Meet the patriarch of the Jackson family with Colman Domingo joining Lionsgate’s Michael.
News has broke that Domingo will join Michael Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson, who will play the pop singer, in the upcoming biopic following Michael Jackson’s life, which Antoine Fuqua is directing from a script by John Logan.
“Not only am I fortunate to have a rich, complex, and flawed character to portray in Joe Jackson, but I also have a front-row seat for Jaafar’s incredible transformation. After seeing him in rehearsal, my mind was blown,” Domingo said in a statement. “There is something divine about the way that Jaafar is channeling his late uncle. His talent and embodiment of Michael’s essence is simply on another level.”
Fuqua notes: “Colman has such incredible range – he puts in the work to deeply inhabit his characters and understand their true essence and motivation. I’m grateful to be working with an actor with his passion and ability to portray the many sides of Joe Jackson: a husband, a father, and a manager.”
Domingo is coming off a Best Actor in a Leading Performance Oscar nomination for his work in the biopic Rustin. He’s an esteemed actor known for his work on television like Fear the Walking Dead and Euphoria, as well as film work like Zola and 2023’s The Color Purple.
Per Lionsgate, the film is set to cover all aspects of Jackson’s life, including some of the controversies the pop star was involved with.
Michael is currently slated for a global release on April 18th, 2025.