The upcoming biopic about Michael Jackson reportedly needs to be reshot after a past legal agreement from an accuser was recently discovered.
According to a report from Puck on Thursday, January 23, the film initially included the lawsuit against the late musician — who died in 2009 at age 50 — filed by Evan Chandler. Chandler’s son Jordan, who was 13 at the time, accused Jackson of sexual abuse in 1993. (Jackson’s estate repeatedly denied abuse accusations made against the late star.)
Jackson and the Chandlers settled the lawsuit out of court for a reported $23 million. According to the outlet, part of the settlement includes a clause that the Chandlers can never be mentioned or dramatized in a film.
Puck reported that the biopic’s script included Jackson’s legal battle against the Chandlers as one of the plot points before it was discovered that they could not be mentioned. Now the film allegedly has to reshoot some of those scenes due to the legal issue.
Everything We Know About the Upcoming Michael Jackson Biopic
TMZ reported on Friday, January 24, that the biopic, titled Michael, will complete reshoots in March. Additional details about the reshoots were not shared.
The film has been in the works since 2019, when Graham King secured the rights to tell Jackson’s story. In 2023, Jackson’s nephew, Jaafar Jackson, was cast to portray his late uncle. The film also stars Colman Domingo and Nia Long as the pop icon’s parents, Joe and Katherine Jackson. Miles Teller, Laura Harrier, Kat Graham and more are also in the star-studded cast.
In March 2024, King spoke out about how he wanted to take an “unbiased” approach to the biopic.
“Michael’s life was complicated,” King said in a statement to Variety. “As a filmmaker, I look to humanize but not sanitize and present the most compelling, unbiased story I can capture in a single feature film and let the audience decide how they feel after watching it. Michael clearly remains an impactful, culturally relevant artist with a life and legacy worth exploring.”
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Michael will follow the life of the entertainer from his time with the Jackson 5 up to his tragic death. He died after suffering cardiac arrest at his home in Los Angeles, and it was later determined that the cause was an overdose of propofol administered by his doctor, Conrad Murray. In 2011, Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison.
The movie wrapped up filming in May 2024. Michael was initially scheduled to be released in April of this year. However, the premiere date has been pushed back to October.
