Michael, the Michael Jackson biopic scheduled to hit theaters in just a few weeks, reportedly required a series of expensive reshoots to remove all scenes referencing allegations of child abuse against the King of Pop—but not for the reason you might think.
The film, which stars the late singer’s nephew Jaafar Jackson in the titular role, was originally supposed to start in the middle of the biggest scandal of Jackson’s career. According to sources who spoke to Variety, the movie was going to begin in 1993, when Jackson was first accused of child molestation.
The outlet reports the film was originally “supposed to explore the impact of the allegations on Jackson’s life, with much of its third act devoted to the scandal.”
However, sources close to production told Variety that any mention of the allegations was cut out of the final film due to a previously unnoticed legal roadblock.
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Attorneys for the Jackson estate, which co-produced the movie, apparently discovered late into production that a settlement clause from one of the pop icon’s accusers, Jordan Chandler, firmly prohibited the depiction or mention of Chandler in any film.
In light of the revelation, the filmmakers had no choice but to scrap a number of initial scenes from the movie. One filmed sequence that was ultimately “left on the cutting room floor” was the moment when investigators arrive at Neverland Ranch to search for evidence following the shocking allegations.
Last summer, production was forced to shoot a new ending for the film, as well as an entirely new third act and other additional sequences to flesh out various previously completed scenes. According to Variety’s insiders, the costly reshoots, which reportedly cost up to $15 million, were covered by the Jackson estate due to the estate’s earlier oversight.
In 1993, Evan Chandler filed a lawsuit against Jackson alleging the singer had sexually abused his then-13-year-old son, Jordan, after the boy told a psychiatrist that Jackson had molested him. An initial investigation into the molestation claim found no evidence against Jackson.
Jackson and the Chandlers reached a financial settlement in early 1994, with Jackon’s legal team emphasizing the settlement was not an admission of guilt.
Originally scheduled for release in April 2025 and then October 2025, Michael will be released in theaters on April 24.
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