Michael Jackson Biopic Moves To Pre-Summer 2026 Release Date
It has been exclusively reported by Deadline, that the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic ‘Michael’ has officially moved its global release date to Friday, April 24, 2026.
This news comes after reports of delays in the movie’s release and major reshoots for the production, as well as reports of a second movie about Jackson that is also in development. The project, which is directed by Antoine Fuqua and produced by Graham King, is also looking to get the IMAX treatment for this new release. The movie will see Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson playing the lead role.
The aforementioned delays to the project came from its runtime, which was more than 3½ hours in length, and reports that initial cuts of the movie contained references to Jordan Chandler, a 13-year-old who accused Jackson of molestation. This was later settled in 1994 for $20 million with no admission of guilt from Jackson.
Other issues and delays with the movie came from the screenplay and confusion about certain permissions. The script by John Logan was developed, approved by the estate and shot to include Chandler and the allegation. It was only after production had fully wrapped that the principal crew were made aware of an agreement for his story not to be included within the movie. This led to reshoots as they tried to find new ways to approach the material.
This is the third instance of Michael moving release dates. Its original release date was meant to be April 18th, 2025, which was then later changed to October 3rd. The new date of April 23rd, 2026, has no potential clashes, at this time, with any other releases. If it sticks to this date, it will open after Lee Cronin’s The Mummy and 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank starring Liam Neeson. However, it may contend with 20th Century Studios’ The Devil Wears Prada 2, which releases a week prior on May 1st.
Michael will hit cinemas on April 23rd, 2026.
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