Michael Jackson documentary ‘Leaving Neverland’ to release follow-up next month

nme.com:

HBO‘s 2019 documentary on Michael Jackson, Leaving Neverland, has been announced and will be released soon.In 2019, HBO produced a two-part documentary surrounding the allegations of Michael Jackson sexually assaulting two minors.

Directed by Dan Reed, Leaving Neverland focused on testimonies by Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who both claim that Michael Jackson sexually abused them when they were children.Now, a follow-up to Leaving Neverland – titled Surviving Michael Jackson – has been confirmed for release on March 18 via the UK’s Channel 4, per Variety.

HBO will not be involved in Surviving Michael Jackson following Jackson’s estate in 2019 suing the network over claims the documentary violated a 27-year-old non-disparagement clause from a 1992 concert film for the pop icon’s Dangerous World Tour.According to a synopsis of Leaving Neverland II: Surviving Michael Jackson from official distributor Sphere Abacus details that the follow-up will explore the “difficult journey and its many twists, turns and setbacks” for Robson and Safechuck, including the public backlash they’ve received over the years.Additionally, Sphere Abacus has confirmed that a third and final entry in the documentary series will cover the upcoming 2026 trial of Robson and Safechuck versus Michael Jackson’s estate.

The third entry has yet to receive a release date, pending the trial’s duration.Jackson faced multiple allegations of child sexual abuse throughout his career and faced criminal charges that led to a highly publicised trial in 2005.