Who’s Bad? Jacko will be in the sequel to box office smash Michael which begins shooting as soon as later this year covering a tricky time in his career
A sequel to the Michael Jackson biopic is already in the works.
Michael, out now, broke box office records for a music biopic last weekend and now producers have confirmed a sequel could shoot as early as this year. However, a potential “problem” with a follow-up is it cannot dramatise the specifics of sexual abuse allegations made against Jackson due to a settlement.
Adam Fogelson, the Head of Lionsgate, said: “There is a massive amount of music, some of his greatest music, and life experiences separate and apart from [sexual abuse] allegations, a ton of that would fill more than a second movie on its own,.”
Michael ends with a credit that reads “His Story Continues,” hinting at a part II, with director Antoine Fuqua confirming that there is “absolutely” more of shot footage that could be used in a sequel already: “We went pretty far.”
An entire third act of Michael was scrapped – at the cost of a reported $50 million -due to a previously reached settlement with the estate that barred it from being depicted in future commercial projects.
Instead the movie centred on the relationship between Jacko and his father covering the years 1960-1988, ending before Jackson was accused by then-13-year-old Jordan Chandler of sexual abuse.
Fogelson said: “It turns out the general public really wanted to see a movie that did not engage with those allegations and celebrated the man and his music and the, you know, the trajectory to the top.”
How a second movie avoids the negativity surrounding Jackson’s life remains to be seen but Fogelson said: “Continuing to get a deeper understanding of who Michael was, I think there are any number of ways the filmmakers will be able to pull that off.
“And over the next couple weeks, when we all sit down and talk about their full and complete vision for what this movie will be, I’ll be in a better position to answer the question.”
Any future film will continue to celebrate his music adding: “And there are giant albums left and we just one song out of, you know, Bad as the end of the first movie, the [1993] Super Bowl [halftime show, which was included in the original script] which has been talked about, the first Super Bowl halftime show that literally changed the Super Bowl and he NFL and I’m not guaranteeing any of these moments are or not in.
“I’m just saying there’s a huge portion of his life separate and apart from allegations.”
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