If King had any initial doubts about the wisdom of giving Jackson the Bohemian Rhapsody treatment, they may have been allayed by the rise in his popularity since his death of a prescription drug overdose, aged 50, in 2009.
On Spotify, he currently has 64.8 million monthly listeners and 40.5 million followers, making him the streaming service’s 27th biggest artist in the world. His life and music are also the basis of a Cirque du Soleil spectacular, Michael Jackson ONE, which has been running in Las Vegas since 2013, and a Tony-winning jukebox show, MJ The Musical, which has been on Broadway since 2022. The biopic would just be the latest addition to the glittering Michael Jackson industry.
It was announced in January 2023 that Michael would be written by John Logan (Gladiator, The Aviator) and directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day). It was later confirmed that the starry cast would include Colman Domingo, Miles Teller and Nia Long, and that the lead role would be played by Jackson’s own nephew, Jaafar Jackson. And, as mentioned, its producer knows a thing or two about exultant pop biopics. In 2024, a spokesperson for the new film told the BBC in a statement: “From the beginning the Michael Jackson estate put their trust in Graham King, stepping out of the creative process.”
A complicated legacy
So why is Jackson such a hot property, despite the accusations that once tainted his image? “There are several things at work here,” Ludovic Hunter-Tilney, pop critic at the Financial Times, tells the BBC. “One is the lack of definitive legal proof [that Jackson committed any crimes]. Another is the branch of public relations dedicated to reputation management or rehabilitation. Jackson is now seen as a victim himself, bullied by his father, warped by fame, dying too young. And finally, most importantly, there’s the fact that he’s the ultimate pop star – a brilliant vocal stylist, a dancer to rival Fred Astaire, an entertainer with an indelible sense of his own sound and look.”
“Another factor,” adds Ed Potton, culture commissioning editor at The Times, “is whether you’ve seen the Leaving Neverland documentary.”
This Emmy-winning four-hour documentary features the testimonies of Wade Robson and James Safechuck, two men who allege that Jackson had sexually abused them when they were children. It was broadcast in two parts on HBO in 2019, just a few months before the announcement that King would be making his biopic.