A sequel to the blockbuster hit Michael is already underway, according to Lionsgate, the studio behind the film.
Variety reports that on a quarterly earnings call yesterday (May 21), Lionsgate reportedly told investors and analysts that work on a sequel has begun.
“We are really excited about the progress we’re making with respect to a second Michael film,” Lionsgate chief Adam Fogelson said. “All the conversations that we’ve been having with all of the appropriate parties continue to go exceptionally well.”
Released last month, the Michael Jackson biopic ends during the King of Pop’s 1987 tour in support of his album Bad. While the studio has not confirmed what will be included in the next film, there is plenty of his life to include, including his subsequent albums, as well as the child sex abuse trial and allegations that plagued him until his 2009 death.
“I would say that 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,” Fogelson explained.
“There are so many other events that happened, even in the time frame of the original movie that weren’t touched upon,” he continued. “So we’re very, very confident that we’ve got an incredibly entertaining movie that will appeal once again to a global audience as the pieces come together.”
Fogelson added that producers don’t feel it’s necessary to follow any chronological order, teasing, “We can go forwards and backwards in telling this story.”
Michael faced multiple delays and cost the studio a reported $15 million in reshoots after producers were instructed not to include scenes about the sexual assault charges filed against Jackson.