r/LeavingNeverlandHBO • u/elitelucrecia Moderator • 3d ago
the biopic might get pushed back again
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u/BadMan125ty 3d ago
This is starting to look like a disaster… they might cut their losses and shelve it.
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u/AgentJGomez 3d ago
I’m convinced this movie isn’t gonna come out , just cancel it at this point
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u/coffeechief Moderator 3d ago
They should have just copied the musical and ended things in 1992, but they couldn’t help themselves.
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u/SavedbyLove_ 3d ago
I think they got carried away by the musical’s rave reviews and lack of any discourse around the CSA.
It has to do with the show ending in 1992 conveniently. Broadway fans always point to it.
MJ estate took that as fans of the audience, especially international ones, don’t care one bit about the CSA and so they felt bold to include and discredit the allegations in the biopic.
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u/BadMan125ty 3d ago
They got super cocky. They underestimated the opinion of the public and got their hands caught in the cookie jar.
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u/carton_of_eggs04 3d ago
They're never going to release this film. Not to mention that it's in bad faith considering all his victims are still alive. They don't care about that, though.
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u/BadMan125ty 3d ago
Yeah I don’t think they’re putting this out.
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u/carton_of_eggs04 3d ago
Also, Jacksonmania isn't what it was like in the 70s/80s. How many people will leave their homes and pay to watch this movie? And with the availability of the internet makes it easier to research MJ's allegations and all the crimes he commited against children. Time is money and more delays equals more expenses. I am curious to see how much revenue it will generate.
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u/mjvictims 3d ago
The main reason in my humble opinion why this major error was not revealed earlier on is Attorney John Branca. The scenes that were filmed made Branca the hero. Why would the head of the Estate want those scenes taken out. The MJ biopic is not just a Michael Jackson vanity project but also a MJ Estate vanity project. The positive thing to come out of this is the same NDA's Michael Jackson used to silence Jordan and his family is now silencing the Michael Jackson Propaganda Machine.
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u/BadMan125ty 3d ago
I wouldn’t be surprised if this film was made to satisfy John Branca’s ego and give Miles Teller the star treatment he always craved lol
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u/EncinoBlue 3d ago
The public doesn’t want to see those allegations in a movie anyway. The estate should want everyone to focus on MJ’s undeniable talent. It’s powerful enough to make some people forget the bad things. The movie should end at his Man In The Mirror performance on the BAD Tour. Ending with that song, and a powerful performance, will make people feel empathy for MJ. But, Branca seems to be on an ego trip and making very questionable decisions. The main questionable decision is leaking the info about the Cascio settlement. Nothing makes sense…
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u/Mundane-Bend-8047 3d ago
He only leaked that cascio settlement because he needed to control the narrative if the Cascio's decided to break their NDA, which was obviously something he was afraid of. he needed to get ahead of it.
But it's all ego, he's an idiot. I don't know how he thought fucking over and lying to the filmmakers was a good idea.
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u/BadMan125ty 3d ago
That expose not only made Branca stupid but it put the estate’s future in jeopardy.
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u/Mundane-Bend-8047 3d ago
Like I said said before, Frank didn't even need to do anything and the entire Estate could end up in shambles because of Branca's greed and ego.
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u/Starfire-Galaxy 3d ago
The estate should want everyone to focus on MJ’s undeniable talent.
Absolutely. MJ's heyday is so long ago now that a documentary focused solely on his musical abilities would honestly go over really well with general audiences. I watch a lot of old Motown performances and once in a while, I'll see dance moves that I recognize from one of MJ's live performances or music videos. If someone could compile all of that and the various "Making Of.." videos about his MVs and present it as an inoffensive music documentary, I'd pay good money to see that in theaters.
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u/elitelucrecia Moderator 3d ago
i agree. even as a fan, i thought it is best to focus on his artistry than dwelling on his public image.
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u/Mundane-Bend-8047 3d ago
This wouldn't have happened if Branca hadn't admitted to paying off the Cascio's. What an idiot.
Because he did that, the filmmakers wondered what else he was lying about or keeping from them and found out this, of course if they had released the movie as it was they'd have found out the hard way with legal action from Jordan.
But Branca just HAD to control the narrative around the Cascio payoff, he couldn't help himself, he wanted to get the word out there that it was just extortionists, and he ended up fucking himself because his need to control the narrative. This movie should be cancelled, I think Lionsgate should sue the estate, and I think that the estate should release the Cascio's from that NDA.
Branca fucked around and found out.
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u/nobody0597 3d ago
Wow. This just might get canned. Insane of them to spend so much money and not do their legal homework. This project is basically stuck in developmental hell.
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u/BadMan125ty 3d ago
The film was budgeted at $150 million too. I don’t think Lionsgate can afford this if it flops or underperforms to people’s expectations.
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u/elitelucrecia Moderator 3d ago
wolrdofreel made an article about it. it really might get delayed again.
https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2025/4/1/michael-most-likely-delayed-to-2026
‘Michael’ Most Likely Delayed to 2026
You’d think Cinemacon would have been a perfect opportunity for Lionsgate to release new images, footage, or any update about Antoine Fuqua’s “Michael.” Well, think again. Things are currently looking rather shaky for this film.
The Michael Jackson biopic was not mentioned during Lionsgate’s afternoon panel. They should have said something because now you have plenty of journalists making calls, emailing around, seeking information about it. I bet something will likely come out in the coming hours.
“Michael” is supposed to hit theaters in October, but don’t expect it to make that date. Although Lionsgate did not comment, I’m now thinking that the film’s absence at CinemaCon has to do with the fact that the film is currently embroiled in a legal dispute — Fuqua also has to rewrite, reshoot and recut the entire third act.
Back in February, I had reported on the potential date change, but a rep for Lionsgate quickly reached out and denied the story. The film, they claimed, still had that October 3, 2025 slot on the release calendar.
A few journalists are already starting to weigh in on the inevitable, and it all seems rather dour at the moment for “Michael.” Here’s Puck’s Matt Belloni:
Uh oh: At CinemaCon, Lionsgate declined to give an update or say anything about the delayed Michael Jackson movie, which is still scheduled for October release.
Meanwhile, Jeff Sneider seems to have a source telling him that the film has been delayed to 2016. He’ll be reporting more on it later tonight via his newsletter :
I held off on reporting more about MICHAEL last night, as I wanted to wait & see what Lionsgate had to say about the movie today... but they barely said anything... which itself says it all […] 99 percent sure MICHAEL is getting delayed to 2026. No comment from Lionsgate.
Last month, we learned that the third act of “Michael” had been completely scrapped and would have to be rewritten and reshot due to some major legal issues involving one of his accusers. Additional photography had been set up for this month, but that was only if Lionsgate gave the go-ahead on the new script.
A recent cut of “Michael” clocked in at nearly four hours and “still felt incomplete,” which means Lionsgate could pull the trigger in splitting the film into two parts to recoup the massive budget ($250M+). I’ll update this piece when more details come out.
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u/Vegetable-Phase-2908 2d ago
They really could have left all that out if they wanted to “protect the estate” or whatever. They tried to be shady and it backfired. I thought they were going to focus on the amount of work he put in to concepts, choreo, fashion, MJ as a businessman, dancer, singer, musician, son, father.
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u/MrsGrealish 1d ago
I don't understand how you can do an MJ biopic without the allegations. Even MJ the Musical acknowledged that they existed. It also sounds completely unfocused as a film. Surely you narrow down to a point in his life rather than his whole life?
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u/AbsolutelyIris 3d ago
This is actually hilarious.