This might be a big one, folks. The first teaser trailer for the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic film Michael has been released — and believe it or not, the sneak peek racked up a whopping 30 million views in its first six hours online.
According to Deadline, that’s an incredible 50% more views than the trailer for John Wick: Chapter 4 managed to get in its first six hours after release. That says quite a bit about the audience’s anticipation for the biopic, considering how much the masses love the John Wick series. The news of the teaser trailer’s success was announced during yesterday’s earnings call.
Lionsgate motion picture chair Adam Fogelson also opened up about the status of the second part of Michael, which was split into two parts due both to its three and a half hour runtime and the fact that much of the second part focused on one of Jackson’s accusers. The Jackson estate seemingly overlooked the detail that guarantees that accuser can never be dramatized or have their story dramatized as part of their settlement with the estate, which led to massive reshoots.
“Since the last time we worked together on an earnings call, we’ve had the great pleasure of seeing the director’s cut of the first film, and it is exceptional,” Fogelson explained on the call. “While we’re not yet ready to confirm plans for a second film, I can tell you that the creative team is hard at work making sure that we’re in a position to deliver more Michael soon after we release the first film.”
He added about the film and star Jaafar Jackson, Michael’s nephew, “People have been waiting a long time for this. I think people are stunned with Jaafar’s performance.”
The film is directed by Training Day director Antoine Fuqua, written by John Logan, and produced by Graham King, who produced the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. It will hit theaters on April 24, 2026 — well, at least the first part.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.