Though “Michael” doesn’t examine the darker chapters of Michael Jackson’s life, that doesn’t mean a potential sequel won’t.
The biopic on the King of Pop, which premieres in theaters on April 24, has had a complicated journey to screen. Its release was delayed several times: first due to the 2023 strikes, and then due to reshoots that were required after the filmmakers learned some scenes violated the terms of a $20 million settlement with the family of then-13-year-old Jordan Chandler, who accused Jackson of sexual abuse in 1993.
Jackson and his estate have consistently denied all allegations.
As a result of the reshoots, the movie’s framing and scope changed. Now, “Michael” largely focuses on Jackson’s meteoric rise to superstardom, starting with the Jackson 5 and ending when Jackson (played by his real-life nephew Jaafar Jackson) is about to start making his hit solo album, “Bad.” The only abuse examined in the movie is scenes that depict Jackson’s father, Joe (Colman Domingo), whipping him when he was a child.
Since the film now covers only a portion of what the original movie would have, a potential sequel seems on the table: Not for nothing, the movie ends with a title card that reads, “His Story Continues.”
A potential part two of “Michael” could spotlight not just more of Jackson’s career highlights, but the superstar’s fall from grace, which came in the form of child sexual abuse allegations and a 2005 criminal trial involving another child, Gavin Arvizo.
Jackson was acquitted on all counts after a highly publicized three month trial. He died in 2009 of acute propofol intoxication after his personal physician administered the sedative.
Do the allegations against Jackson need to be addressed in a potential sequel to tell the full story of Michael Jackson?
Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chairman Adam Fogelson supports it if director Antione Fuqua and writer John Logan decide to go down that road.
“From my perspective, it’s important to try to give the audience an authentic understanding of who Michael Jackson was,” Fogelson told Business Insider. “So I think that can be done with or without some of what was in the third act that had to be scrapped.”
“Michael,” which was made with the support of Jackson’s estate, initially depicted the police raid of Jackson’s Neverland Ranch following allegations of sexual abuse by 13-year-old Jordan Chandler. The filmmakers discovered after shooting that there was a clause in Chandler’s settlement barring any depiction of his case in a movie. According to Variety, reshoots cost the Jackson estate around $15 million, as the Neverland Ranch raid had bookended the original film.
“There has been so much energy and ink with people speculating,” Fogelson continued. “Speaking for myself, I think when you watch this movie you are given a window into the extraordinarily unusual circumstances that impacted Michael Jackson from a very young age. This movie isn’t afraid to reflect the wildly unusual circumstances of his life. But we believe more story can and hopefully will be told, and that’s going to come down to not only the performance of the film but the audience telling us they want more, and we believe based on the response we’ve gotten that’s what they are going to say.”
Despite the movie currently holding a 38% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, “Michael” seems to be critic-proof. The film is tracking to earn north of $100 million at the worldwide box office in its opening weekend, including $70 million-plus domestically, which would best past hit music biopics like “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Straight Outta Compton.”
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