Lionsgate has announced that Training Day director Antoine Fuqua will direct Michael Jackson’s biopic Michael, which will be produced by Academy Award-winning producer Graham King of Bohemian Rhapsody.
Filming on Michael is set to begin later this year, and John Branca and John McClain, co-executives of Michael Jackson’s estate, will produce the film alongside King.
Three-time Oscar nominee John Logan will write the screenplay, and his work has included The Aviator (along with King) and Gladiator.
Michael Jackson passed away in 2009, but his music has lived on for generations. He is currently the “best-selling artist of all time, the most awarded artist of all time, and the best-selling album artist of all time”.
As for Fuqua, he recently directed Emancipation starring Will Smith, along with films like Infinite, The Magnificent Seven, Olympus Has Fallen, Shooter, and more. He also directed the first two Equalizer films with Denzel Washington, and is currently working on the third film in the saga, which is set to hit theaters on September 1, 2023.