a disguised Jackson followed by enthusiastic fans and the press. Jaafar Jackson, who plays Michael, bears a uncanny similarity to his uncle in the footage.

“You never were like anyone else,” Jackson’s mother (played by Nia Long) says in the trailer.

Directed by Antoine Fuqua and produced in collaboration with Jackson’s estate, the film makes the viewers question about its willingness to thoroughly address abuse allegations. But King emphasized on Wednesday that there’s an expectation for objectivity in a biographical movie.

“When you mention his name, everyone has an opinion,” said King. “For the first time … generations of moviegoers will come together to experience an inside look at the most prolific artist who ever lived.”

The film also features Colman Domingo as father Joe Jackson and Miles Teller as manager John Branca.