The film Michael, about singer Michael Jackson, will be released later this month; but not without controversy.
Various outlets, some citing a 2025 Puck story, report that the biopic apparently spent $21 million on “rewrites and reshoots” after they discovered revoked consent to reference the child sexual abuse allegations against him.
Mediaweek reached out to Universal for comment but has not yet received a response.
In 2025, Puck said: “The late pop star’s estate overlooked a key contract with a child accuser that has now rendered the already shot third act of the film unusable.
“Producers are scrambling to rewrite, reshoot, and somehow salvage MJ’s big-budget musical biopic.”
This week, Pitchfork further explained, “The film, Michael, originally concluded with the singer’s 1993 scandal, when a family accused Jackson of sexually abusing their 13-year-old son.
“That ending was cut when lawyers for the Jackson Estate found a clause in a settlement with the accuser, which prohibits the dramatization of him in a movie.
The entire third act was then redone, but not at an expense to production; Jackson’s estate covered the costs as the error was caused by their oversight.
Jackson’s family has always denied all allegations of child sexual abuse against the singer, which were examined in the 2019 documentary, Leaving Neverland.
Michael‘s US release had to be moved from April 18, 2025 to April 24, 2026.
Michael, the Michael Jackson biopic
The movie now concludes at the height of Jackson’s career, capturing the singer as he readies himself for the stage during his Bad tour.
The 1987 solo tour was Jackson’s first departure from the Jackson 5, and became one of the highest-grossing and most popular tours ever.
The film’s main ‘drama’ will now be Jackson’s (contentious relationship with his father, Joe Jackson (Coleman Domingo).
Jackson’s own nephew, Jaafar Jackson, the 29-year-old son of brother Jermaine Jackson, plays the singer.
Michael screens in Australian cinemas on April 24.