Production company Lionsgate just greenlit a biopic on Michael Jackson’s life and artistry and found its director. Moreover, Antoine Fuqua will direct, who previously helmed Emanciption and Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers. As Deadline reports, the tentative title for the upcoming film is Michael.
Additionally, the report shared some other details about the movie’s production and crew. John Logan (They/Them, Skyfall) will write the script, with production handled by Graham King of Bohemian Rhapsody for GK Films. Also, producers include co-executors of the King of Pop’s estate, John Branca and John McClain.
Furthermore, sources told Deadline that the upcoming film will cover the highs and lows of Jackson’s musical legacy. However, it also plans to address the accusations of pedophilia, grooming, and misconduct that have defined public discourse around him for years now.
Meanwhile, Fuqua will dive into Michael after production wraps up for his next film, The Equalizer 3 with Denzel Washington. Moreover, GK Films’ previous music biopic Bohemian Rhapsody raked in a whopping $900 million in worldwide gross sales. Still, that film was pretty polarizing, so Michael has big shoes to fill, but bigger ones to prove wrong.
“The first films of my career were music videos, and I still feel that combining film and music are a deep part of who I am,” said Fuqua. Before his breakout film Training Day in 2001, he started directing videos for Prince, Lil Wayne, Stevie Wonder, and more.
“For me, there is no artist with the power, the charisma, and the sheer musical genius of Michael Jackson,” he continued. “I was influenced to make music videos by watching his work – the first Black artist to play in heavy rotation on MTV. His music and those images are part of my worldview, and the chance to tell his story on the screen alongside his music was irresistible.”
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