Washington DC, Feb. 24 -- Filmmaker Antoine Fuqua described making the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic as a "spiritual journey," highlighting the challenge and inspiration of portraying the legendary pop icon, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Set to hit theaters and IMAX on April 24, the Lionsgate film stars Jackson's nephew Jaafar Jackson in the lead role, marking his feature debut. Lionsgate will distribute the movie domestically, with Universal handling the global release.

"It's a very spiritual journey, making a movie about someone like Michael," Fuqua said in a video released by Lionsgate on Monday. "Michael was a big influence on my career as a director, seeing how he refused to get put in a box as just a Black artist only," a...