Michael 2 Development Teased By Lionsgate Chief After Record-Breaking Box Office

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Apotential Michaelsequel gets a promising update.

The new Michael Jackson movie came out in theaters on April 24th and quickly became a huge success, earning $97 million in the US and $217 million around the world during its first weekend – the best opening ever for a movie about a musician. With this strong performance, the film’s focus on Jackson’s early career, and a message at the end promising “His story will continue,” many people are already expecting a second movie.

During an appearance on Matthew Belloni’s podcast, The Town, Lionsgate‘s Adam Fogelson hinted at discussions about a possible sequel to Michael. While there’s been talk, no official announcement has been made, and coordinating the schedules of director Antoine Fuqua and producer Graham King is proving difficult.

Although a sequel hasn’t been officially announced yet, the fact that Lionsgate is already thinking about one, just days after the movie’s release, shows they’re very confident in its success. It also suggests they want to build on that success and keep the momentum going quickly.

Before the movie came out, Jaafar Jackson and director John Singleton (referred to as King) discussed potential ideas for a follow-up film. King hinted he had some thoughts for a sequel, and Jackson confirmed he’d be interested in playing Michael Jackson again. Now, it seems King will likely get the chance to develop those ideas in a new movie with Jackson reprising his role.

The first Michael movie was a huge hit with audiences, earning a 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes – the best score ever for a musical biopic. However, professional critics weren’t as impressed, giving it a score of only 37%. A second movie has a chance to gain their approval.

Many reviews have criticized the film for completely avoiding the topic of sexual abuse allegations against Michael Jackson, which is a major reason for the controversy surrounding it. Originally, the film did include scenes addressing these allegations, but they were removed due to legal restrictions. This is because Jackson was accused of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy, and a part of the legal settlement in that case prevents any depiction or mention of it in a film.

The rules established in the Chandler case would still be followed in a potential follow-up project. However, it might be harder – and spark more debate – to avoid addressing the accusations this time around, as the sequel would likely cover more sensitive parts of Jackson’s life.

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2026-04-30 04:48