‘Leaving Neverland 2’ Trailer Shows Michael Jackson Accusers After HBO Doc

March 5, 2025

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Leaving Neverland, the 2019 documentary about Wade Robson and James Safechuck’s allegations of Michael Jackson’s abuse, is getting a sequel and the trailer has been released. Directed by Dan Reed, Leaving Neverland 2: Surviving Michael Jackson is set to premiere for free on Real Stories, Little Dot Studios’ premium documentary channel on YouTube. Before its streaming release, the documentary will air on the UK’s Channel 4 on Mar. 18, and then it will be available for free on YouTube.

Leaving Neverland 2 continues Robson and Safechuck’s ordeal as they try to get some justice from Jackson’s estate. Both men have accused the King of Pop of sexual abuse, and their allegations were documented in a two-part documentary film released by HBO under their label HBO Documentary Films. Dan Reed’s documentary was critically acclaimed, and it won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special. Leaving Neverland sits at 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences didn’t react the same way.

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The film faced controversy from viewers who alleged that it only showed one side of the story, and it didn’t give Jackson’s side a chance to rebuke the allegations. Some believed it was biased, and the response came in statements and documentaries that stood against the accusations by the victims. Celebrities like Corey Feldman and Macaulay Culkin were among the few who said that Jackson had never shown any predatory behavior towards them.

Leaving Neverland was also the focus of a lawsuit against HBO. The lawsuit made the network’s attorneys go back a few decades to the early 1990s when they aired a special called Michael Jackson: Live in Concert in Bucharest. When this contract was signed, it had a clause that indicated HBO could not air anything that could hurt Jackson’s image. It’s quite obvious that Leaving Neverland did affect the singer’s image, but HBO claimed that the documentary was an exercise in free speech, and they had the right to air it.

Eventually, a judge panel ruled in favor of Jackson’s estate, stating that HBO had breached the contract. Although the documentary wasn’t removed from the streamer’s library at that moment, it was taken down at some point, and it’s currently unavailable to stream anywhere.

The King of Pop’s Fall From Grace Is Not Over

Leaving Neverland 2 continues the legal and emotional quest by those who claim to be Michael Jackson’s victims. More than a decade after his death and twenty years after he was acquitted in a courtroom, Jackson still faces accusations from his grave. His songs are still played throughout the entire world, and although his legacy is unparalleled, documentaries like these only add fuel to the fire. Leaving Neverland was an incendiary piece, but did it help Robson and Safechuck? Did anyone change their mind about Jackson?

As Leaving Neverland’s sequel keeps the flame alive in terms of dividing the public’s opinion, another Jackson-related project is facing some delays. Michael, the artist’s biopic directed by Antoine Fuqua, was supposed to be released in April 2025, but it has been delayed to October. The film is still part of Lionsgate’s 2025 slate, but apparently, it went through some reshoots because of its “unusable” third act that showed Jackson’s legal battle against pedophilia charges.