‘Leaving Neverland’ Trailer: Fantasy Turns to Nightmares in Michael Jackson Doc

Leaving Neverland (Credit: HBO)

HBO released the first trailer Tuesday for controversial Michael Jackson documentary, Leaving Neverland.

The two-part film tells the stories of James Safechuck and Wade Robson, then-aspiring entertainers who met Jackson as children.

The trailer shows Safechuck, now 40, and Robson, now 36, and their mothers discussing the fantasy of Jackson’s Neverland ranch — carnival rides, a private movie theater and shelves stocked with candy.

“The days were filled with magical, childhood adventure experiences,” Robson said, “playing tag, watching movies, eating junk food, anything you could ever want as a child.”

“It’s like hanging out with a friend that’s more your age,” Safechuck added.

Read More‘Horrifying’ Michael Jackson Doc ‘Leaving Neverland’ Shocks Sundance

But their childhood fantasies eventually turned to nightmares.

“He told me if they ever found out what we were doing, he and I would go to jail for the rest of our lives,” Robson recalled.

The two men sued Jackson’s estate in 2013, but their cases were later dismissed.

Leaving Neverland premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last month, with entertainment journalists describing it as “horrifying” and “disturbing.”

The Jackson estate has pressured HBO to abandon the project, and described the network’s decision to air it as “a public lynching.”

“The creators of this film were not interested in the truth,” the estate previously said in a statement. “They never interviewed a single solitary soul who knew Michael except the two perjurers and their families. That is not journalism, and it’s not fair, ­yet the media are perpetuating these stories.”

The film’s BAFTA Award-winning director, Dan Reed, said he interviewed prosecutors and investigators who looked into allegations of abuse against Jackson, as well as the alleged victims and their families for the project.

Part one of Leaving Neverland premieres on HBO Sunday, March 3, with part two scheduled to air the following day.