The upcoming Michael Jackson biopic is unlikely to hit theaters before the end of 2025, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said on Thursday, May 22.
“In regard to our Michael Jackson biopic, we’re excited about the 3½ hours of amazing footage from producer Graham King and director Antoine Fuqua, and we will be announcing a definitive release strategy & timing in the next few weeks,” Feltheimer said during the studio’s Q4 2025 earnings call, per Variety and Indiewire.
Feltheimer said it was “likely” the studio will have to move the film, titled Michael, out of the 2025 fiscal year, “which will impact fiscal ’26 financial results but will bolster an already strong fiscal ’27 slate.”
Lionsgate’s fiscal year ends on March 31, 2026, meaning Michael might not hit theaters until after April 2026.
Later, Lionsgate film chief Adam Fogelson confirmed during a call after the quarterly earnings call that Michael will be split into two parts, per Deadline.
Lionsgate did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Kevin Mazur/ Lionsgate
Jaafar Jackson as his uncle, Michael Jackson, in a still from Michael
In late January, Puck reported that Michael will need to be overhauled during reshoots after lawyers learned of a clause in a settlement agreement between Jackson and one of his accusers.
In 1993, Jackson was accused of sexually abusing 13-year-old Jordan Chandler. The musician, who died in 2009 at age 50, and the Chandler family reached a settlement out of court, reportedly for $25 million. According to Puck’s sources, the settlement specified that the Chandlers could never be mentioned or dramatized in a movie. The outlet reported that John Logan’s script featured the Chandler situation and the agreement was overlooked when the screenplay was previously vetted and approved.
“The Michael Jackson biopic is not in total chaos,” a source close to the production told PEOPLE on Jan. 24. “The inflammatory headlines about the moving halting are simply not true. The film is moving forward, and reshoots are happening in March.”
Spokespersons for Lionsgate (the film’s distributor), producer King and attorney Jonathan Steinsapir (who represents the Jackson estate) did not respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment about the reports in January.
Lionsgate featured Michael in its 2024 CinemaCon presentation, but didn’t show any footage this year, despite principal photography already being completed in May 2024. The film was scheduled for April 18, 2025, but was then pushed to Oct. 3, 2025, in November. In April, Variety reported Michael was unlikely to be released on that day due to the reshoots, adding that it might be split into two movies.
Kevin Mazur/WireImage
Michael Jackson in 1988
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The Jackson estate has repeatedly denied abuse accusations made against the late singer, who was acquitted of child molestation charges in 2005. Additional allegations were aired in the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland, prompting an ongoing legal battle.
Michael is directed by Antoine Fuqua and produced by Bohemian Rhapsody’s Graham King. Jackson’s real-life nephew, Jaafar Jackson, plays the singer. Coleman Domingo and Nia Long play Jackson’s parents, Joe and Katherine Jackson, while Miles Teller plays Branca.
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