Aug. 11, 1984; Knoxville, TN, USA; Michael Jackson performs a concert at Neyland Stadium on Aug. 11, 1984. Mandatory Credit: Jack Kirkland/News Sentinel via USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jafaar Jackson will portray his uncle in the upcoming biopic “Michael,” brought to life by producer Graham King and director Antoine Fuqua.

Michael Jackson has had a lot of different media portrayals over the years, whether during his career of after his passing. But his nephew Jafaar’s first major movie role in the upcoming Michael biopic will take a little longer to honor his uncle’s memory.

As caught by AllHipHop, the Lionsgate movie about the King of Pop will now reportedly release sometime after March 2026. The production company shifted its scheduling strategies and delayed the launch from their original October 3, 2025 projection.

“In regard to our Michael Jackson biopic, we’re excited about the three and a half hours of amazing footage from producer Graham King and director Antoine Fuqua, and we will be announcing a definitive release strategy and timing in the next few weeks,” Jon Feltheimer stated. He is Lionsgate’s CEO, and he reportedly confirmed this during an earnings call.

“I would note that it is likely we will move Michael out of the fiscal year,” Feltheimer added. Given the fiscal year’s end of March 31, 2026, any date beyond April 1 is fair game for now. But we will see for sure once they confirm their approach.

Michael Jackson Biopic

Jan 31, 1993; Pasadena, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; MICHAEL JACKSON performs during the halftime show of Super Bowl XXVII at the Rose Bowl which featured the Dallas Cowboys against the Buffalo Bills. Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports via Imagn Images

For those unfamiliar with this Michael Jackson biopic, its $155 million budget has director Antoine Fuqua at the helm. Check out Training Day and The Equalizer series if you don’t recognize this cinematic brain.

There are also some other alleged details around this movie that haven’t been outright confirmed yet. For example, Variety suggested the film might divide into two separate halves, but Lionsgate did not confirm that in any manner.

We also know some cast details for this look at Michael Jackson’s career, life, and legacy. Colman Domingo will reportedly star as Joe Jackson, Nia Long will become Katherine Jackson, and Kat Graham has the role of Diana Ross.

Per these reports, Lionsgate will work on their release strategy and share it with the public in the next weeks. There is such scale and expectation here that it could honestly go a million different ways. But Michael Jackson fans are ready to experience it, and hopefully the rest goes smoothly from here.