Published on
“His Story Continues…” stated the caption at the end of this year’s Michael. And continue it shall, as Lionsgate is working on the sequel to the Michael Jackson biopic.
According to Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chairman Adam Fogelson, the studio is hoping to begin production later this year or early 2027 with a release date planned for the end of next year or the first half of 2028.
“We have a number of sequences, particularly some big musical sequences, that were shot previously, that are almost sure to be incorporated,” Fogelson said on yesterday’s earnings call (via Variety). “We are mostly focused right now on how to make sure we can deliver, at the right price, the biggest, best sequel. That is what the audience is going to want and deserve after the experience we gave them the first time.”
Fogelson previously shared similar hopes earlier this year, saying: “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.”
Michael, starring the singer’s real-life nephew Jaafar Jackson playing his uncle, became a box office triumph, tallying $1 billion globally. It overtook Bohemian Rhapsody as the top-grossing music biopic in June.
Reviews for Michael were mixed, and the film faced a huge wave of criticism for sanitizing Jackson’s story.
In Euronews Culture’s review of Michael, we wrote: “Michael only functions as an insultingly blatant hagiography. It removes everything from his early life story that could be deemed contentious. (…) No need for any of that in this drama-free, formulaic and estate-controlled excuse to sell more albums. Instead, this biopic is sanitized to the point of being translucent and only caters to undiscerning fans who just want to hear the hits and witness recreations of iconic MJ moments.”
The film also faced plenty of production controversies – chiefly a huge injection of cash (a reported $15 million) from the Jackson estate to reshoot the last act of the film, in order to remove all mentions of sexual abuse. The film was supposed to address the multiple allegations of child sexual abuse that followed Jackson for the rest of his life, but attorneys for the Jackson estate discovered a clause in the settlement with one of the accusers that barred the depiction of him in any movie. This forced director Antoine Fuqua to reshoot parts of the film.
For the time being, it is unclear what period in Jackson’s life the second movie will cover, or whether Fuqua will return to the director’s chair.