Colman Domingo Thinks One Michael Jackson Movie Is Not Nearly Enough, and He Has a Point

Music biopics have become one of Hollywood’s most reliable genres, but few subjects carry the kind of decades-long cultural weight that Michael Jackson does. With Antoine Fuqua’s ‘Michael‘ finally bringing the King of Pop’s story to the big screen after years in development, the cast behind the film has spent much of the promotional cycle grappling with an obvious question: whether any single movie could possibly do justice to a career and life this massive.

Colman Domingo, who plays Jackson family patriarch Joe Jackson in the film, appears to have landed firmly on the side of more being better.

In a recent interview, Domingo suggested that a single film could never fully capture Michael Jackson’s story, comparing the challenge to how audiences already accept multiple films exploring the same cultural icons, whether it is Elvis Presley or anyone else whose legacy spans that many chapters. He went as far as saying he thinks there should be 20 movies about Michael Jackson, a claim that speaks to just how expansive Domingo believes Jackson’s story truly is.

That sentiment lines up closely with how ‘Michael’ itself has actually been structured. The film has been split into two separate installments, with the first movie tracing Jackson’s journey from his earliest days performing with the Jackson 5 through his rise as a solo artist, ending around the release of ‘Bad’.

Domingo has previously described the approach as intentional, explaining to Forbes that the goal was to take audiences back to how it all started, focusing on Jackson’s drive as a ten-year-old boy determined to be the best rather than simply revisiting moments people already know from YouTube clips.

Domingo has also spoken about connecting personally with the role of Joe Jackson, telling Forbes that he saw much of his own father in the character, and that there was a real sensitivity he tried to bring to some of the more difficult scenes depicting Joe’s famously heavy-handed parenting style. Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Domingo previously described Michael Jackson as one of the most prolific artists to ever exist, calling him a complicated human being whose story the film aims to tell honestly rather than simply celebrate.

The production has not been without controversy. Paris Jackson, Michael’s daughter, publicly disputed Domingo’s earlier claims that she had offered guidance during the making of the film, accusing the production of controlling the narrative and including inaccuracies, despite Domingo separately telling PEOPLE that both Paris and her brother Prince Jackson had been supportive of the project and warm toward him personally.

Jaafar Jackson, Michael’s real-life nephew, stars as the pop icon himself, with Nia Long playing Katherine Jackson and Miles Teller appearing as Jackson’s longtime lawyer John Branca. Early reviews have praised both Jaafar Jackson’s performance and Domingo’s dramatic weight in the role of Joe, with some critics noting the film’s structure leaves audiences wanting more, setting up genuine anticipation for its already planned second chapter.

Given how divided reactions to music biopics tend to be, and how much ground even a two part structure has to cover, Domingo’s comment about wanting 20 movies reads less like hyperbole and more like a genuine acknowledgment of how much of Jackson’s story is still left to tell.

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