Michael Jackson Biopic Sequel All But Confirmed After Record $217M Debut

The Michael Jackson biopic just shattered records and now Hollywood may be turning his life into a full-blown franchise.

Michael is not slowing down at all, and now the conversation has shifted from success to the next phase – after a weekend! The film has reportedly (rumored to have) secured a sequel after smashing expectation! They crushed records set by Straight Outta Compton and Oppenheimer.

Let’s be clear. A $217.4 million global opening is not just impressive, it is historic. That kind of debut demands a sequel. And that is exactly what Lionsgate appears ready to deliver. Chairman Adam Fogelson has now confirmed what many suspected was already in motion. This is not a one-and-done situation. Then end of the movie says it!

Here is what Fogelson said exactly:

“Look, there’s at least one more movie. Just speaking less as an employee of Lionsgate and more as a person who has spent a lot of time in the movie business, I was always excited by the possibility that you could make a more complete and satisfying telling of Michael’s story if you weren’t confined to only one movie.” – to Business Insider

What is interesting here is how quickly the narrative shifted for a couple reasons. Let’s talk about HATE, because Micheal got a lot of that! The critics did all they could got tear it down and not see it from any other perspective. Trust me, the critics don’t mean sh#t when a movie is staring at making a billion globally.

Creatively, there were concerns about how a single film could possibly contain the vast and complicated life of Michael Jackson. Yes, it had flaw, but the target audience was beyond pleased. Now, it seems the studio is leaning all the way into that complexity until the point where we may see a trilogy. Personally, I think they should stop with the happy ending. But that’s not how Hollywood and money work.

That opens up a whole new conversation.

If the first film focused heavily on the rise and artistic genius, what happens next? Do they dive into the controversies? The business battles? The personal struggles that defined the later years? There is a lot of darkness around MJ in the 90s era. That’s a tough, even painful, period.

Hollywood has been chasing franchise formulas for years, but applying that model to a real-life figure like Michael Jackson is bold. Risky. The critics already hate. What if the fans turn on the franchise and stain the second movie? Nevertheless, most say a sequined sequel is inevitable.

Either way, the appetite is clearly there.

They won’t have the same reasons for skipping over the darker parts of his life. There’s the quandary.

Telling the story of Michael Jackson in chapters makes sense on paper, but getting it right on screen…after Bad…could go really, really bad.

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