Michael Jackson Biopic Ending Overhauled In Reshoots, Sequel Now In Doubt

Well, this took a turn. The Michael Jackson biopic, simply titled 'Michael,' just went through a major late-game makeover, and the film you thought you were getting is not the film they’re releasing.

Reshoots forced a new ending

According to Puck's Matthew Belloni, the movie wrapped a chunk of additional photography and now stops the story after Jackson’s massive ascent in the 1980s. Translation: the later-era 'King of Pop' years — and the scandals that came with them — are out of this cut.

Here’s the inside baseball part: the original third act reportedly ventured into the early '90s sexual abuse allegations, but there was already an agreement between the Jackson estate and one accuser that the accuser would not be included in the film. That created a problem for the cut they had, hence the reshoots and the reset.

'Additional photography has now wrapped, and the film ends after Jackson’s triumphant rise to fame in the '80s... If it’s a hit, or if all signs are pointing that direction, they greenlight part two, and if not, producers eat all that unused footage.'

What changed, specifically

• The first cut reportedly ran close to four hours. Lionsgate even kicked around the idea of splitting it in two.
• After reshoots, the movie now ends in the 1980s, before the scandal-heavy years.
• Footage covering his later life — including two weeks shot at Neverland Ranch (now owned by Ron Burkle) — is now unusable for part one.
• Producer Graham King still wants to make a second film that would cover that material, plus new scenes with Jaafar Jackson, Colman Domingo, and Miles Teller — but that only happens if audiences show up for part one.

Release shuffled to 2026

The movie was initially set for 2025, but after all this, it’s been pushed to April 24, 2026. Belloni says the first trailer is planned to roll with showings of 'Wicked: For Good' in November, which is a very studio-math way of trying to grab broad eyeballs.

The cast and the team

Jaafar Jackson plays his uncle Michael — yes, Jaafar is Jermaine Jackson’s son — which is the kind of casting that’s either going to be inspired or invite endless discourse. The ensemble includes Colman Domingo, Nia Long, Miles Teller, Laura Harrier, Kat Graham, Larenz Tate, and Derek Luke. Antoine Fuqua is directing from a script by John Logan. Lionsgate is handling the U.S. release; Universal has international.

The gamble

The plan now sounds simple: Part one is the rise. If audiences embrace it next April, they unlock part two, which would dive into the later years. If not, a lot of expensive footage stays on a hard drive forever. It’s a cleaner narrative for the first movie, sure — and a very Hollywood way to punt the hard stuff to a sequel that might not exist.