Few biopics arrive carrying the weight of Michael. A film about the most famous entertainer in human history, starring his actual nephew, directed by Antoine Fuqua, and released into a cultural climate still actively debating Michael Jackson's legacy — this is not a movie that gets to exist quietly. And based on everything that's happened in the past 72 hours, it isn't trying to.
The film had its first public screening at a Berlin premiere on April 10, 2026, generating a wave of early critical reactions that are, by and large, enthusiastic. At the same time, a released clip of Jaafar Jackson performing "Billie Jean" has racked up over 8 million views — and sparked a fierce debate about whether the film's visual approach is up to the task. With the April 24, 2026 theatrical release just two weeks away, Michael has officially entered the cultural conversation. Here's everything you need to know.
Who Made Michael and What Is It About?
Michael is directed by Antoine Fuqua, the filmmaker behind Training Day, The Equalizer, and Emancipation. The screenplay was written by John Logan, an Oscar-nominated writer whose credits include Gladiator, The Aviator, and Skyfall. The film is distributed by Lionsgate.
The story centers on Michael Jackson's early life — his upbringing within the Jackson 5 and his rise to worldwide superstardom through the 1980s. It is not, at least in its current form, a cradle-to-grave biography. The film's scope was deliberately shaped and reshaped over the course of its troubled production, arriving at a version that focuses on the years that forged the King of Pop rather than the controversies that eventually consumed him.
The cast is impressive on paper. Colman Domingo, fresh off his Oscar-nominated turn in Rustin, plays Joe Jackson, Michael's famously demanding father. Nia Long plays Katherine Jackson. Miles Teller plays John Branca, Jackson's longtime entertainment attorney. And at the center of it all: Jaafar Jackson, 29 years old, Michael Jackson's real-life nephew, making his film debut in the most scrutinized casting decision in recent Hollywood memory.
The Berlin Premiere: What Critics Are Saying
The first wave of reactions from the Berlin screening is largely positive — and in some cases, genuinely surprised. According to early reports from the premiere, critics called Jaafar Jackson's performance "genuinely uncanny" — a word that captures exactly what's at stake in casting a blood relative in this role. The physical resemblance, the inherited mannerisms, the possibility that something ineffable passed down through genetics — it either works or it doesn't, and by most early accounts, it works.
Colman Domingo is being flagged as an early awards contender for Best Supporting Actor, which tracks for anyone familiar with his work. Domingo has a gift for portraying men of contradictions — powerful, damaged, and deeply human — and Joe Jackson, one of the most complex figures in pop music history, is exactly that kind of role. The early praise suggests he doesn't waste it.
It's worth being measured about first-screening reactions. Berlin premieres are not test screenings — they're curated events attended by people who've been invited into the film's orbit. But the fact that no major negative reactions have surfaced from critics, despite the film's complicated history, is at minimum a signal that Michael isn't a disaster.
The "Billie Jean" Clip Controversy, Explained
Here's where things get complicated. On April 8, 2026 — two days before the Berlin premiere — the production released a clip of Jaafar Jackson recreating Michael Jackson's legendary "Billie Jean" performance from the 1983 Motown 25 television special. That performance is arguably the most iconic three minutes in pop history: the moment Michael Jackson introduced the moonwalk to the world.
The clip was viewed over 8 million times. The reaction was not kind.
Fan response, as documented by The Wrap, ranged from disappointed to furious. The criticism was not primarily directed at Jaafar Jackson himself — most viewers seemed to accept his physical performance — but at the cinematography and editing. Fans called the clip "f–king atrocious," and multiple critics drew unfavorable comparisons to Bohemian Rhapsody, the 2018 Queen biopic that was widely panned for its choppy, ADD-edited concert sequences.
This is a legitimate concern. The Motown 25 performance is burned into cultural memory with a specific visual grammar: wide shots that let you see the full body, sustained takes that allow the choreography to breathe, minimal cutting that doesn't compete with the performer. If the clip suggests the film's concert sequences are edited like a Marvel fight scene, that's a structural problem — not a Jaafar problem.
The counterargument, offered by some defenders: a clip is not a scene. Marketing cuts are frequently assembled with a different rhythm than the film itself, designed to generate impact in a 60-second window rather than emotional resonance over two hours. It's possible — even likely — that the full "Billie Jean" sequence plays differently in context.
Still, the comparison to Bohemian Rhapsody is worth taking seriously. That film, despite its technical and narrative flaws, was a massive box office success. If Michael follows a similar trajectory — middling craft, massive commercial appeal — that would tell us something important about what audiences actually want from a music biopic, as opposed to what critics think they should want.
The Troubled Road to Release
The path to April 24 was not smooth. Michael underwent significant reshoots earlier in 2026 due to legal issues surrounding the depiction of sexual abuse allegations against Michael Jackson. The film also had a scrapped final act before arriving at its current form.
This is the elephant in every room this movie enters. Michael Jackson was accused of child sexual abuse by multiple individuals. He was acquitted at trial in 2005. The 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland reignited the debate, presenting the accounts of two men who alleged abuse beginning in childhood. Jackson's estate has vigorously disputed those accounts, and the documentary itself has been legally challenged.
A biopic that ignores these allegations is making a choice. A biopic that includes them is making a different, equally fraught choice. The production's decision to reshape the film's ending following legal pressure suggests the estate — which is involved in the project — exercised significant influence over how this history is handled. That's not inherently disqualifying, but it does mean viewers should understand that Michael is, at least in part, an authorized portrait.
