MOVIE NEWS – Antoine Fuqua describes Michael as more than a major biopic: for him it was a moving spiritual journey, a huge professional challenge, and a personal mission to bring Michael Jackson’s humanity and legacy into sharper focus.

Fuqua, the director of Training Day and the The Equalizer franchise, has said Michael Jackson had a massive impact on him. As a young Black artist, he saw Jackson as someone who broke through barriers in entertainment and expanded what seemed possible. Fuqua put it this way: “Seeing someone with my skin color build international fame proved to me, more than anything, that my own possibilities had no limits.”

One of the film’s key tensions is the duality Fuqua wants to capture: the child prodigy who rose with the Jackson 5 remained deeply tied to family, while also burning to break free and become an uncompromising artist on his own terms.

The title role is played by Jaafar Jackson, the singer’s nephew, in his first major film role. The production is leaning on the striking resemblance, but also on performance – presence, movement, and on-screen energy meant to evoke the figure the world knew as the King of Pop. Fuqua’s hope is that audiences leave the theater feeling they’ve understood the person behind the icon.

The story is set to end around 1979, anchored to the release of Off the Wall and Jackson’s split from the Jackson 5, a cutoff point that also neatly leaves room for a potential follow-up.

(Michael – Hungarian release date: April 23, 2026.)

Source: UIP Dunafilm