Lionsgate’s ‘Michael’ Sequel Is Already Partly Filmed, and the King of Pop’s Biggest Songs Haven’t Even Been Used Yet

Antoine Fuqua’s ‘Michael’ has barely finished its theatrical victory lap, and Lionsgate is already deep into building the follow-up. The biopic swiftly danced past a wave of criticism about its sanitized take on Jackson’s life to become one of 2026’s biggest box office phenomena. Starring Jackson’s real-life nephew Jaafar Jackson in the title role, the film earned the best domestic debut in history for a music biopic, with its opening haul trouncing the previous record.

Critics complained that ‘Michael’ paints a sanitized portrait of Jackson, given that the film ends before he was accused of child molestation, but ticket buyers didn’t share that criticism. While the film holds a 39% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, its 97% audience score has been the engine powering its success. It is a split that perfectly captures where ‘Michael’ sits in the cultural conversation right now, beloved by fans and picked apart by critics, yet undeniably unstoppable at the multiplex.

Now, Lionsgate is ready to double down. Speaking on a call with analysts after the company’s quarterly earnings, Lionsgate Motion Picture Chair Adam Fogelson said the studio is “really excited about the progress” being made on a second ‘Michael’ film, adding that conversations with all appropriate parties “continue to go exceptionally well.” The announcement landed with the weight of a formal green light rather than a casual hint, signaling that the sequel is firmly in motion.

Fogelson revealed that Lionsgate believes it already has around 25 to 30 percent of a second movie already shot, drawn from prior production activity on the original film, which he said would have some financial benefit but would not come at the cost of quality, with the studio committed to delivering “a big and satisfying movie for a global audience once again.” That head start is no small thing given that the original ‘Michael’ carried a production budget estimated between $165 and $200 million.

Fogelson also pointed to the vast amount of Jackson’s story that the first film never touched, noting there is “a ton of incredibly entertaining Michael Jackson story, and much of the biggest and most popular parts of his music catalog that were not touched upon in the first film.” He added that the storytelling could move both forwards and backwards in time, with many events from even within the original movie’s timeline left unexplored. That flexibility gives the creative team considerable room to shape the sequel’s scope without being locked into a strict chronological continuation.

One of the more complex questions hanging over any sequel is how it would handle the period of Jackson’s life surrounding the allegations made by Jordan Chandler in the early 1990s, given that a settlement clause bars any depiction or mention of him in a movie. Fogelson has previously said there is a massive amount of music and life experiences separate from those allegations that would be more than enough to fill another film on its own. Whether the sequel engages with that era at all, or simply navigates around it as the first film did, remains the most charged creative decision ahead.

The announcement comes as ‘Michael’ continues its reign as one of 2026’s biggest box office stories, having already crossed the $700 million mark worldwide. With Jaafar Jackson’s performance drawing widespread acclaim from audiences even as critics stayed divided, the appetite for more is clearly there.

Whether the sequel can match the original’s cultural moment or surpass it is the question worth debating, so share your thoughts below on what you want to see the ‘Michael 2’ tackle that the first film left behind.