In a GQ Middle East interview published August 21, Jaafar Jackson — who plays Michael Jackson in the Lionsgate biopic Michael — said the sequel will address the child sexual abuse allegations from his uncle's perspective. "The allegations are always from someone else's. It's mainly driven by an agenda," he said. "That's really the issue — not having Michael's voice being heard." Lionsgate confirmed the sequel on August 6, targeting production to begin late 2026 or early 2027. The original Michael, released April 24, 2026, grossed $1.021 billion worldwide but ended in 1988, before any allegations. Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who say Jackson abused them as children, are suing Jackson's companies for $400 million; their civil jury trial starts February 14, 2028.

1. The Family Says the Sequel Will Finally Give Jackson a Voice (Jaafar Jackson, Taj Jackson, Lionsgate)

The Jackson family says Michael's side of the allegations has never been heard — and the sequel will change that.

The allegations have always come from the accusers' side. That's Jaafar's argument in the GQ Middle East interview. His full quote: "I think the second film will give even more insight from his point of view, because at the end of the day, [the allegations] are always from someone else's. It's someone else's story. It's someone else's idea of what it is, and it's mainly driven by an agenda. And that's really the issue we've been having as a family — not having Michael's voice being heard."

The original Michael made $1 billion worldwide — the first biopic ever. That's Lionsgate's argument for a sequel. Audiences gave it 97% on Rotten Tomatoes while critics gave it 40%, one of the widest gaps ever recorded on the platform. Lionsgate chairman Adam Fogelson said the studio already has "25 to 30% of a second movie already shot from the prior production activity."

The 2005 acquittal is the family's final word. Taj Jackson, Michael Jackson's nephew, posted: "Sorry media, you don't get to control the narrative anymore of who Michael Jackson truly was." Director Antoine Fuqua, who directed the first film, said of the allegations: "Sometimes people do some nasty things for some money."

2. But Survivors Say It'll Be the Same Whitewash (Dan Reed, James Safechuck, Wade Robson, Paris Jackson)

Covering the allegations from Jackson's viewpoint isn't a correction, critics say — it's a second propaganda film.

The sequel will be another cover-up. That's Dan Reed's argument — Reed directed Leaving Neverland, the 2019 HBO documentary in which Robson and Safechuck described the abuse. He called the original film "a complete whitewash" and told Variety it is "a calculated piece of propaganda designed to rehabilitate Michael Jackson's image while discrediting his accusers." He says the sequel just continues the pattern.

Safechuck and Robson say the sequel shouldn't exist. James Safechuck posted: "Michael was raping kids during the Bad era" — the exact era the original film covered without addressing the allegations. Wade Robson posted: "I honestly don't really know how they can make this movie and not think of the victims." Both are suing Jackson's companies for $400 million. Their civil jury trial starts February 14, 2028.

The first script had "full-blown lies" in it. That's Michael Jackson's daughter Paris Jackson's word. She read an early draft, gave notes "about what was dishonest," left when they weren't addressed, and called the result "Hollywood fantasy sold as real." She had zero involvement in the production.

3. Still, Even a Willing Sequel Can't Tell the Full Story (Legal Constraints)

A 1994 settlement may legally bar the sequel from dramatizing the very allegation that defines the era.

The Chandler clause applies to the sequel too. A 1994 civil settlement with accuser Jordan Chandler bars either side from depicting or mentioning Chandler in any film. That clause forced a 22-day reshoot of the original film's entire final act. The sequel inherits the same legal wall on the 1993 case.

The 1993 allegation may never make it to the screen. Accuser Gavin Arvizo was publicly named in the 2005 criminal trial, so those charges have no equivalent settlement bar — but the 1993 case does. Fogelson already called the allegations question "a really complicated question," which suggests the Chandler constraint is still live.

Where This Lands

The Jackson family says the sequel will finally let Michael Jackson speak for himself about the years that defined how the world sees him. Robson and Safechuck — headed to trial in February 2028 — say covering the allegations from Jackson's viewpoint is just another whitewash. And the 1994 Chandler settlement may bar the 1993 case from the screen entirely, regardless of what the filmmakers intend.

Sources