A sequel to the Michael Jackson biopic, Michael, is to begin filming later this year or at some stage in 2027.
The was confirmed by the studio executive behind the biopic which saw the late King of Pop portrayed by his nephew, Jafaar Jackson.
Michael, which arrived last month, April 22, reached the largest ever box office opening for any music biopic in history, after it accrued $217 million worldwide, and $97 million in the US, according to box office figures.
This meant that the Jackson biopic accrued more than Straight Outta Compton, which opened to $60 million, and Bohemian Rhapsody which opened at $51 million. It has also earned the second highest film debut of 2026 so far, just behind The Super Mario Galaxy movie. More on this here.
Following this, rumours have circulated ever since the movie's release, that a sequel was in the works.
Now, Adam Fogelson, head of the film's studio, Lionsgate, has said that there is a strong possibility that a sequel to Michael could begin filming either this year or next, adding that there is enough source material to work on for a follow up.
“There is a massive amount of music… and life experiences separate and apart from allegations… that would fill more than a second movie on its own,” he said.
When pressed for any hints as to what could feature in this sequel, Fogelson pointed to Jackson's famous performance at the 1993 SuperBowl Half Time Show.
At the moment, the timeline for any sequel remains vague due to director Antoine Fuqua being committed to a Netflix project with Denzil Washington at present.
Fogelson added: “We haven’t yet gotten to the moment where we have to solve for anything".
However, one question which will be on the lips for a lot of viewers will be whether this potential sequel will refer to the historic sexual abuse allegations which Michael Jackson faced in his life, allegations which the late singer and estate always denied.
Initially, the first biopic was to mention these allegations, which saw Jackson accused of sexually abusing a then 13 year old boy called Jordan Chandler in the 1980s.
However, conditions of a previous NDA were found by the Jackson Estate, which prohibited Chandler from being mentioned in any Jackson project, and led to parts of the biopic being reshot.
When asked if these claims could be mentioned in any Jackson sequel, Adam Fogelson said: “It’s a really complicated question, and I’m not sure I think that I am the best person or now is the best time".
The omission of these sexual abuse allegations, as well as Jackson's 2005 trial, which saw him found not guilty of abusing another boy in the early 2000s, did not go unnoticed by critics when they reviewed the film.
While the Hollywood Reporter did acknowledges the film "delivers for lifelong fans who cherish the music", the Telegraph points to the fact that it "refuses to address the elephant in the room".
Elsewhere, Kevin Maher of The Times claimed that Michael would be "known as that infamous film in which the subject became completely untethered from reality and the film delivered instead two hours of pure and unadulterated [rubbish]".
The Telegraph's Robbie Collin also described the decision to not include any references to the allegations against Jackson was a "borderline-fatal problem". More on this from Nova here.
