Michael 2: After the Hits Come the Hard Questions

Michael Jackson’s story was never going to fit neatly into one film. Apparently, neither was Lionsgate’s appetite for another billion-dollar hit.

After Michael danced its way beyond $1 billion at the global box office, a sequel is now firmly moving forward. Variety reports that Lionsgate hopes to begin filming Michael 2 towards the end of 2026 or in early 2027, with the finished film potentially reaching cinemas in late 2027 or during the first half of 2028.

So, not exactly soon. But after the first film ended with the words “His Story Continues”, nobody should be surprised that the studio is preparing an encore.

Directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Jaafar Jackson as his famous uncle, Michael traced Jackson’s extraordinary journey from the Jackson 5 to the Bad tour. The casting proved to be one of the film’s greatest strengths, with Jaafar carrying the mannerisms, movement and stage presence of the King of Pop without making the performance feel like an elaborate tribute act.

The result was a commercial phenomenon. According to Box Office Mojo, Michael has earned just over $1.016 billion worldwide, becoming the first biopic to pass the billion-dollar mark. At that point, a sequel stops being a possibility and starts looking suspiciously like an obligation.

There is certainly no shortage of material. Michael 2 could explore the Dangerous era, the 1993 Super Bowl performance, the creation of Neverland, Jackson’s increasingly intense relationship with the media and the turbulent final chapters of his life. But this is also where the story becomes much more difficult.

The first film originally intended to address the child sexual abuse allegations made against Jackson. Variety reported that those plans were abandoned after lawyers for Jackson’s estate discovered a clause in a settlement with one accuser that prevented him from being depicted in a film. Significant sections had to be reworked, leaving the finished movie focused largely on the triumphs and pressures of Jackson’s rise.

That legal issue will not make the wider questions disappear. If Michael 2 ventures into Jackson’s later life, audiences will expect something more probing than another carefully polished collection of hits, moonwalks and screaming stadiums. A film can celebrate a performer’s astonishing cultural impact while still acknowledging the controversy surrounding the man. Whether an estate-backed production is willing or able to strike that balance remains the biggest question hanging over the sequel.

Lionsgate motion picture chair Adam Fogelson says some previously filmed material, including major musical sequences, is likely to be reused. That should help control a budget the studio has not yet disclosed, while giving Fuqua a head start on what Fogelson promises will be the “biggest, best sequel” audiences deserve.

The music will undoubtedly be spectacular. The crowds will return. And after a billion-dollar opening act, Michael 2 is guaranteed attention. This time, though, continuing the story means confronting the parts that are much harder to choreograph.