It’s undeniable that Michael, the biopic of the King of Pop that grossed more than $1 billion worldwide, stopped right at, let’s say, an “interesting” moment in his life. So much so that they had to reassure us that they had already shot several scenes for the sequel and that, indeed, sooner or later we’d get Michael 2. I, personally, wouldn’t start celebrating yet: if they didn’t talk about certain topics in the first part, nobody can guarantee they won’t focus only on his success in this sequel.
We are the children
That “sooner or later” is already here. In fact, Lionsgate, the production company that has made a killing thanks to the biopic, wants to make the sequel as soon as possible, especially to keep Jaafar Jackson from aging. As Adam Fogelson, head of Lionsgate’s film division, told the company’s shareholders, filming will begin at the end of this year or the start of 2027, and it will be released at the end of next year or the start of 2028.
It won’t catch anyone by surprise, of course, given that Michael ended with the words “His story continues” without too much shame over the trick it pulled on the audience that didn’t know it was watching a film split in two. The problem is that, by court order, the subject we’re all thinking about can’t be discussed, so it remains unclear about what the focus of the film will be.
Some of the scenes that were shot can still be used, but they’ll mostly be the dance scenes: “We have a number of sequences, particularly some big musical ones, that we shot earlier, and they’ll definitely be used. Right now we’re focusing mainly on how to make sure we can deliver, with the right budget, the best and biggest sequel. This is what the audience is going to want and deserves after the first film”. Oh well.
