Michael, the biopic of pop superstar Michael Jackson, is running successfully in theatres. Despite negative reviews, the film is expected to open to $65 million in North America, having already earned over $30 million overseas. The audience is loving the musical, but the critics are not. Much of the criticism of the film has been around how sanitised it is, particularly with the sexual abuse allegations against MJ completely absent from the film. Insiders have now revealed that the makers originally planned to include the scandal in the film, but were stopped after production due to a legal loophole.
The criticism against Michael
Starring Michael’s nephew Jaafar Jackson in the lead role, Michael chronicles the pop star’s life from the 1960s to 80s, charting his rise as a star as part of the Jackson 5 to solo stardom after Off The Wall and Thriller, his breakthrough albums in the late 70s and early 80s. While the film shows his troubled relationship with his father as well as the infamous accident he suffered on an ad shoot set in 83, there is no reference to the sexual abuse allegations.
Starting in the early 90s, Michael Jackson faced numerous allegations of sexual abuse by minors, many of whom lived with the singer at his Neverland Ranch. Critics have pointed out that this amounts to sanitisation of the singer’s image, particularly since the biopic is sanctioned and bankrolled by his estate and family.
The error from Michael Jackson estate
A report by the Associated Press states that director Antoine Fuqua and producer Graham King wanted to include the allegations in the film, but the plan was halted due to an error by the Jackson estate. An old agreement the estate made with a plaintiff prevented those claims from being used for commercial purposes. This was discovered after the portion had been shot, leading to a ton of reshoots.
After that discovery, Lionsgate had to reshoot much of the film at a cost of millions more dollars, according to people familiar with the matter. That ballooned the budget to roughly $200 million.
Is there a sequel?
Michael ends with a recreation of the singer’s iconic performance of Bad during the 1988 tour. A text reads: “His story continues”. This has led to speculation that a sequel is in the works. The makers have now confirmed that there is more in the offing, and a sequel will target a 2027 release if Michael performs well at the box office. Adam Fogelson, the chairman of Lionsgate’s film studio, said, “The filmmakers want to make it clear that there is much more story to tell and the audience is going to guide us on their appetite for it. A lot of his great music catalogue is not represented in this film, as well as a whole host of other moments and events of consequence.”
The sequel is likely to focus on the scandals and cases the pop star faced in the 90s, as well as his dependency on pain medication following his accident. How the film will deal with it without including the sexual abuse cases will be tricky. Michael Jackson died in June 2009 at the age of 50 from an overdose of the anaesthetic drug propofol, weeks before he was due to stage a series of concerts.
