It’s a good time to be a Michael Jackson devotee, with a new trailer and official poster dropping ahead of the release of the highly anticipated biopic, Michael.
The movie lands in cinemas on Wednesday, 23 April.
The trailer depicts the Billie Jean hitmaker’s real-life nephew, Jaafar Jackson, in the titular role. While the movie will showcase the King of Pop’s meteoric rise, the trailer also spotlights Jackson’s relationship with his overbearing father, Joe, and his search to overcome his child-star status as the lead singer of The Jackson 5.
In addition to Jaafar Jackson as Michael, Oscar nominee Colman Domingo will portray Joe, Nia Long will play his mother Katherine, Laura Harrier as Suzanne de Passe (who developed The Jackson 5’s wardrobe and executive produced The Jacksons: An American Dream), Juliano Krue Valdi as a young Michael, and Miles Teller as John Branca, the lawyer and manager who is the co-executor of the Jackson estate and real-life executive producer of the film.
Michael is directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer franchise). The film has a screenplay by three-time Academy Award nominee John Logan (Gladiator), produced by Academy Award winner Graham King (The Departed, Bohemian Rhapsody), John Branca, and John McClain (executive producer of This Is It and Michael Jackson Live at Wembley July 16, 1988).
You can watch the trailer and check out the poster below.
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Last year, King told Variety of Jaafar’s performance in the forthcoming film, “With Jaafar, every look, every note, every dance move is Michael. He embodies Michael in a way that no other actor could.”
Fuqua added, “We have assembled an incredible team of artists for this project – hair and makeup, costumes, cinematography, choreography, lighting, everything – and some who knew and worked with Michael are reuniting for this film.”
“But most importantly, it’s Jaafar who embodies Michael. It goes beyond the physical resemblance. It’s Michael’s spirit that comes through in a magical way. You have to experience it to believe it.”
Michael is being released with the blessing of the Michael Jackson estate, with the production company Lionsgate having the rights to the performer’s discography.
