Spike Lee has defended the Michael film following significant criticism for its exclusion of the child sexual abuse allegations made against the pop icon.

• READ MORE: ‘Michael’ review: safe, shiny reminder of the King Of Pop’s musical genius

The record-breaking Michael Jackson biopic charts the singer’s life from childhood up until the peak of his popularity in the late ‘80s, stopping short of featuring the allegations made against him, which he and his estate have continually denied.

The film concludes in 1988, and Jackson didn’t face his first accusation until 1993, which many of the film’s critics have taken issue with. Michael was meant to feature the allegations as part of the storyline, but a clause in a legal settlement meant that the production spent $15million on reshoots, ending the film at a different point in his life and shifting the narrative tension onto his relationship with his father, Joe (Colman Domingo).

During a recent interview with CNN, Lee defended the biopic, saying: “First of all, if you’re a movie critic, and you’re complaining about the stuff – all this other stuff – but the movie ends at ‘88.

“The stuff you’re talking about, accusations, happen [later]. So you’re critiquing the film on something that you want in, but it doesn’t work in the timeline of the film. But people showed up. Worldwide, people showed their love.”

Spike Lee regarding the critics regarding the #michaelmovie

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As friends and collaborators, Lee helmed the singer’s music video for his song ‘They Don’t Care About Us‘, and also directed two documentaries about Jackson’s life, including 2012’s Bad 25 and 2016’s Michael Jackson’s Journey From Motown to Off the Wall.

He continued: “I miss Mike. I miss Prince. I mean, these are my brothers. I worked with both of them. Both beautiful, beautiful people.”

Michael scored a three-star review from NME, which read: “Michael feels like a job well done: it’s a slick, accessible advert for Jackson’s incredible imperial phase. But if the singer’s estate wanna be startin’ somethin’ bigger like a film franchise, they’ll have their work cut out.”

James Safechuck, one of the accusers featured in 2019 HBO documentary Leaving Neverland, recently shared a statement in support of child sex abuse survivors amid the release of the new biopic. The documentary’s director Dan Reed has spoken out against Michael, claiming the singer was “worse than Jeffrey Epstein”, while also questioning why the film fails to address the abuse allegations.

The studio executive behind Michael has already confirmed that a sequel is in development, and could shoot as early as this year.

Despite its contentious approach to the allegations, the film has been a box office success, breaking records for the music biopic genre with a $217million (£160million) global opening, surpassing the record set by Bohemian Rhapsody in 2019. A sequel has been rumoured ever since its release, and now there is official word that one is being developed.

On the podcast The Town With Matt Belloni, Adam Fogelson, the head of the film’s studio, Lionsgate, said that it was probable that a sequel could be shooting either this year or next, and that there is enough source material to warrant a follow-up.

“There is a massive amount of music… and life experiences separate and apart from allegations… that would fill more than a second movie on its own,” Fogelson said. When asked about what could feature, he pointed to the artist’s landmark 1993 Super Bowl halftime performance as an example.

The executive also talked about whether such a film could feature the sexual abuse allegations made against Jackson, saying: “It’s a really complicated question, and I’m not sure I think that I am the best person or now is the best time.”