Insights into the Future of Michael Jackson Biopic Development
John Kim
Published May 16, 2026
By Published Apr 26, 2026, 8:37 PM EDT Matthew Biggin joined the Screen Rant team as a News Writer in 2026. He has also worked as a screenwriter and script editor, as well as contributing to various movie and TV blogs. Matt is a movie buff, Twin Dad, and football (soccer) enthusiast, who knows with absolute, categorical, iron-clad certainty, that Han shot first. Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap
studio head Adam Fogelson has opened up on the potential storyline and plot ideas for Michael 2.
The Michael Jackson biopic, which was penned by John Logan and directed by Antoine Fuqua, takes a look at the life and career of the pop music superstar. The lead role in the movie is played by Jackson's real-life nephew Jafaar Jackson, who received praise for his performance. Coleman Domingo, Nia Long, and Miles Teller also appear in supporting roles.
following its opening weekend, but the movie has received mixed reviews from critics. The movie has been a box office success, grossing over $217 million to date and becoming the highest-grossing movie of the year. However, there has been criticism of the movie's plot and how the story was 'sanitized.'
The movie initially depicted the police raid on Neverland Ranch, following allegations of sexual abuse from 13-year-old Jordan Chandler. However, the finalized version of the movie does not contain this scene and does not touch on a lot of the controversies that plagued Jackson during his life and career. The has led to the movie receiving criticism.
Per , Lionsgate head Adam Fogelson discussed potential story ideas for a sequel and how a follow-up movie might differ. Following backlash claiming that Michael shied away from exploring the controversial elements of Jackson's career, Fogelson was frustratingly vague about whether Michael 2 would cover this controversy.
While he confirmed that he would support this direction should Fuqua wish to take it, Fogelson went on to talk about the need to give audiences an authentic understanding of who Michael Jackson was, and continued by mentioning Jackson as having had a complicated childhood. Check out his comments below:
From my perspective, it's important to try to give the audience an authentic understanding of who Michael Jackson was. So I think that can be done with or without some of what was in the third act that had to be scrapped...
There has been so much energy and ink with people speculating. 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.
Fogelson's comments might come as a source of frustration for those hoping that Michael 2 will ask more uncomfortable questions than the original movie, and will explore the controversies surrounding Jackson. It seems like Fogelson is happy for the sequel film to take a similar step to the original movie and that keeping the movie more sanitized might be seen as preferable for helping the movie's box office.
Whether Michael 2 will actually happen depends on the movie's box office success, which, so far, seems to be performing well, as well as fan reaction. However, there is no guarantee of where the story will go, and which plot points might be used, but there is a lot of possible content that the filmmakers could choose to explore.
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have been teased by those related to the movie, including Fogelson, and hopes will be high for a more balanced and realistic exploration into Jackson's life and career, which might follow in any subsequent sequels.
Michael is in theaters now.
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Cast
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Jaafar Jackson Michael Jackson -
Joe Jackson
Producers Graham King, John Branca, John McClain Main Genre Executive Producer(s) David B. Householter Studio(s) GK Films Distributor(s) Lionsgate Expand Collapse
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