The Michael Jackson biopic needed $15M worth of reshoots after child abuse allegations were removed

Antoine Fuqua’s Michael is set to debut in theaters later this month, but the biopic chronicling the rise of Michael Jackson as the King of Pop won’t be the one that was originally shot. A good portion of the film has been left on the cutting room floor, all scenes which revolved around the child molestation allegations and court cases which dominated the latter half of Jackson’s life. To get Michael back into shape, the cast reassembled for over three weeks of reshoots, which cost the production another $10 million to $15 million.

Why Were Reshoots Needed for Michael?

Love him or hate him, it’s hard to tell the story of Michael Jackson without getting into the allegations, and Fuqua’s film originally did just that. In fact, a report from Variety states that the movie was supposed to open with a scene in which police arrive at Neverland Ranch to search for evidence after Jackson was accused in 1993.

The film would have explored the impact of these allegations on Jackson’s life, and much of the third act dealt with the scandal. So, why was that scrapped? It turns out that the Jackson estate realized there was a clause in a settlement with Jordan Chandler, a 13-year-old boy who Jackson was accused of sexually abusing, which “barred the depiction or mention of him in any movie.“

You’d think this was something that would have come up before the film was shot, but there you go. The Jackson estate acknowledged the error and footed the bill for the reshoots.

So, instead of dealing with the scandal, Michael will likely conclude with the global pop star at the top of his game. According to a source who has seen the film, it “leans heavily into Jackson’s music, featuring one showstopper after another, and away from his sometimes bizarre personal behavior.” The conflict in the film will come from Jackson’s relationship with his father, Joe Jackson (Colman Domingo). It will also touch upon the serious scalp burns he received during the filming of a Pepsi commercial in 1984, and the painkillers he began to abuse.

Sequels?

With so much material cut from the film, producer Graham King has expressed his hope that a sequel could be made. Of course, that all depends on how well Michael performs. Early tracking suggests the film could open at more than $55 million at the domestic box office, and the studio hopes it could wind up with over $700 million worldwide.

Michael will open in theaters on April 24.

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