What Happened to the 'Free Willy' Killer Whale, Keiko? One Podcast Investigates the Truth

The behavior and social interactions between orcas and humans, as well as the unfortunate plight of orcas due to the ongoing climate crisis, have thrust the animal into the spotlight in recent years for the first time since Free Willy shone a spotlight on the animal actor Keiko, a killer whale, in 1993.

While the public collectively became awe-inspired by Keiko that year and the movie continues to be a hit with successive generations, not many people knew of the whereabouts of Keiko — until now.

A podcast called The Good Whale, which launches Nov. 14, seeks to explore the fascinating, heartbreaking, and captivating story of a captive killer whale named Keiko who captured the collective attention of the public after appearing in Free Willy.

Here's what we know about the podcast, the fate of Keiko, and other important details.

After years of performing for humans in captivity, Keiko was reintroduced to the wild in a move that many criticized as unsuccessful, per World Animal Protection.

It is unclear if Keiko ever found the pod from which he was stolen in Iceland in 1979. However, data shows he eventually swam for almost 1,000 miles on his own across the Atlantic Ocean in 2002 for nearly 60 days without human support, per the International Marine Mammal Project.

Let's start from the beginning: In 1979, Keiko was taken from his pod as a 2-year-old orca. Though he eventually returned to Iceland in 1998 for a years-long effort to break bonds with humans and become wild once more, his journey is one of heartbreak and mishandling.

The podcast The Good Whale tells of these trials and tribulations along the way of the fight that eventually led to reintroducing Keiko into the wild, per PEOPLE.

According to World Animal Protection, Keiko's journey included sales and stops along the way at public shows and aquariums in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.

Inspired by the Free Willy movie in 1993, public awareness of the harms done to captive orcas in places like Seaworld increased, and a movement began to actually free Keiko.

Attempts were made to reintegrate Keiko into the wild, which included weight gain and being taught to find food on his own; being intentionally ignored by trainers and scientists in an attempt to break his bonds with humans; and, ultimately, a litany of health problems.

At the time of his rescue, Keiko weighed approximately 7,700 pounds, which is considered extremely underweight due to years in captivity, per World Animal Protection. He eventually grew to almost 12,000 pounds and died in 2003.

At one point in Keiko's journey, Michael Jackson, who sang the theme for the movie Free Willy, was interested in paying for Keiko's release. Per a Jan. 1995 article in the Los Angeles Times, the late singer would have paid to move Keiko to a tank at his famous Neverland Ranch.

However, according to an article in Entertainment Weekly a month later in February 1995, Jackson no longer wanted to buy Keiko. Ultimately, Jackson never acquired Keiko.