Michael Jackson Biopic Set for April 22nd Early Screening

Photo Credit: CelebrityABC / CC by 2.0

A new lawsuit against the Michael Jackson estate isn’t delaying the release of Michael, which is now scheduled to receive an early screening ahead of its April 24th U.S. premiere.

In addition to dropping a fresh trailer for the biopic, Lionsgate and IMAX yesterday confirmed the availability of pre-release tickets. Currently on sale, these passes will enable superfans to watch Antoine Fuqua-directed Michael on April 22nd – the Wednesday before the stateside premiere.

As for the international opening, “King of Pop” diehards can catch Michael in Berlin on April 10th. Per MJVibe, a multi-day “Global Fan Celebration,” complete with cast appearances and more, is being organized around the European premiere.

Put differently, Michael, written by John Logan (The Aviator and The Last Samurai) and starring the artist’s nephew Jaafar Jackson, is plowing full steam ahead. That’s significant on multiple levels – one concerning the anticipated consumption and sales boost for Michael Jackson’s catalog.

This is certainly a positive for Sony Music, which paid a reported $600 million for a 50% stake in said catalog two years ago. Furthermore, while a possible Michael sequel presumably hinges on the initial biopic’s box office showing, the filming process reportedly produced about four hours of usable footage.

As such, between Michael’s 130-minute runtime and Lionsgate CFO James Barge’s clear-cut indications of an expected sequel, evidence suggests that a follow-up is in the cards. And apparently, even curiously timed lawsuits won’t derail the plans.

As broken down in detail by DMN closer to March’s beginning, the Cascio family, having long stood by Jackson as he faced sexual abuse allegations, fired off a rather serious complaint to close out February.

Therein, the four plaintiffs accused Jackson of being “a serial child predator” who “drugged, raped, and sexually assaulted each of” them as children. Meanwhile, a Cascio brother who’s not a party to the suit is himself entangled in a legal battle with the Jackson estate, which criticized the new action as “a desperate money grab.”

(The same non-party brother in 2011 penned a pro-Jackson book entitled My Friend Michael: An Ordinary Friendship with an Extraordinary Man – A Candid and Loving Portrait of the King of Pop.)

Time will tell how the case unfolds, but it seems safe to say that the courtroom confrontation isn’t disrupting the bigger-picture plans of the Jackson estate and others with interests in the relevant works.