The Michael Jackson biopic has scrapped its entire third act and replaced it with a new ending that fully sanitizes the child sex abuse accusations against the King of Pop.
The film was forced to undergo reshoots last January, after the inclusion of a real-life person, Jordan Chandler, reportedly violated a legal protection clause in a settlement Chandler’s family made with the star, which promised Jordan would never be dramatized or mentioned in any retellings. Chandler’s inclusion was scrapped to address the clause, but many more changes followed.
One source who saw the finished film told Variety that it now concludes with a final scene that shows Jackson at the height of his career, preparing to take the stage for a performance on his “Bad” tour.
Previously, the entire original third act was reportedly devoted to Jackson’s perspective during the child sex abuse scandal. The pop star faced public allegations by five main accusers, with others arising from investigations and lawsuits.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Lionsgate for comment.
Two of those accusers, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who alleged sex abuse by Jackson at the ages of seven and 10, respectively, were the subjects of the damning 2019 HBO documentary series, Leaving Neverland.
Variety reports that Michael would have originally addressed the allegations from the film’s outset, opening with Jackson’s character staring solemnly into a mirror as police lights flash behind him.
The site’s source says the film will no longer mention any allegations against him. The dramatic tension will instead center on Jackson’s relationship with his father, Joe Jackson, played by the Oscar-nominated actor Colman Domingo.
Robson and Safechuck, who are in a legal battle with the estate, had hoped to have their trial before the film’s release, their lawyer told the Daily Beast in 2024. The attorney added that he expected the film to be nothing more than “propaganda.”
Some family members are also unhappy with the film. Jackson’s daughter Paris, 28, said what she’d seen of the film amounted to “full-blown lies.”
“The thing about these biopics is, it’s Hollywood. It’s fantasyland. It’s not real. But it’s sold to you as real,” she posted on Instagram. “The narrative is being controlled. And there’s a lot of inaccuracy, and there’s a lot of just full-blown lies. At the end of the day, that doesn’t really fly with me.”
TMZ also claimed that Michael’s pop star sister Janet Jackson was not happy with the film after it was screened for the Jackson family. Neither Janet nor any of Jackson’s three children were involved in the film’s production. Variety reports that a potential sequel may hinge on whether the film grosses at least $700 million globally.
Jackson died in 2009 from an overdose of propofol and other prescription drugs.
Fan reception was mostly positive online in November, when the film’s first teaser was released. The biggest gripe at the time was the prosthetic nose used to portray the singer.
Jackson is played by his nephew Jaafar, 29, in the film, which also stars Domingo, Nia Long, Kat Graham, Miles Teller, and more. It is slated for U.S. release on April 24.
