Lionsgate boss Adam Fogelson has talked about a potential Michael sequel, which he says will be an “incredibly entertaining movie.” Released in April, music biopic Michael didn’t so much as dance around the allegations that dogged its subject’s career as moonwalk straight past them. From a coldly financial standpoint, turning the story of Michael Jackson ... Michael 2 | Lionsgate boss promises an “incredibly entertaining” sequel that won’t make anyone uncomfortable
Lionsgate boss Adam Fogelson has talked about a potential Michael sequel, which he says will be an “incredibly entertaining movie.”
Released in April, music biopic Michael didn’t so much as dance around the allegations that dogged its subject’s career as moonwalk straight past them.
From a coldly financial standpoint, turning the story of Michael Jackson into an unabashed feel-good jukebox movie was a sound choice: it’s passed $700m in ticket sales after a month in cinemas.
As for the icky feeling that numerous allegations of abuse were avoided in order to depict the late king of pop as a reclusive genius – well, the previous line was that those allegations would be dealt with in a sequel.
“Look, there’s at least one movie,” Lionsgate boss Adam Fogelson said in April.
In a recent earnings call with Lionsgate investors, however, Fogelson appears to put to bed any suggestion that Michael 2 will deal with anything that might make fans of Jackson or his estate uncomfortable.
Instead, Fogelson said, he’s “very confident that we’ve got an incredibly entertaining movie that will appeal once again to a global audience as the pieces come together.”
He added that “much of the biggest and most popular parts of his music catalogue were… not touched upon in the first film.”
Fogelson didn’t appear to mention that Michael 2 might grapple with any of the allegations avoided by the first film; rather, his words appear to be designed to reassure investors that any sequel will be just as upbeat and lucrative as the first.
The Lionsgate boss was spot-on about one thing, though, when he said “there are so many other events that happened, even in the time frame of the original story, that weren’t touched upon.”
Director Antoine Fuqua did appear to attempt to address some of those events, having shot a sequence in which the police raid Jackson’s Neverland Ranch. That scene, and all others referencing accusations of sexual abuse or his alleged victims, were also excised, seemingly at the behest of the Jackson estate.
Given the turbulence surrounding the first film’s making, it’s unclear whether Fuqua will be tempted back to direct again. Jaafar Jackson will almost certainly be offered a considerable sum to return as Michael, assuming he isn’t contractually obligated to return anyway.
Fogelson said in his earnings call that he had about “25 to 30 percent of a second movie” already shot. He didn’t say what percentage of it was rendered essentially unusable following the Jackson family’s intervention, or how much of it will likely remain locked in a vault for the rest of time.
Plans for Michael 2 continue apace, then, with Fogelson “excited about the progress” being made with those due to be involved. Which begs the question: when will this burgeoning franchise address the elephant in the room? In a post-credits sequence, a second sequel? Tolkien-style appendices?
It’s a dark, strange and sorry situation where the pursuit of cash is favoured over so much as addressing the multiple allegations made against Jackson. The unpleasantness extends far beyond the Michael film itself; the documentary Leaving Neverland, an account of two of those allegations, was quietly dropped from HBO after a legal settlement with the Jackson family estate.
The film’s director, Dan Reed, gave a frank interview with The Hollywood Reporter a few weeks ago. It’s well worth reading.
