{"id":412637,"date":"2026-04-23T00:39:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T00:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/412637\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T00:39:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T00:39:10","slug":"will-there-be-a-michael-jackson-movie-sequel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/412637\/","title":{"rendered":"Will There Be a Michael Jackson Movie Sequel?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tAfter the audience at this week\u2019s Michael<\/a> premiere<\/a> was treated to over two hours\u2019 worth of hits, a title card came across the screen. In shimmery gold lettering, it read: \u201cHis Story Continues.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFor many of the stakeholders behind the Michael Jackson<\/a> biopic, or anyone who has read the hundreds of headlines Michael and its unexpectedly protracted production generated over the past year, the proclamation could be read as either a defiant declaration or an open-ended question about the status of a Michael: Part 2.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe biopic was never intended to be a two-parter, but for the last year, under a messy cloud of reshoots and pushed release dates, the idea of splitting the film took form.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe title card was a relatively last-minute addition, according to a knowledgeable insider, who says it was only put in about a month ago, when the filmmakers and the studios behind Michael began to realize how successful the movie could become.<\/p>\n

\n\tClearly, studios Lionsgate and Universal, the Jackson Estate, and filmmakers including producer Graham King and director Antoine Fuqua<\/a> wanna be startin\u2019 somethin\u2019. Still, a source tells THR that the script for that potential second film from writer John Logan has yet to be finished, and insiders claim nothing will be officially decided until Michael opens April 24.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe absolutely have more story to tell,\u201d Lionsgate film chair Adam Fogelson told THR on the red carpet at Monday night\u2019s premiere. \u201cWe have prepared for that moment. And if the audience reinforces that they\u2019re ready for more, we\u2019re prepared to give it to them sooner rather than later.\u201d But, Fogelson noted, the decision to make a sequel won\u2019t be determined by box office totals alone but also by fan desire for more of Jackson\u2019s story.<\/p>\n

\n\tOf a sequel, King said at the premiere, \u201cWe\u2019re definitely kicking around some ideas. We\u2019ll see what happens very soon, but right now, I have so much anxiety about people seeing this one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLionsgate is handling the domestic release of Michael, with Universal taking on international distribution. When it came on early tracking, Michael was estimated to earn $55 million to $60 million in domestic ticket sales; it has since increased to $65 to $70 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd Jackson\u2019s international fanbase should not be underestimated. The film kicked off its press tour with a premiere in Berlin, Germany, which included a three-day fan experience. Michael\u2019s international ticket sales are anticipated to add big gains to its box office total, with an expected global opening weekend in the $150 million range.<\/p>\n

\n\tMichael opens after a long and twisty journey to the big screen.<\/p>\n

\n\tInitially dated for April 2025, Michael landed on its final April 2026 release after it was discovered the film needed a major overhaul due to an oversight made by the Michael Jackson estate, which is backing the film. The original film featured Jackson battling accusations of child sexual abuse, which constituted much of its third act. But a past accuser had reached a settlement with the estate guaranteeing he would never be depicted in any future commercial projects.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs previously reported by THR<\/a>, 22 days of additional shooting happened in June 2025, with added production costs paid for by the estate because of its error. At this time, a plan was pushed to studio partners to split the film into two separate movies.<\/p>\n

\n\tFrom the beginning, Fuqua set out to make a more dramatic film, tackling the accusations of child molestation that tarnished Jackson\u2019s legacy head-on. \u201cI shot him being stripped naked, treated like an animal, a monster,\u201d Fuqua told The New Yorker<\/a> of shooting a scene when Neverland Ranch was raided by police. When the movie was reconfigured, King pushed for Michael to become a more uplifting story focused on Jackson\u2019s music, forgoing scandal.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis is not the movie [Fuqua] set out to make,\u201d says the insider, who also added that the director and producer have since unified in the new vision of the film.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe new iteration of Michael \u2014 sans Jackson\u2019s legal battles \u2014 is more likely to appeal to fans. The film now ends with the Jacksons\u2019 1984 Victory Tour, after which Jackson continues to strike out on his own, leading to the Bad album. At the premiere, during the film\u2019s cinematic musical performances, it was hard to tell if the cheering and clapping were generated by crowds onscreen or the audience inside the Dolby. (Critics have been less kind to Michael, which currently has a 38 Metacritic score.)<\/p>\n

\n\tWith a focus on the music and performances, Michael has drawn comparisons to Bohemian Rhapsody, the biopic about Queen that was produced by King and earned over $900 million at the global box office and won star Rami Malek a best actor Oscar.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs for a potential sequel, usable footage from the initial shoot, including concert footage from the Dangerous and Invincible tours, could constitute as much as a third of a potential second film, according to sources. But those who have seen the movie also question what is left to tell, as the movie covered much of Jackson\u2019s most popular music, and it\u2019s unclear how a production unable or uninterested in tackling Jackson\u2019s controversies would deal with the latter part of his life.<\/p>\n

\n\tThere is also the question of scheduling and production costs. Talent like Fuqua, along with in-demand cast like Colman Domingo<\/a>, Nia Long<\/a> and Miles Teller and breakout newcomer Jaafar Jackson, will have to be brought back and, if Michael is a success, could very well negotiate for higher paydays.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s a sensitive topic,\u201d a rep for one of the film\u2019s onscreen talent says of the potential follow-up.<\/p>\n

\n\tStill, if Michael does become the box office success it is trending to become, there will be plenty of incentive for an encore performance.<\/p>\n

\n\tTiffany Taylor and Pamela McClintock contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After the audience at this week\u2019s Michael premiere was treated to over two hours\u2019 worth of hits, a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":412638,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[74284,55709,93,61,60,75812,39478,278,146814],"class_list":{"0":"post-412637","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-antoine-fuqua","9":"tag-colman-domingo","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-michael","14":"tag-michael-jackson","15":"tag-music","16":"tag-nia-long"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=412637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412637\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/412638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=412637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=412637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=412637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}