The Michael Jackson movie has been a huge success, ultimately grossing $1.021 billion to become the highest-grossing biopic of all time. Lionsgate has been keen to get a sequel underway as soon as possible, and studio chairman Adam Fogelson has shared an update on the project, saying they’d like to start shooting Michael 2 as early as the end of this year.
Could Michael 2 Start Production by the End of the Year?
During a recent Q1 earnings call, Fogelson said, “We are targeting a production start towards the end of this year or early next.” As for when the sequel could be released, he said, “I think that end of calendar ’27 and the first half of calendar ’28 would be the current thought of roughly where the movie would go.“
However, he noted that this could easily change as “we’re not ready to announce everything at the moment.“
Michael 2 already has a leg up, as a large amount of footage from the first movie could be used in the second.
“We do have a number of sequences, particularly some big musical sequences, that were shot previously, that are almost sure to be incorporated, but we are mostly focused right now on how to make sure we can deliver, at the right price, the biggest, best sequel,” he said. “That is what the audience is going to want and deserve after the experience we gave them the first time. So we’re not ready to give guidance on the budget yet, but we certainly will be able to take advantage of some stuff that we previously shot, as I had said before.“
Parts of the Sequel Have Already Been Filmed
The story of the first movie ends in 1988, but it originally went much further. A lot of footage was left on the cutting room floor, all scenes which revolved around the child molestation allegations and court cases which dominated the latter half of Jackson’s life.
So why wasn’t this included in the movie? It turns out that the Jackson estate realized there was a clause in a settlement with Jordan Chandler, a 13-year-old boy who Jackson was accused of sexually abusing, which “barred the depiction or mention of him in any movie.” The cast reassembled for over three weeks of reshoots, which cost the production another $10 million to $15 million.
You can check out a review of Michael from our own Chris Bumbray right here. The film is set to start streaming on Starz on August 10.
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