The Michael Jackson biopic is moving forward with Emancipation and Training Day helmer Antoine Fuqua in the director’s chair. Deadline reports that the film, aptly titled Michael, is charging ahead with production now that a director is on board. Michael is written by John Logan and produced by Bohemian Rhapsody producer Graham King for GK Films alongside the co-executors of the Michael Jackson Estate, John Branca and John McClain. Casting has not yet happened so there’s no word yet on who might be playing the King of Pop.
“Antoine is a perceptive and powerful filmmaker, and we feel very fortunate that he has chosen Michael as his next project," Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chairman Joe Drake said in a statement. “His visionary storytelling skills and commitment to his craft will make Michael an unforgettable film.”
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King added, “Antoine’s films provide personal perspectives of larger-than-life characters that continuously captivate global audiences. I’m confident that Antoine will make an exceptional and compelling film that will both celebrate and give profound new insights into the life of the King of Pop.”
Michael will chronicle the life and career of Jackson, though there’s still a lot that’s yet to be revealed about which parts of the late singer’s life will be the primary focus. It’s noted in the new report that the biopic will “make the most of Jackson’s musical accomplishments and recreation of seminal career,” starting with his rise to fame as a child singer in The Jackson 5 to his immense success on his own as an adult. As far as the scandals that plagued Jackson’s personal life, it’s also reported that Michael will indeed touch on the allegations of sexual abuse that had been leveled against the singer, though it remains to be seen how this will be addressed in the film.
Michael Jackson Will Get the Biopic Treatment
Columbia Pictures
Lionsgate is putting Michael on the fast track, hoping to capitalize after the success of recent biopics made for other music icons like Freddie Mercury, Elton John, and Elvis Presley. Word is Fuqua will start his work on the film after soon wrapping up The Equalizer 3 in Italy with Denzel Washington, and he’ll be bringing along cinematographer Robert Richardson. The director also spoke about how thrilled he is to join the project as a longtime fan of Jackson.
“The first films of my career were music videos, and I still feel that combining film and music are a deep part of who I am,” Fuqua said in his own statement concerning Michael. “For me, there is no artist with the power, the charisma, and the sheer musical genius of Michael Jackson. I was influenced to make music videos by watching his work – the first Black artist to play in heavy rotation on MTV. His music and those images are part of my worldview, and the chance to tell his story on the screen alongside his music was irresistible.”
Michael doesn’t yet have a premiere date set.
