The film stars Jackson\u2019s own nephew Jaafar in the title role<\/a>, but don\u2019t let that fool you: this has been far from a family affair. <\/p>\n While some of the Jacksons, and the co-executors of his multimillion-dollar estate, have been on board \u2013 and calling the shots \u2013 since pre-production began in 2019, others haven\u2019t been shy about voicing their criticism. <\/p>\n And this hasn\u2019t been the only behind-the-scenes drama to hit the production… <\/p>\n November 2019: Michael film announced <\/p>\n After the box office success of his Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, producer Graham King secured the rights to produce a film about Jackson in 2019 and quickly tapped Oscar-nominated writer John Logan (Gladiators, Skyfall) to write the script. <\/p>\n News of the deal was first revealed by Deadline, who reported at the time that the film was \u201cnot intended to be a sanitised rendering of Jackson\u2019s life\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cThe complexity of Jackson\u2019s life is well known and will not be ignored in a film that will span his entire life,\u201d the publication declared. That plan would, however, change in the coming years\u2026 <\/p>\n February 2023: Michael finds its MJ<\/p>\n King didn\u2019t have to look too far to find an actor who could play the King of Pop. Michael\u2019s nephew Jafaar was announced in the role in February 2023, with Colman Domingo and Nia Long confirmed to star as Michael\u2019s parents, and Miles Teller playing one of the film\u2019s producers: Jackson\u2019s lawyer and co-executor of his estate, John Branca, who plays a key role in the movie.<\/p>\n By this point, more details about who would be working on the other side of the lens had emerged too, with Antoine Fuqua \u2013 best known for the Equalizer trilogy \u2013 on directing duties while John McClain, co-executor of Jackson\u2019s estate, was confirmed to join Branca and King as a producer.<\/p>\n Having been delayed due to the Sag-Aftra strike, filming began in January 2024.<\/p>\n April 2024: First look at Michael revealed <\/p>\n Lionsgate proudly debuted a first look at the biopic at its CinemaCon presentation in April 2024 \u2013 when the film was still due to feature the first child abuse allegations against the star.<\/p>\n Jackson faced serious accusations at multiple points during his career, which culminated in a 2005 criminal trial focused on allegations from 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo, who claimed the singer molested him at the infamous Neverland Ranch. With the eyes of the world on the court in California, Jackson \u2013 who always maintained his innocence in the face of all allegations \u2013 was acquitted.<\/p>\n The first accusation came more than a decade before the trial, when another 13-year-old, Jordan Chandler, accused Jackson of sexual abuse in 1993. While the biopic was never due to address the trial, the initial plan was for the early 1990s to feature.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll get into all of it,\u201d King had promised. \u201cBehind the unrelenting scrutiny and the accusations and the spotlight, he was simply a man \u2013 a man with a very complicated life.\u201d<\/p>\n The teaser showed Jafaar pulling off a seemingly impressive portrayal of his uncle, with snippets of hits including \u201cMan in the Mirror\u201d and \u201cThriller\u201d. Little did he know, he\u2019d be getting back into character again pretty soon\u2026<\/p>\n June 2025: $15m reshoots needed <\/p>\n It was at this point that the wheels really started to come off. According to a report in the New York Times<\/a>, the original Michael script did, as King had promised, address the child abuse accusations against him. But the team later realised that for legal reasons this version could never make it to the big screen.<\/p>\n Far from offering scrutiny of the star, or even a somewhat balanced view, the NYT said the first script \u201cwent to great lengths to exonerate\u201d its subject, \u201cportraying him as the victim of a shakedown by the family of the first child to come forward, Jordan Chandler\u201d.<\/p>\n This violated the terms of a multimillion-dollar settlement brokered between Jackson and Chandler in 1994, which decreed that neither side was allowed to make public statements about what occurred. A spokesperson for production house Lionsgate confirmed that reams of footage had to be scrapped because it violated the agreement.<\/p>\n The cast and crew then hastily reassembled for a 22-day reshoot that reportedly cost $15m<\/a> \u2013 as writers scrambled to figure out a new ending for the movie, which would no longer touch Chandler\u2019s 1993 allegation.<\/p>\n Amid the behind-the-scenes chaos, Michael\u2019s planned 2025 release date was bumped by a year, to April 2026.<\/p>\n September 2025: Paris Jackson speaks out <\/p>\n If producers thought the reshoots would be their biggest worry, then they were swiftly dealt a blow just three months later when Michael\u2019s daughter addressed the project. <\/p>\n Sing Sing actor Colman Domingo, who plays Jackson patriarch Joe, had said Paris and her brother Prince were \u201cvery much in support of our film\u201d. While that is likely true of the latter, who served as an executive producer, Paris wasted no time in clarifying where she stands. <\/p>\n In a post on social media, she wrote: \u201cDon\u2019t be telling people I was \u2018helpful\u2019 on the set of a movie I had zero per cent involvement in lol that is so weird. <\/p>\n \u201cI read one of the first drafts of the script and gave my notes about what was dishonest \/ didn\u2019t sit right with me, and when they didn\u2019t address it, I moved on with my life. Not my monkeys, not my circus. God bless and God speed.\u201d<\/p>\n In follow-up posts, the 28-year-old said she \u201cbutted out\u201d and left the film alone when she was told the production would not address her notes. <\/p>\n \u201cA big reason why I haven\u2019t said anything up until this point is because I know a lot of you guys are gonna be happy with it,\u201d she wrote. \u201cA big section of the film panders to a very specific section of my dad\u2019s fandom that still lives in the fantasy, and they\u2019re gonna be happy with it.<\/p>\n \u201cThe narrative is being controlled and there\u2019s a lot of inaccuracy and there\u2019s a lot of just full-blown lies. At the end of the day, that doesn\u2019t really fly with me. Go enjoy it. Do whatever. Leave me out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n The behind-the-scenes drama certainly didn\u2019t do anything to quell interest in the film, though. When the first teaser trailer gave us a proper look at Jafaar as his uncle in November last year, it racked up more than 100 million views in the first 24 hours. <\/p>\n March 2026: Screening sparks family row <\/p>\n Paris is the only Jackson family member to publicly speak out against the film, but reportedly others have privately expressed dissatisfaction with it.<\/p>\n Just weeks before Michael\u2019s release, the wider Jackson family assembled for a private screening \u2013 where Janet, undeniably the second most famous of the clan \u2013 is said to have been \u201cvery critical\u201d of the finished product, according to TMZ<\/a>. <\/p>\n![\"Michael](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-72572480-(2).jpg\")
Michael Jackson in 2006 (Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Director](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2272333412.jpg\")
Director Antoine Fuqua and lead star Jaafar Jackson (Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Jackson](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-72326999.jpg\")
Jackson performing in 1993 (Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Paris](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2266057264.jpg\")
Paris Jackson was not involved in the film (Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Janet](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2241869717.jpg\")
Janet is not on board with the project (Getty)<\/p>\n