The first trailer for Michael Jackson‘s biopic has already become the most-watched music biopic preview ever – find out more below.
The film, titled Michael, will see the King of Pop’s real-life nephew Jaafar Jackson take on the title role, while Oscar nominee Colman Domingo will play his father, Joe Jackson. It will hit the big screen on April 24, 2026.
Michael‘s first trailer arrived last week (November 6), and has already broken a record to become the most-watched music biopic trailer in history after an initial 24-hour period, per The Hollywood Reporter.
According to statistics provided by WaveMetrix on Saturday (November 8), the trailer drew over 116.2million views globally, making it both the most-viewed music biopic trailer ever, as well as distributor Liongate’s most-viewed movie preview in history.
Watch the trailer for Michael below.
Additional cast members include Miles Teller as attorney John Branca, Kat Graham as Diana Ross, Nia Long as Katherine Jackson, Laura Harrier as Suzanne de Passe, Kendrick Sampson as Quincy Jones and Juliano Krue Valdi as a young Michael.
In May, it was reported that the film could potentially be split into two parts for length, though as of the time of writing, the two-parter has not been confirmed. Following the release of the trailer, Adam Fogelson, chair of the Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Groups spoke of the potential split during a quarterly earnings call with analysts.
“While we’re not yet ready to confirm plans for a second film, I can tell you that the creative team is hard at work making sure that we’re in a position to deliver more Michael soon after we release the first film,” Fogelson said.
The film has already attracted some criticism, including from Dan Reed, the director of the documentary Leaving Neverland, which documented allegations of sexual abuse against Michael. Reed criticised the making of the new biopic, saying it “will glorify a man who raped children”.
Reed later said he had read a draft of the script in which the men who made the allegations in Leaving Neverland were discredited. “Jackson is only ever seen caring for children with childhood cancer, or dancing with a little girl in a wheelchair, or tucking up multiple little boys, mostly his nephews, at sleepovers,” Reed said of the script. “It feels like the creators of the movie have been stuck in a room with John Branca and just told what to write.”
Reports emerged at the start of this year that the film had been delayed after they were forced to reshoot the third act due to its unsanctioned portrayal of the Jordan Chandler case.
Actor Colman Domingo, who will play Michael Jackson’s father Joe in the upcoming biopic, has defended the project, saying that “everyone has a story to tell”. He said the film will look at the “complex human being” behind the star.