The Michael Jackson biopic that's been in the works for the past couple years, unsurprisingly, has hit another road block. Michael, starring Jackson's nephew Jaafar Jackson, which was originally set to be released in April and then pushed back to this upcoming October, is delayed yet again with no new release date. According to Deadline, the controversial biopic is being pushed back to Lionsgate Studio's fiscal 2027 year, which means that it's at least a year or more away from release.
In another twist, Lionsgate film chief Adam Fogelson revealed that there's a possibility of the biopic becoming two films. They've already acquired over 3 and half hours of scenes.
Deadline also reported that they'll “be ready to answer more specifically in the coming weeks,” Fogelson said. “At the end, when you look at the music library, when you look at what Michael Jackson was able to deliver in terms of music and contributions to art, whether or not that can be fit into one movie comfortably or not is a question that we are absolutely asking." That's a funny way of putting it considering all the scrutiny this film has been under.
The film has faced challenges with how to portray Jackson's story following a legal agreement the pop star made, decades ago, with the family of a boy who accused him of sexual assault. Matt Belloni reported that Michael is legally barred from scenes portraying the Chandlers in a dramatic story. Belloni reported that the script maintained Jackson's innocence and depicted him as a "naïve victim of the money-grubbing Chandler.”
At this point, Michael is so loaded with controversy it could be made into a movie about the implications of making such film. Leaving Neverland director Dan Reed wrote in an opinion piece for the Guardian that Michael “will glorify a man who raped children.”
