

Training Day director Antoine Fuqua has been hard at work on the Michael Jackson movie, Michael, with Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson in the titular role. Due to several problems, the film didn’t make it into theaters on its announced release date last month. Instead, Michael is now due to arrive next April and we’re getting our first look at it today, according to Stereogum.
One problem that delayed the film was that the already-produced final act of Michael turned out to be legally impossible. Michael Jackson’s estate was involved in production of the film, and the final part reportedly revolved around Jackson’s conversations with his lawyers over whether or not to pay off the family of Jordan Chandler, a 13-year-old boy who accused Jackson of alleged sexual abuse. Jackson’s lawyer John Branca, one of the executors of his estate, is one of the film’s producers, and Miles Teller plays him in the movie. But Jackson’s out-of-court settlement with the Chandler family reportedly prohibited any dramatic depiction of that legal battle, which Lionsgate only learned after the $150 million production finished shooting.
Then a few months ago, Lionsgate delayed the release and considered splitting Michael into two movies, but the trailer doesn’t offer any indication of whether that happened.
In the trailer, we see many images of Jaafar Jackson in the role of his uncle, often hitting iconic moves and poses. We also get brief glimpses of Colman Domingo as his father Joe Jackson, Nia Long as his mother Katherine and Kendrick Sampson as Quincy Jones. Michael arrives in theaters 4/24 via Lionsgate. See the trailer below.
