A studio executive behind the new Michael Jackson biopic has revealed that up to 30 percent of the sequel may already have been filmed, alluding to the 'many other events' in the King of Pop's life that could be covered in the project.
Jackson's legacy has faced renewed scrutiny in recent years due to long-running allegations that he sexually abused underage boys. Although he was acquitted of these claims in court in 2005, the accusations have persisted, including in the 2019 HBO documentary Leaving Neverland.
The controversy resurfaced this year following the smash success of the new biopic Michael, which is backed by his estate, stars his nephew Jaafar, and ends in 1988 before the explosive charges emerged about his sexual proclivities.
Now Lionsgate film chief Adam Fogelson has trumpeted: 'We are really excited about the progress we’re making with respect to a second Michael film,' via Variety. He noted that some footage shot for the first movie but left on the cutting room floor may be recycled for the follow-up.
'We think we’ve got 25 to 30% of a second movie already shot from the prior production activity,' Fogelson informed the trade publication. '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.'
The first film was initially intended to cover the allegations that Jackson was a child molester, but legal issues derailed those plans. Jackson reached a $20 million settlement in 1994 with the family of a boy named Jordie Chandler, whose father accused Jackson of molesting his son. Under the terms of the deal, Chandler cannot be portrayed or even mentioned in a movie.
Several other accusers have come forward, including Gavin Arvizo, whose claims were the focus of the court case that culminated in Jackson's 2005 acquittal. Wade Robson and James Safechuck were the accusers profiled in Leaving Neverland, which has since been quietly withdrawn from HBO Max. The documentary's removal was due to a settlement with the Jackson estate, which had sued HBO on the grounds that the two-part film violated the non-disparagement clause of a 1992 contract for a Michael Jackson concert special on the network.
Amid the explosion of publicity surrounding the new Michael biopic, four members of the Cascio family—who were famously close to the singer for many years—have now filed suit alleging he sexually abused them as children.
In his new interview discussing the biopic sequel, the Lionsgate executive did not address the molestation claims directly, instead hinting obliquely at unspecified 'events' in Jackson's life that might be featured in the next 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,' he remarked. '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.'
Fogelson noted that the film could 'go forwards and backwards in telling this story,' rather than presenting Jackson's life in chronological order. 'All the conversations that we’ve been having with all of the appropriate parties continue to go exceptionally well,' he maintained.
Jackson died at the age of 50 in 2009 from a cardiac arrest he suffered after having the powerful anesthetic Propofol administered as a sleep aid. His new biopic Michael, directed by Antoine Fuqua, was released last month and proved to be a roaring box-office triumph, becoming the second-highest-grossing biopic of all time behind Bohemian Rhapsody.
