In the trailer, a stadium roars for a figure dancing on stage. He wears a leather jacket. His hair is wet and messy. For a second you might find it hard to believe the screen did not bring someone back to life.
The figure is Jaafar Jackson, 29, making his film debut as his own uncle. “Michael,” a biographical drama about Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, opens in theaters and Imax on April 24.
Two stories are playing out at the same time. At the Berlin premiere on April 10, audiences praised Jaafar Jackson’s performance. At the same time, Lionsgate is tracking an opening weekend of $65-70 million, Variety reported. Behind the promotion, the studio quietly cut scenes about the abuse allegations that followed Jackson for years, a choice his daughter Paris has publicly criticized.
The director is Antoine Fuqua, known for “Training Day” and “The Equalizer.” The screenplay is by John Logan, who also wrote “Gladiator” and “Skyfall.” Producer Graham King was behind “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The film clocks in at 2 hours and 7 minutes and carries a PG-13 rating.
Released earlier this month, the final trailer features Jackson’s greatest hits, including “Beat it,” “Thriller,” “Billie Jean” and more. The film covers his rise from the Jackson 5 through his solo stardom, ending around the 1988 Bad World Tour.
The trailer looks polished. The production behind it was not. The film has been reshot, reworked and rewritten for more than a year.
The singer’s daughter, Paris Jackson, has distanced herself from the film. In an Instagram video, she said “It’s fantasyland. It’s not real. But it’s sold to you as real.” She said the film’s narrative is “being controlled” and that it contains “a lot of inaccuracy” and “just full-blown lies.”
The script was first built around the 1993 child abuse allegations. But a clause in the 1994 settlement with Jordan Chandler blocked the filmfrom dramatizing those events.To stay within the agreement, the Jackson estate spent an estimated $10-15 million on 22 days of reshoots in mid-2025, Variety reported. The third act was rebuilt without the courtroom story.
Critical reception has been mixed at best. The film sits at 33-38% positive on Rotten Tomatoes and 40 out of 100 on Metacritic. Major outlets including BBC News and RogerEbert.com gave it one star. Variety was one of the few positive reviews.
Fan reception has been warmer. Queen guitarist Brian May wrote on Instagram that he was “truly blown away” after an early preview and called the music video recreations “extraordinary.” He also praised Colman Domingo’s performance as Joe Jackson.
Drama teacher Justin Baldridge said a biopic should help viewers understand its subject.
“A biopic in my mind is supposed to give us an empathic view point into that person’s life, so we can understand their circumstances better,” Baldridge said. “A good biopic acknowledges all of the negatives in a person’s life and balances out with the good and a bad biopic is one that tries to overthrown it too much and it gets to the point of where it’s being canny.”
On campus most students are less focused on the controversy than onseeing a legend on the big screen.
Senior Emily Glater is planning to see the movie. “I definitely because my whole family listens to him a lot, especially my stepmom, and she’s the one that got me into his music,” she said.I hope that whatever the controversy people have it doesn’t make him look bad.”
Another student looking forward to seeing the film is senior Sean Palomino. “I like his music,” he said, “and because his nephew is playing him.”
Others are skipping it for different reasons.
“I don’t know about the movie,” senior Ruchikan Phonnithithananan said. “I didn’t pay attention.” But she said she does like Michael Jackson.
The film opens on Friday. A new generation will decide, scene by scene, what to do with what they see.
