Michael has emerged as one of the most successful titles of the 2026 movie schedule thus far, as the biopic on The King of Pop has dominated the box office and raked significant money. With all that in mind, it’s no surprise that Lionsgate is already developing a sequel, though there are certain variables to consider. For starters, there are aspects of Jackson’s personal life that can’t be covered due to legal reasons. However, based on recent comments from an exec, that’s not stopping the studio from moving forward.
Antoine Fuqua’s Jackson biopic ends in 1988 with the Bad Tour, which predates the legal issues the late singer contends with in the ‘90s. Those child sexual abuse allegations were initially meant to be referenced in the film’s prologue and epilogue. However, Jackson’s estate discovered a legal stipulation that prevented one of the alleged victims from being depicted in the movie. With that, the ending was deemed “unusable,” and the estate paid for it to be reshot for a high total ranging between $10 and $15 million.
That situation leaves a lot of questions when it comes to the screenplay for a supposed Michael sequel. Nevertheless, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chairman Adam Fogelson is bullish about what’s to come. The exec spoke to Variety about the follow-up, and it sounds like, thanks to production on the first movie, some pieces are already in place for the next one, from a logistical standpoint. Fogelson explained:
We think we’ve got 25 to 30% of a second movie already shot from the prior production activity, and so obviously that will have some [financial] benefit ultimately, but we’re going to make sure we make a big and satisfying movie for a global audience once again.
Fogelson spoke about the possibility of a sequel over a month ago and shared his belief that there was “more story” to be told. There, of course, is a lot of additional material that Fuqua (should he return to direct) and his collaborators could tackle aside from the legal complications. Fogelson shared more thoughts regarding where the creative team could go narrative-wise with a second film:
I would say that there is a ton of incredibly entertaining Michael Jackson story, and much of the biggest and most popular parts of his music catalog that were not touched upon in the first film. There are so many other events that happened, even in the time frame of the original movie that weren’t touched upon, so we’re very, very confident that we’ve got an incredibly entertaining movie that will appeal once again to a global audience as the pieces come together.
To be quite frank, it makes complete sense that Fogelson and co. would be looking to craft another film based on Michael Jackson’s life. As it stands, Michael has earned $846.3 million worldwide despite receiving mostly negative reviews from critics. There’s also still money to be made, with the film’s release in Japan coming up in a few weeks. Right now, the movie is looking to surpass Bohemian Rhapsody’s $911 million haul to become the highest grossing music biopic of all time globally. In the meantime, Fogelson also said this about a sequel:
We are really excited about the progress we’re making with respect to a second ‘Michael’ film. All the conversations that we’ve been having with all of the appropriate parties continue to go exceptionally well.
As for when audiences might actually see that movie hit a theater near them, that remains to be seen. Adam Fogelson’s comments, however, still give the impression that the sequel could be fast-tracked, though we’ll also have to see how everything goes as far as the writers navigating the narrative limitations. In the meantime, Michael is still playing in theaters, meaning fans can either go for another showing or check it out for the first time.