Legal Hurdle Forces Michael Jackson Biopic to Reshoot Controversial Third Act According to Latest Reports

‘Michael’ is a biographical musical drama about the life of singer, songwriter, and dancer Michael Jackson. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, it stars Jaafar Jackson, Michael’s nephew, in his film debut, along with other actors like Colman Domingo and Nia Long.

The movie will cover Michael’s life from his childhood with the Jackson 5 to his final weeks before his death in 2009 and is set to be released on October 3, 2025, in the U.S. and internationally.

Originally set for April 18, 2025, the movie has been delayed for six months, and the latest reports claim to know why.

The third act of the Michael Jackson biopic has been scrapped and will need to be reshot due to a legal problem according to Puck News. This part of the film focused on the 1993 investigation into Jordan Chandler’s accusation that Michael Jackson sexually abused him when Chandler was just 13 years old.

However, Michael Jackson’s estate made a mistake—they had signed an agreement years ago with the Chandler family, promising that they would never be included in any film about Jackson. This contract made it impossible to include the story about the 1993 investigation in the movie, as it violated the agreement with the Chandler family.

As a result, the third act, which centered around these events, had to be completely removed and will now be rewritten and reshot to avoid legal issues.

In 1993, Michael Jackson was accused of sexually abusing then 13-year-old Jordan Chandler. Jordan’s father, Evan Chandler, initially supported the friendship between Jackson and his son but later grew suspicious and demanded money from Jackson to avoid a criminal case.

When Jordan told a psychiatrist about the abuse, the police launched an investigation, but no physical evidence was found.

Jackson canceled part of his world tour due to the scandal, and his sister La Toya publicly called him a pedophile, though she later retracted the statement. The Chandlers filed a lawsuit against Jackson, which was settled financially in 1994 without Jackson admitting guilt.

The case ended after the Chandlers stopped cooperating, leaving the investigation incomplete. The accusations severely hurt Jackson’s reputation, career, and health. In 2005, he faced more abuse allegations but was acquitted in court.

The screenplay for the upcoming movie includes the accusations of child sexual abuse against Jackson. The writer, King, said he aimed to “humanize but not sanitize” the story and present it in a compelling and unbiased way.

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