Development and casting In November 2019,
Deadline Hollywood reported that the English producer
Graham King had secured the rights to produce a film about pop singer
Michael Jackson, with
John Logan as the screenwriter. In February 2022, the film was announced with
Lionsgate Films owning the global distribution rights. In October 2023, Lionsgate announced that
Universal Pictures International would handle the international distribution. In July 2024,
Deadline reported that had agreed to a deal with Lionsgate and
GK Films to distribute the film in Japan. The last theatrical film about Jackson, ''
Michael Jackson's This Is It'' (2009), had been distributed by
Columbia Pictures, which was a sister company to Jackson's record label,
Sony Music, although they were not involved with this film. King said he had interviewed hundreds of people who knew Jackson in preparation for the film. Casting began that month, with casting director
Kimberly Hardin, and Jaafar was revealed to play Michael. Michael's mother and Jaafar's grandmother,
Katherine Jackson, was quoted as approving of the casting, saying he "embodies" her son. Jaafar said he was "humbled and honoured" to be cast, after a two-year casting process. In January 2024, newcomer Juliano Krue Valdi was cast as a young Michael, with
Colman Domingo as
Joe Jackson and
Nia Long as Katherine. In February,
Miles Teller was confirmed to play
John Branca. The cast for the rest of
the Jackson 5 was announced later that month, while much of the rest of the cast signed up in March. In April 2024,
Derek Luke joined as
Johnnie Cochran.
Kat Graham's portrayal of
Diana Ross was cut due to "legal considerations". Michael's son, Prince, was an executive producer. His daughter,
Paris Jackson, criticized the casting of Teller through a legal filing against the executors of the
Michael Jackson estate (John Branca and John McClain), as it is risked a portion of the estate's assets. She also accused Branca of considering himself "central to the Michael Jackson story" and trying to "enrich and aggrandize himself" through such costly casting.
Writing Earlier versions of the script included the
child sexual abuse accusations against Michael, with King saying he wanted to "humanize but not sanitize and present the most compelling, unbiased story". Domingo said
Michael was not "trying to prove his innocence" but was "just trying to give a great examination of an artist, what made the artist who he is, what makes him complicated, for you to leave with your own answers". The film originally opened
in medias res in 1993 following the first allegations, with Michael staring at his reflection as police arrive at his home in
Neverland Ranch. However, all references to the allegations, including scenes of Luke as Cochran, were removed after a clause was discovered in a settlement with one of Michael's accusers, Jordan Chandler, forbidding any mention of Chandler in film. Fuqua expressed skepticism about the allegations, saying "sometimes people do some nasty things for some money". Paris had no involvement in the film and described an early script as "sugar-coated", adding that
Hollywood biopics often shape narratives and contain inaccuracies. In response, Domingo expressed hope that the film would honor her father. Michael's siblings
Janet,
Randy and
Rebbie do not appear; according to La Toya, Janet "kindly declined" to be included.
Filming Principal photography was scheduled to begin in mid-2023 and take place over 80 days in
Santa Barbara, California. It was projected to spend $120 million on crew wages and vendors, according to the
California Film Commission. Filming was delayed in September 2023 due to the
2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Filming took place between January 22 and May 30, 2024.
Dion Beebe was the cinematographer,
Barbara Ling the production designer and
Marci Rodgers the costume designer. The production team shot footage depicting events from Jackson's life until 1995, including the abuse allegations. Following reshoots, the budget reportedly grew to $200 million, with the new sequences adding a new ending costing roughly $50 million. However,
Variety reported that the reshoots only added $10–15 million to the budget, funded by the Jackson estate. In April 2025, it was reported that
Michael could be split into two films, due to its four-hour runtime. The following month, it was delayed to 2026 with a runtime of three and a half hours. The visual effects were provided by
Cinesite,
Industrial Light & Magic, Folks,
Rodeo FX,
Rising Sun Pictures and
Lola Visual Effects. Louis Morin was the visual effects supervisor.
Conrad Buff IV,
Tom Cross,
John Ottman and
Harry Yoon edited the film. In January 2026, the final writing credits were revealed: Logan received sole writing credit, with additional off-screen literary material attributed to
Kenya Barris and Peter Saji.
Music The
Michael soundtrack features 13 songs, including songs by the Jackson 5 and songs from Michael's albums
Off the Wall (1979),
Thriller (1982), and
Bad (1987). ==Release==