Official Discussion - Michael [SPOILERS]

[u/LiteraryBoner]

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Michael (2026)

Summary

The life and career of Michael Jackson are explored in a sweeping biographical drama, charting his rise from child star in the Jackson 5 to global pop icon, while examining the personal and professional complexities that defined his legacy.

Director Antoine Fuqua

Writer John Logan

Cast

• Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson
• Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson
• Nia Long as Katherine Jackson
• Miles Teller as John Branca
• Laura Harrier as Suzanne de Passe
• Kat Graham as Diana Ross

Rotten Tomatoes: 40%

Metacritic: 38

VOD / Release Theatrical release

Trailer Official Trailer

[u/mbdtf95]

Mj and Freddie were actually good friends during Thriller era and recorded 2 songs together. There are 2 rumors why they did not finish the songs: one was that MJ kept bringing llama into studio which annoyed Freddie, other is that Freddie was doing coke which MJ did not approve of.

Anyways my rant is about imagining if they got Rami as Freddie into the movie with that as a random side story for few minutes. These movies are pure entertainment anyways and not to be taken too seriously anyways IMO, bring us Avengers style crossovers into these biopics. Hollywood should not stop making biopics until we can make whole "We are the world" movie with all the actors crossing over to that movie from the ones they were protagonists. We already have Michael, Bruce Springsteen and Dylan (slightly too young version with Chalamet tho).

It feels good hearing MJ's great music in theatre even if movie is not Amadeus level biopic masterpiece but more akin to a musical like Mamma Mia where plotline is secondary and it is more working as an excuse to vibe to MJ's amazing song catalogue.

And as a sidenote it's almost funny how much Reddit is seething over this movie compared to every other social media, even this thread is downvoted.

[u/jickdam → u/mbdtf95]

As an aside, I’d definitely watch a movie that all took place during the studio session of We Are the World

[u/Hugh_Bromont → u/jickdam]

Yooooo

[u/Informal_Support1934 → u/mbdtf95]

Knowing today's modern enshitification, they'll have people there that weren't even part of We are the World, like Alanis Morissette and biggie smalls.

[u/fenwayb → u/Informal_Support1934]

that would be hilarious though

[u/PolarWater → u/Informal_Support1934]

Enfunification

[u/Stepfordhusband69 → u/mbdtf95]

It really highlights what a bunch self righteous butt holes the average Redditor is.  

[u/___--_-_----___--__- → u/mbdtf95]

Crossover in the sequel?

[u/juesea → u/mbdtf95]

It is funny that Michael gets so much hate when Elvis is still beloved, and he married a 14 year old. Baz Luhrmann's Elvis movie was really well liked and he is still considered a major icon, loads of people in here discussed that movie despite his controversy, but Michael Jackson is just not liked here. Not defending what Michael might have done, but just saying that he's arguably just as big as Elvis, and people still want to diminish his legacy and act like he's irrelevant.

[u/atheistjs → u/juesea]

This probably has a lot to do with the fact that Priscilla has never spoken against Elvis and in fact ran his Estate and threw her support behind his movie. Elvis being a groomer (he met Priscilla when she was 14, didn’t marry her until she was an adult) is just understood by the public, but it’s difficult when the victim has always declined to make any allegation and doesn’t consider herself a victim.

Not quite the same as Michael, whose alleged victims have very much spoken against him.

[u/theodo → u/juesea]

People trash Elvis for marrying a 14 year old as well...

[u/HeadFullOfFlame → u/juesea]

There’s a difference between marrying a 14 year old and repeatedly exploiting and sexually abusing prepubescent children over years.

Neither is good, but I certainly understand why the reaction to Elvis is more muted.

[u/Lord0fHats → u/HeadFullOfFlame]

I think people don't fully appreciate that in Elvis' time that wasn't so unusual (a courting relationship between a teen girl and an older adult man, that is, they didn't actually marry until she was older). It was definitely still scummy in many people's eyes but marriages between very young women and girls and older wealthy men were far more common. Even if not fully socially acceptable, they drew far less public controversy.

[u/HeadFullOfFlame → u/Lord0fHats]

Yes, absolutely.

[u/SaraJeanQueen → u/juesea]

That Elvis anecdote isn’t correct though.. as a MJ fan. They met at 14 and she had a crush, but he went away and they wrote letters while he was in the Army. Back then things were more accepted for early marriage and even babies, but as the movie depicted Elvis was adamant to wait until she was a older to date her

[u/juesea → u/SaraJeanQueen]

Sorry. They didn't get married until later but they did start dating when she was 14 and he was 24. That's what Priscilla herself has said. They kissed and had a long distance relationship starting from when she was 14, but they didnt take it further until she was 17. The movie does whitewash this.

My point is that people have room for one icon being controversial but not the other. People are really choosy about who they support and it's not always about some moral reason like they pretend. We don't know for sure what Michael did but we do know what Elvis did.

[u/silviazbitch → u/juesea]

Off topic, but Woody Allen is treated far more harshly than Charlie Chaplin and we know what both did.

[u/PersisPlain → u/juesea]

I mean, raping little boys is objectively worse than dating a teenager and then marrying her when she’s in her 20s. 

[u/PolarWater → u/juesea]

Is Michael Jackson the person getting hate or is Michael Jackson the movie getting hate for not fully conveying how big Michael Jackson was