Notably, Jackson family members have pushed back against negative coverage. Taj Jackson, Michael's nephew, has urged fans to ignore what he characterizes as "sabotage" of the film — a framing that positions critical responses as coordinated attacks rather than genuine reactions. Whether that's accurate or defensive spin is something each viewer will have to assess for themselves.
Jaafar Jackson: The Weight of a Name
Let's talk about the casting, because it's genuinely unusual. Jaafar Jackson is the son of Jermaine Jackson, Michael's older brother. He grew up in the Jackson family orbit, with full access to home videos, personal stories, and the kind of embodied knowledge of a person that no amount of research can replicate. He also grew up watching someone else be Michael Jackson — the public version — while knowing the private version through family memory.
That duality is either the most valuable asset any actor could bring to this role, or a liability that makes authentic performance impossible. How do you act natural as someone you've both known and worshipped? How do you find the human being inside the myth when you're also, by blood, part of that myth?
The early reactions suggest Jaafar found a way. "Genuinely uncanny" is the phrase reviewers are reaching for — not "impressive impression" or "solid debut," but something that implies the boundary between performance and essence has blurred. If that holds up through a full viewing, it would be one of the more remarkable debut performances in recent film history.
The final trailer, released on April 8 alongside the "Billie Jean" clip, gives audiences their most complete look yet at Jaafar's full performance range — not just the iconic set pieces but the quieter, more interior moments that will ultimately determine whether this film transcends the biopic template.
What This Means: The Music Biopic in 2026
The music biopic is one of Hollywood's most reliable and most cynically deployed genres. When it works — Walk the Line, I, Tonya, Rocketman — it works because the filmmakers treat the subject's life as a story rather than a Wikipedia page set to music. When it fails — and there are many failures — it's because the production is more interested in recreating iconic moments than interrogating them.
Bohemian Rhapsody is the genre's defining tension: a film that was savaged critically and loved commercially, that made $900 million globally while being compared unfavorably to a YouTube fan edit of Live Aid. Michael is walking directly into that same tension, with higher stakes on every dimension — a more complicated subject, a more controversial casting choice, and a cultural climate that makes the question of what story gets told genuinely consequential.
The fact that early critic reactions are positive while fan reactions to the clip are mixed suggests Michael may be a critics' film and a fans' concern — which is almost exactly backwards from how biopics usually land. Critics tend to be skeptical of the genre's conventions; fans tend to be forgiving because they love the subject. The inversion here is worth watching.
If you're a fan of celebrity and entertainment stories, the broader moment in pop culture is rich — from new cast additions to beloved TV series to legacy music projects like this one, audiences are clearly hungry for stories that revisit and reinterpret cultural touchstones.
Frequently Asked Questions About Michael
When does Michael open in theaters?
Michael opens nationwide in theaters on April 24, 2026. It had its first public screening at a Berlin premiere on April 10, 2026, generating the first wave of critical reactions.
Who plays Michael Jackson in the film?
Jaafar Jackson, the 29-year-old nephew of Michael Jackson and son of Jermaine Jackson, plays the titular role in his acting debut. He is Michael Jackson's real-life nephew, not a lookalike or previously established actor.
Does the film address the sexual abuse allegations against Michael Jackson?
The film underwent significant reshoots and had its final act scrapped due to legal issues around how sexual allegations against Jackson are depicted. The production has connections to the Jackson estate, which has contested allegations against Michael Jackson. The final film's approach to this history remains one of the most closely watched questions ahead of release.
Why did fans react negatively to the "Billie Jean" clip?
The clip, which recreates Jackson's legendary 1983 Motown 25 "Billie Jean" performance, was criticized primarily for its cinematography and editing rather than Jaafar Jackson's physical performance. Many fans drew comparisons to the choppy, rapid-cut concert sequences in Bohemian Rhapsody, which were widely criticized for interrupting rather than enhancing the music. Over 8 million views were accumulated, but the sentiment skewed negative.
Is Jaafar Jackson a professional actor?
Michael marks Jaafar Jackson's film debut. He is 29 years old and the son of Jermaine Jackson. His casting was announced years before production, and he spent significant time preparing for the role. Early critical reactions from the Berlin premiere describe his performance as "genuinely uncanny," suggesting the preparation paid off despite his inexperience.
Who else is in the cast?
Colman Domingo plays Joe Jackson, Michael's father, and is already being cited as a potential Supporting Actor awards contender based on early reactions. Nia Long plays Katherine Jackson, and Miles Teller plays John Branca, Jackson's longtime entertainment attorney.
Conclusion: A Film That Can't Afford to Be Merely Good
Michael arrives at a moment when the question of how we memorialize complicated icons is genuinely unresolved. Streaming has made it easier than ever to argue about the past in real time; social media has made every clip a referendum. In that environment, a film about Michael Jackson — one of the most beloved and most contested figures in entertainment history — cannot exist in a middle space. It will be loved or dismissed, defended or attacked, and probably both simultaneously.
The early signals are more encouraging than the production's troubled history might suggest. A cast that includes Colman Domingo in any capacity is difficult to dismiss. A director like Antoine Fuqua, whatever his inconsistencies, knows how to make films that command the screen. And a lead performance described as "genuinely uncanny" by multiple critics who had every reason to be skeptical is not nothing.
The "Billie Jean" clip is a legitimate concern. Not because Jaafar Jackson isn't up to the task, but because the visual approach to recreating an unrepeatable cultural moment matters enormously — and what's been shown so far doesn't inspire confidence. If the film's musical sequences are as choppy as the clip suggests, that's a structural flaw that reviews and goodwill can only partially offset.
But clips are not films. And films about Michael Jackson have never been simple. Michael opens April 24. The full verdict is two weeks away — and given everything riding on this movie, those two weeks are going to feel very long.
