Michael 2: Biopics Have Sequels Now

Biopics used to be simple. One famous life. One film. Childhood, breakthrough, success, personal crisis, triumphant concert, tasteful fade to black. Apparently, that is no longer enough.

After Michael became the first biopic to cross $1 billion worldwide, Lionsgate has moved ahead with a second Michael Jackson film, with production targeted for late 2026 or early 2027 and a possible release between the end of 2027 and the first half of 2028. The first film ends around the Bad era, which means several of Jackson’s biggest songs, biggest tours and most complicated years are still sitting there waiting for Part Two.

So yes, we now have the biopic franchise.

To be fair, Michael Jackson is one of the few artists whose career could probably sustain it. The first film already had an enormous amount to cover: the Jackson 5, Motown, Off the Wall, Thriller, the transformation into a global superstar and the astonishing scale of his performances. Even with a very generous running time, you are trying to compress several decades of music history into something people can watch without requesting an interval and overnight accommodation.

The sequel also has an unusual head start. Lionsgate has said that some major musical sequences were already shot during production of the first film and are likely to be used, while studio executives have been very clear that much of Jackson’s most famous music remains untouched. In other words, this is not simply a studio spotting a hit and frantically inventing another film. Quite a lot of the next one already exists.

Still, the whole thing raises a fascinating question about what a biopic actually is now.

We have spent years watching Hollywood turn superheroes, action movies, fantasy novels and toys into expandable universes. But a biopic traditionally came with one major creative constraint: the person only had one life. Now even that apparently comes with sequel potential.

And once you start thinking about it, the possibilities become slightly ridiculous. Bohemian Rhapsody 2. Elvis: Vegas Years. Rocketman Returns. Perhaps Oppenheimer: After Hiroshima, if someone can find a sufficiently dramatic subtitle.

There is, of course, a much harder challenge facing Michael 2. The later years of Jackson’s life were significantly more controversial than the period covered in the first film, and the filmmakers will eventually have to decide how directly they engage with the allegations and legal battles that became part of his public story. That makes the second film potentially far more difficult than simply recreating another spectacular concert.

Which may ultimately be why this sequel is genuinely interesting. The easy film was the rise. The harder film is everything that happened afterwards. For Lionsgate, though, the commercial argument is straightforward. The first movie made around a billion dollars, Jaafar Jackson was widely praised for playing his uncle, audiences clearly wanted more and the film itself literally ended with the words “His Story Continues.”

Subtle, it was not. So Michael Jackson’s biopic is getting a sequel. At this rate, famous lives may need post-credit scenes.