All of the Movies and Documentaries Made About Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson’s death in June 2009 complicated the legacy of the already complicated and heavily scrutinized pop star. Today would have been his 68th birthday, a year marked with the release of a largely disputed biopic about the King of Pop. It’s not the first biopic that has been made about him, though. Let’s take a look back at all the movies and projects that followed his life.
The Biopic Everyone Was Talking About
Directed by Antoine Fuqua from a screenplay by John Logan, Michael traces Jackson’s journey from being a child star to turning into a solo artist and, eventually, a global icon. The film stars Jaafar Jackson, Michael’s real-life nephew, in the lead role, a casting choice that’s drawn praise from within the Jackson family itself. La Toya Jackson told The Hollywood Reporter she was “flabbergasted,” saying, “You forget it’s Jaafar; you think it’s Michael.” The ensemble includes Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson, Nia Long as Katherine Jackson, and Miles Teller as attorney John Branca.
Reception has been mixed from fans and within Jackson’s own family. While La Toya praised the movie and her nephew’s acting, Janet Jackson took a pass on the entire project. Michael’s daughter Paris has been the most publicly critical. She criticized the film for containing “a lot of inaccuracies” and “a lot of full-blown lies.” The film was set to be a lot more controversial, though. The 1993 molestation allegations against Jackson were originally scripted into the film, but they never made it into the final cut.
The King of Pop Has Been the Subject of Several Documentaries
The main biopic is far from the only project based on Michael Jackson. There have been several documentaries and mini-series made about the music artist. Michael Jackson: The Trial, also released in 2026, took a much different direction than the biopic. The four-part series focuses on his 2005 child molestation trial, bringing viewers through the allegations, to the media circus of the trial and, finally, his acquittal.
Michael Jackson: An American Tragedy, also produced this year, picks up the story after the trial. The documentary focuses on the music career Jackson tried to build after the allegations, and the way his death and legacy were monetized. Spike Lee also took a crack at crafting documentaries about the musical inspiration. He directed Journey from Motown to Off the Wall in 2016. That documentary focused on Michael Jackson’s early transition to a solo career. A companion project followed.
There Have Been Multiple TV Projects Made About Michael Jackson
There have been several TV movies about Michael Jackson and his family, too. The Jacksons: An American Dream was the most well-received. The miniseries, broken into two parts, premiered on ABC in November 1992 and starred Angela Bassett as Katherine Jackson and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs as Joseph Jackson. The five-hour project traced the family’s history from their early years in Gary, Indiana through the height of the Jackson 5’s Motown success and into the beginning of Michael’s solo career.
An unauthorized Lifetime biopic was told from the perspective of Jackson’s bodyguards. The TV movie, Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland, was released in 2017 and was based on a book written by Jackson’s real-life bodyguards, Bill Whitfield and Javon Beard, chronicling his final years. While the concept initially intrigued fans, the final product received mixed reviews. Two years later, Leaving Neverland premiered. The explosive HBO documentary explored the abuse allegations that followed Jackson through his adult life. Both projects have fans and critics.
