Final Michael trailer deems Bubbles the chimp appropriate for the narrative

The film will moonwalk over the entertainer's past when it opens on April 24.

By Drew Gillis  |  April 8, 2026 | 11:01am
Image via Lionsgate
Film News Michael
Final Michael trailer deems Bubbles the chimp appropriate for the narrative

Lately, we’ve been hearing a lot about that the Michael Jackson biopic will not include: the child abuse allegations, the tabloid headlines from the last decades of his life, his sister Janet, and apparently anything that might tarnish his posthumous brand. It’s a bit of a surprise then that Bubbles, Michael’s pet chimp, makes it into this one, though we guess that does support the whole “love for animals” we’ve been hearing about. 

As with the other footage we’ve seen from the film so far, Michael seems to focus mostly on recognizable images from the 1980s rather than an especially novel examination of the man in the mirror. We get some recreations of the “Thriller” video and the Motown 25 concert where the moonwalk got popular. Lionsgate also shared an extended clip of the latter moment, which looks a lot like the real thing but now with shots of the audience understanding in real time that they just saw a pop culture moment important enough to make it into a movie 40 years later. 

Michael stars Jafar Jackson, the real Michael’s nephew, as the King of Pop, with Colman Domingo and Nia Long as his parents, Joe and Katherine, respectively. The film opens in theaters on April 24. 

 
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