The upcoming Michael Jackson biopic, Michael!, is reportedly doing the ol’ “Smooth Criminal” lean into a two-part movie. Yep, the King of Pop’s life is apparently too jam-packed for just one flick.
According to Variety, the film—starring Jaafar Jackson, MJ’s very own nephew—has hit the “Billie Jean” beat of “Wait, we might need more time.” Director Antoine Fuqua seems to have realized that cramming the life of one of history’s most influential musicians into one movie is as impossible as catching a moonwalking cat.
What’s the Deal With the Delay?
Well, the film finished shooting in May 2024, but guess what? They’re back at it with reshoots, which is Hollywood speak for “We just remembered something really important, and now everyone has to come back to work.” Spotted on set this week in Los Angeles? Nia Long, playing the role of Katherine Jackson, the woman who birthed the entire Jackson dynasty (and probably deserves her own movie at this point).
The Legal Hiccups (a.k.a. Oops, We Forgot About That Lawsuit)
So, why all the rewrites and re-dos? Well, apparently, the movie hit a legal brick wall faster than a “Thriller” zombie. Turns out, Jordan Handler, a man who accused MJ of misconduct, made a $20 million agreement with Michael’s estate to never be mentioned in any project about the singer. Unfortunately, nobody told the filmmakers, and they accidentally included him in the script. Whoops.
This led to a scramble to rewrite the third act, because you can’t just remove a major plot point without things getting weird. (Imagine watching Titanic but they never mention the iceberg.)
Meanwhile, Over at Neverland Ranch…
Earlier this year, Miles Teller—who’s playing MJ’s lawyer John Branca—revealed he got to film scenes at Neverland Ranch. No word yet on whether the ranch is still as whimsical as it once was, but fingers crossed for at least one llama cameo.
✅ Michael Jackson’s life was too iconic for one movie.
✅ The film is being split into two parts.
✅ Legal drama caused major script changes.
✅ Reshoots are happening, which means actors are back in their glitter socks.
At this point, the only thing missing is a surprise post-credits scene featuring Macaulay Culkin explaining what really happened at Neverland.
