Lionsgate has confirmed plans for a sequel to the hit Michael Jackson biopic Michael, with studio chair Adam Fogelson revealing that preparation is “going exceptionally well”. Speaking during a quarterly earnings call, Fogelson said there remains “a ton of incredibly entertaining Michael Jackson story” to tell, including major parts of his music catalogue not covered in the first film.
The original movie, released in April, earned $715.8m (£533.2m) worldwide and broke box office records in both the US and UK. It ended with Jackson’s 1988 Wembley Stadium performance as part of his Bad tour. Fogelson indicated the sequel could move both forwards and backwards in time, saying: “We can go forwards and backwards in telling this story.”
Production on the first film was troubled by child sex abuse allegations against Jackson. Much of the original footage was scrapped after producers realised that a settlement between Jackson and one of his accusers, Jordan Chandler, meant Chandler could not appear or be mentioned. It remains unclear how the sequel will address these allegations, which first emerged in 1993.
Fogelson added that around 25 to 30 per cent of the sequel has already been shot during production of the first film, which could lower costs. “We think we’ve got 25 to 30% of a second movie already shot from the prior production activity,” he said, noting this would have some financial benefit.
