The highly anticipated Michael Jackson biopic, aptly titled as Michael, has released its first teaser, introducing the world to a transformative performance by the King of Pop’s own nephew, Jaafar Jackson.

The film is directed by Antonie Fuqua and is scheduled to release on April 24, 2026.

The one-minute trailer, which was released on November 6, provides a highly potent insight into the uncanny way Jaafar portrays his late uncle.

The movie will be an in-depth examination of the complicated life of the world superstar.

It will be an intimate look into the life and longtime legacy of one of the most influential and trailblazers by the world with the official synopsis saying it will explore the journey of the global super-star to have become known to the world as the King of Pop.

Who’s Who in the Michael Jackson Biopic

• Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson
• Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson (formidable patriarch of the Jackson family)
• Nia Long as Katherine Jackson (Michael’s beloved mother)
• Jermaine Jackson played by Jamal R. Henderson (adult) and Jayden Harville (young).
• Marlon Jackson played by Tre Horton (adult) and Jaylen Lyndon Hunter (young).
• Tito Jackson played by Rhyan Hill (adult) and Judah Edwards (young).
• Jackie Jackson played by Joseph David-Jones (adult) and Nathaniel Logan McIntyre (young).
• Jessica Sula as La Toya Jackson: Michael’s older sister.
• Kendrick Sampson as Quincy Jones : The legendary producer who worked closely with Michael on his seminal albums “Off the Wall,” “Thriller,” and “Bad.”
• Larenz Tate as Berry Gordy: The founder of Motown Records, the label that launched the Jackson 5.
• Kat Graham as Diana Ross: The superstar who mentored the young Jackson 5 and was a lifelong friend to Michael.
• Laura Harrier as Suzanne de Passe: The pioneering Motown executive who helped develop the Jackson 5’s early career.
• Liv Symone as Gladys Knight: The “Empress of Soul” who helped bring the Jackson 5 to Berry Gordy’s attention.
• Kevin Shinick as Dick Clark: The famed television host of “American Bandstand.”
• Miles Teller as John Branca: Michael’s long-time entertainment lawyer and estate executor.
• Derek Luke as Johnnie Cochran: The famed attorney who represented Michael during the 1993 allegations.

The screenplay, written by John Logan, has been reported to be an adaptation of the child sexual abuse charges on Jackson, and producer Graham King is quoted saying that they intend it to be a humanization and not sanitization of the story.

The project has had an intricate journey to the screen, such as industry strikes and the reports of massive re-shoots to polish the film, which now is likely to have a considerable screen time. 

The original footage, though, has created a lot of hype and made Michael one of the most anticipated biographical movies of the decade.

People often discuss which Hollywood star might play them in a movie about their life. For legendary boxer Christy Martin, the actor turned out to be Sydney Sweeney. Sweeney transformed into “Christy,” which hits theaters on Nov. 7. 

Before Martin’s story was told on the big screen, she sat down with “48 Hours” in 2020 to share her story. An encore of “Christy Martin – the Fight of her Life” airs Saturday, Nov. 8, at 9/8c on CBS and streams on Paramount+.

Raised as a coal miner’s daughter in a small town in West Virginia, to becoming a world championship boxer, Martin made headlines as a pioneer in women’s boxing. But few knew of the personal battles she was facing outside the ring.

In the episode, “48 Hours” details the story of Martin’s struggles with identity, acceptance, drug addiction, and domestic violence at the hands of her former husband and trainer, Jim Martin. “The same story that you guys got, Sydney puts out there for the people to see and to gain inspiration from,” Martin recently told “48 Hours.”   

Sweeney spent months preparing for the role, including intense boxing training to recreate Martin’s actual fights. In addition to physical preparations, Sweeney told “48 Hours” about the research she did to play Christy. “I mean, I had a lot to be able to pull from and go off of. She had her book, there was the ’48 Hours’ special … There were interviews and fight footage. So there was a lot I could prepare with before I met Christy, and then I had Christy in my corner, so I was able to ask her questions and have her by my side and be able to watch her.”

Martin requested the writers not to “Hollywoodize” her life as they scripted her story. Martin said writer Mirrah Foulkes responded, “There’s enough crazy s*** that’s happened in your life, we don’t have to.”

As her survival story continues to reach more people, Martin hopes it can help inspire others. “We’re showing a pathway to get out of a domestic violence situation. We’re showing how important it is for parents, relatives, friends to be accepting of someone who’s a little different … But I’m the ultimate underdog … If you can believe it, you can achieve it. Dream big. My Dad used to tell me to dream big, and I think I did.” 

If you or someone you know needs help, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 [SAFE]. 

Jacob Elordi has blasted viewers’ “prudish” reaction to the Saltburn bathtub scene.

The scene sees Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) drink bathwater after he secretly watched Felix Catton (Elordi) touch himself in the tub.

This scene got people talking and left quite a many flabbergasted.

Appearing on Entertainment Weekly‘s Awardist podcast, Elordi said: “I actually think it shows me just how, I guess, prudish we are.”

“When I watch that, I just think there’s far more extreme things in cinema that I’ve seen, far more graphic,” the 28-year-old compared.

The star – who has witnessed “more alarming” moments in films – cannot understand why viewers do not have the same reaction when it comes to scenes packed with distressing violence.

Elordi added: “There’s more alarming things in the top 10 streamed remakes of crime documentaries on every streaming platform.”

“I think that’s much more alarming, the kind of horrible joy that we all get from watching children be mutilated. That’s what was interesting to me,” the Euphoria star said.

“I was like, ‘Here’s a piece of fiction with something just a little taboo,’ and that makes people’s skin crawl. It’s an interesting parallel,” he further mentioned.

Saltburn – which is about Oxford student Oliver becoming obsessed with his rich-and-aristocratic classmate Felix – was directed by Emerald Fennell.

Speaking about the bathtub scene in 2023, Fennell told Entertainment Weekly: “The bathtub was the first thing, the first image, that came to me.”

“It was a boy saying, ‘I wasn’t in love with him,’ and that same boy licking the bottom of a bathtub. So that was the very centre of the film for me, this kind of unreliable narrator, somebody who was clearly in the grips of extreme desire and who hasn’t yet come to terms with it or who has had to find another way of coming to terms with it or explain it,” she concluded.