The Movie

Director Antoine Fuqua confirmed that roughly a third of what he shot was cut, and the third act was rewritten and reshot. Per reporting first broken by Puck and corroborated by Variety, the estate's attorneys discovered — after filming wrapped — that the 1993/1994 civil settlement with accuser Jordan Chandler contained a clause barring any party from depicting or mentioning him, or the allegations, in a motion picture. The original script had used the case as its third-act centerpiece. The 22 days of reshoots (June 2025) were funded by the estate at a reported $10–15M (some outlets said far more), and the release slipped from April 2025 to October 2025 to April 2026 — driven mainly by the reshoots and post-production (the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike had earlier delayed filming).

Actress Kat Graham, cast as Diana Ross, confirmed her scenes were removed: “certain legal considerations affected a few scenes, including ones I filmed… these moments are no longer part of the final cut.” She did not specify the reason; whether it was tied to the Chandler-clause overhaul or a separate rights issue is reported as unconfirmed.

The film arrived with the Robson/Safechuck civil case against Jackson's companies still unresolved (reported as “in flux,” potentially 2027). The accusers' attorney John Carpenter alleged the estate wanted the flattering biopic out first: “They want the Michael Jackson biopic to come out before the trial.” Timed to the release, James Safechuck issued a video message to survivors: “it can be triggering for survivors who have their own Michael in their lives… know that you're not alone.” Leaving Neverland director Dan Reed warned young viewers would meet a Jackson stripped of any mention of the allegations.

Because the estate co-financed and produced the film — while simultaneously defending the Robson/Safechuck suit — critics argued the rights-holder controlled how (and whether) the allegations appeared. The film addresses neither the 1993 case nor the 2005 trial. IGN wrote it “makes the King of Pop boring”; IndieWire called it “sanitized, dull.” In defense, Fuqua told The New Yorker he is not convinced Jackson did what he was accused of, citing the recorded threats of Chandler's father: “sometimes people do some nasty things for some money.”

The genuinely documented family conflict is in probate court. In a November 2025 filing, Michael's daughter Paris Jackson alleged she is “increasingly concerned the estate has become the vehicle for John Branca to enrich and aggrandize himself,” and questioned the costly casting of Miles Teller to play Branca. Her court filings tie Branca's failure to spot the 1993 settlement clause to the expensive reshoots. The estate called the objections “false and frivolous.” Separately, Paris publicly called the script “sugar-coated” with “a lot of inaccuracy… full-blown lies.”

Casting Michael's own nephew, with no prior acting experience, drew nepotism criticism — but it was largely defused by the reviews of his performance, which were the film's most consistent praise.