Inside ‘Michael’: How the Film Recreates the Performances That Defined Michael Jackson

At the height of his fame, the eyes of the entire world were on Michael Jackson. Now, with the new Lionsgate film, Michael, arriving in theaters April 24, audiences are being invited to look again, this time through a lens shaped by memory, movement, and the kind of visual storytelling that made Jackson unforgettable in the first place. 

Some critics have already taken issue with the film’s lighter touch on controversy, but for viewers who want to be immersed in Michael’s artistry, Michael offers something else: a chance to sit with the emotion and joy he created onstage.

Directed by Antoine Fuqua, the film keeps the main thing, the main thing: the performances.

“Michael on stage, he’s Superman,” Fuqua tells Okayplayer. “That’s where he shined the brightest.”

Fuqua, who got his start directing music videos, approaches the film less like a traditional biopic and more like a living archive. Drawing from decades of footage, photography and his own visual instincts, he recreates not just what Michael did, but how it felt to witness it.

“When he takes his hat off, how do you get closer to him?” Fuqua recalls. “How do you see the sparkling shoes? How do you capture the moonwalk across the floor?”

That thinking shows up all over the film. The performance scenes don’t just aim for accuracy; they capture feeling. Fuqua adds his own touch, but not at the expense of the choreography or the moments fans are waiting for. 

“It’s really about the texture of the world,” Fuqua explains, tracing Michael’s journey from Gary, Ind. to Los Angeles. “From the ’60s and ’70s into the ’80s — how things looked, how they were shot, how they felt.”

The result is a film that evolves visually alongside its subject — shifting from grainier, restrained camera work to more dynamic framing as Michael’s artistry expands. But even with those enhancements, Fuqua is careful not to over-direct.

“With Michael, you’ve got to be careful,” he says. “You don’t want to miss any of his dance moves.”

While Michael’s original vocals anchor the film, both Juliano Valdi (young Michael) and Jaafar Jackson seemed set free as they approached the choreography Jackson is famous for. And while genes surely played their part with Jaafar, who is the son of Michael’s older brother Jermaine, he also manages to fully inhabit his uncle’s facial expressions and carriage in such a way that, at times, it feels like Michael is on the screen.

Beyond the performances, Fuqua also approaches a side of Jackson that audiences have never truly understood. “It’s the lonely moments,” he says. “The moments in between.”

Scenes of Michael offstage, spending time with his pets, watching TV with his mother, playing games, seeking connection, reaching for a childhood he never fully had, give the film its emotional undercurrent. Even at the height of his success, the film reminds us that Michael Jackson was still searching for happiness.

That duality, global icon and isolated child, is also embedded in the film’s design, especially the costumes. 

For costume designer Marci Rodgers, taking on Michael meant stepping into one of the most recognizable style legacies in pop culture history.

“I had to tell myself I could do it,” Rodgers admits.

Her approach began, and stayed, with research, more than 800 pages of it. Photographs, archival footage, family references. Rodgers studied what Michael and his brothers wore, and utilized all the resources available to her, including speaking with Motown executive Suzanne de Passe (portrayed by Laura Harrier in the film), who shared her memories about what she and others in the film wore at the time. 

“I had to become an investigator,” Rodgers says.

That investigation led to an almost obsessive level of detail.

Rodgers recalls visiting the Grammy Museum with a measuring tape, carefully documenting the exact dimensions of Michael’s garments — down to the diagonal lines, zipper lengths and Pantone shades.

“What’s the actual color of the red?” she asked herself.

That question alone led to a breakthrough: the iconic red jeans from Thriller didn’t exist as-is. They had been dyed.

Rodgers recreated them repeatedly, adjusting tones until they matched the original short film’s exact visual temperature.

Even more challenging was recreating the 1984 Grammys jacket.

Initially believed by her team to be sequined, Rodgers pushed back. After tracking the piece down in a Cleveland museum, she confirmed her instinct: it was made with bugle beads.

“So I had to figure out the size of the beads,” she says. “It was an interesting journey.”

And then there were the details most audiences might miss entirely.

“The socks and the gloves,” Rodgers says with pride.

Her attention to detail extended into the construction itself. Hidden design modifications allowed performers to execute choreography without compromising the integrity of the looks, a subtle but critical balance between accuracy and functionality.

“Because I have a background in dance, I knew where to hide certain elements or make them as though they were part of the design,” she explains.

At times, Rodgers says, the process felt spiritual.

“It’s going to sound weird,” she says, “but Michael guided me through it all.”

For all its technical precision, through cinematography, performances, and costumes, Michael ultimately resonates most with those who remember what it felt like to watch and listen to Michael Jackson.

Beyond the pressures of fame, the complicated relationship with Joe Jackson, and the physical and emotional toll of being “the greatest,” the overall story truly lives on the stage with Michael.

“I want people to feel joy,” Fuqua says. “I want them to walk out singing.”

And that’s where Michael lands, in the thrill of being reminded of what it felt like to watch someone turn performance into magic.