The long-awaited Michael biopic about Michael Jackson has reportedly gone through major changes following a round of reshoots. Originally set for a 2025 release, the film was pushed to 2026 after significant adjustments were made to its story and structure.
According to Puck’s Matthew Belloni, the movie’s third act originally explored Jackson’s sexual abuse allegations from the early 1990s. However, due to an existing agreement between the Jackson estate and one of the accusers, those elements were removed from the film. The new version now ends after Jackson’s rise to fame in the 1980s, focusing on his peak as the King of Pop rather than his later controversies. Belloni reported that scenes filmed at Neverland Ranch are now “unusable.”
Because the first cut of Michael reportedly ran close to four hours, Lionsgate has considered splitting it into two films. Producer Graham King hopes to create a follow-up that would explore Jackson’s later years and include more footage featuring Jaafar Jackson, Colman Domingo, and Miles Teller. However, the decision will depend on how well the first movie performs when it releases next April.
“Additional photography has now wrapped, and the film ends after Jackson’s triumphant rise to fame in the ’80s,” Belloni wrote. “So all the footage of MJ’s later King of Pop (and scandal-plagued) years, including two weeks of shooting at Neverland Ranch, now owned by Ron Burkle, is unusable.
Producer Graham King’s plan is to make a second Michael movie that would include all that stuff, plus a significant amount of additional, yet-to-be-shot footage with stars Jaafar Jackson, Colman Domingo, and Miles Teller, but that will now depend on — yes, you guessed it — how the film is received by audiences next April,” Belloni added. “If it’s a hit, or if all signs are pointing that direction, they greenlight part two, and if not, producers eat all that unused footage.”
Jaafar Jackson, Michael’s real-life nephew and son of Jermaine Jackson, stars as the pop icon. The cast also includes Colman Domingo, Nia Long, Miles Teller, Laura Harrier, Kat Graham, Larenz Tate, and Derek Luke. Directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by John Logan, Michael will be released by Lionsgate in the U.S., with Universal handling international distribution. A trailer is expected to debut with Wicked: For Good in November.
