Colman Domingo credited Paris Jackson for offering him advice on playing her grandfather Joe Jackson in forthcoming film Michael.
The Antoine Fuqua-directed biopic about Michael Jackson stars the late singer’s nephew Jaafar Jackson as the King of Pop and will be split into two separate films, as announced earlier this summer. Domingo was cast as the family’s patriarch while Nia Long plays his wife, Katherine Jackson, and Miles Teller plays Jackson’s attorney and advisor, John Branca.
Domingo and Paris reunited at the amfAR benefit gala at the Venice Film Festival over the weekend, where she performed alongside Ava Max. Domingo took the opportunity to thank Paris and her brother Prince Jackson for their guidance during the making of Michael.
“They’re very much in support of our film,” Domingo told People of the siblings. “I’m excited to be here at amfAR tonight with Paris. It feels like that’s a nice way for us to be together.” He added that Paris had been “very helpful” during the production.
“The thing that has inspired me the most is this very profound and prominent family called the Jacksons,” Domingo said. “We would not have any of this music that we used to have great memories about, the moments, the big moments, that we all share, because of the Jackson family. And I’m not just saying just Michael — the entire Jackson family.”
Michael has been beset by numerous delays and some controversy. The filmming initially wrapped in May 2024, but its initial April 18, 2025, release date was postponed until October 2025 after it was revealed that the film required 22 days of reshoots.
The reshoots, it was reported, surrounded the film’s third act, which in some way delved into the child molestation accusations against Jackson; specifically, Michael violated a legal agreement between representatives for Jackson and then-13-year-old Jordan Chandler, who accused him of molestation in 1993 and later received a $20 million settlement. As part of that agreement, Chandler’s story and personhood could never be dramatized in a film about Jackson.
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As producers — who include the Jackson estate — retooled the movie with an updated script and reshoots, Lionsgate revealed in May that, due to the amount of footage shot, the biopic might be split into two movies. While the second part remains in the works, Michael is now set to arrive on April 24, 2026.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Michael will focus on the first half of Jackson’s life and career, including his tenure with his brothers in the Jackson 5 and his decision to leave that group after releasing 1979’s Off the Wall. The second film, if it is completed and released, would then cover the rest of the King of Pop’s career, including Thriller and Bad, but with a third act that sidesteps the accusations.
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The film was written by John Logan. Other cast members include Larenz Tate as Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, Laura Harrier as music executive Suzanne de Passe, and Kat Graham as Diana Ross.
Last week, Domingo unexpectedly popped up in Sabrina Carpenter’s music video for “Tears,” off her new album Man’s Best Friend.
