At Collider’s Directors on Directing panel at SDCC, we knew that there would be a lot of great stuff that emerged from it. One of its participants is directing one of the 2025 movies that we’re most excited about: The Michael Jackson biopic. During the panel, Antoine Fuqua (The Equalizer trilogy) talked to our Editor-in-Chief Steve Weintraub about the project and what we can expect from it.

Fuqua confirmed that Michael finished filming a couple of months ago, which means that the project is making its way to the final stages of production. However, since we still have to wait more than six months to check it out and there isn’t even a trailer out, there’s only so much that the director can reveal at this point. But Fuqua was straightforward about why he wanted to make the movie:

“Why I wanted to make it? It’s Michael. I’m in the early stages of editing the film right now. We just wrapped on May 30. I’m very excited about it. I’m very happy with what we got in the can. Like I said, it’s so early in the editing process, so I don’t want to talk too much about it. Michael was a big part of my life growing up, a big influence on my career, an incredible artist, but he was a human being and we’re exploring that. I’m very excited about it.”

‘Michael’ Can Become The Biopic of The Year
Michael has the potential of being the kind of biopic that lures millions of people to movie theaters. Jackson was one of the most popular artists that the world has seen, and not by chance he was dubbed King of Pop. Jafaar Jackson bears a whopping resemblance to Michael, which is why the actor was chosen to portray his late uncle in the movie.

The cast of Michael also features Colman Domingo (Rustin) as Jackson’s overbearing father Joe Jackson, Nia Long (You People) as Jackson’s mother Katherine Jackson, Kat Graham (The Vampire Diaries) as legendary singer Diana Ross, Kendrick Sampson (Insecure) as Quincy Jones, Derek Luke (13 Reasons Why) as controversial lawyer Johnnie Cochran and Miles Teller (Top Gun: Maverick) as John Branca — the co-executor of the Michael Jackson estate.

Michael is slated to premiere on April 18, 2025. A trailer is yet to be unveiled, but some lucky eyes have already had the chance to check it out.