Here are Deadline and Variety confirming that the latest cut of “Michael” clocks in at nearly four hours and Lionsgate might pull the trigger in splitting the film into two parts. The goal is to turn it into an “event” movie akin to ‘Wicked.’
The reports further state that “Michael” will “likely not” make its October 3 release date. Although a December release concurrent with awards season isn't out of the question either, there's too much uncertainty surrounding this film at the moment, and that “all decisions seem up in the air” until a firm plan is in place.
Red flags started to show up yesterday at CinemaCon after Lionsgate didn’t mention “Michael,” an unusual move for such a massive movie that's due for release six months from now. We also haven't seen any footage from the film since production wrapped in early 2024.
A recent report had Antoine Fuqua’s Michael Jackson biopic having to rewrite and reshoot its entire third act due to legal issues involving one of the late singer’s accusers. The film has also gone tens of millions over budget, and a big part of that had to do with a digital nose for Jackson that is expected to be added on during post-production.
Fuqua, and screenwriter John Logan have been attempting rewrites for weeks now. They’ve finally settled on a new draft of the script, and last we heard in March, were set to submit it to Lionsgate for approval.
It’ll be interesting to see how the film’s portrayal of Jackson will be met by mainstream audiences. It’s already a foregone conclusion that critics will be complaining about it being a watered down depiction. As for the general moviegoer, I don’t believe they will care half as much about the endless accusations that plagued the musician during the last 20 years of his career.
Fuqua was already asking for it by making this film, it’s a ballsy move, and he’ll be scurrying through landmines depicting the latter half of Jackson’s life. In the meantime, it doesn’t look like he can hop onboard his next project until he's done with “Michael.”