Additional filming on Michael Jackson biopic Michael is finished – but the bills are mounting, and the planned second film is up in the air. It was all the way back in January of 2023 that Antoine Fuqua was announced as the director of the long-mooted Michael Jackson biopic. Going by the name of Michael, ... Michael Jackson film | The scale of the gamble becomes clear
Additional filming on Michael Jackson biopic Michael is finished – but the bills are mounting, and the planned second film is up in the air.
It was all the way back in January of 2023 that Antoine Fuqua was announced as the director of the long-mooted Michael Jackson biopic. Going by the name of Michael, this is a film project telling the story of the controversial late music icon, and one that’s been made with the cooperation and backing of Jackson’s family. So much so that Jaafar Jackson will be portraying him in the film.
Jackson’s later life was plagued by controversies and allegations, but against that, there’s a successful musical production playing in theatres that manages to skate over all of that. The suspicion for some is that the film may end up doing the same.
Lionsgate is the studio backing the picture, with Universal having non-US rights, and already, the budget for the movie is north of $150m. Principal photography began in January 2024, but nearly two years on, the film remains several months away.
Earlier this year, following what looks like legal advice, further photography was ordered, and also we got the rumour that the film was going to be split into two movies. This may or may not be true, but it certainly looks like the first cut of Michael ran for up to four hours.
A report at Puck suggests that the relatively extensive additional photography has now wrapped up, with a new ending for the film put together. Puck suggests that the film will now finish towards the end of the 1980s, and that leaves a bunch of material already shot that will carry the story into the choppier waters of the 1990s.
However, therein lies further challenges.
It’s still not been confirmed that we’re going to get a second Michael movie, and the decision whether to press ahead with that or not will rest on the performance of the first film. Should Michael do well when released next Easter, then to get the second chapter moving, another bunch of photography will need to be organised, with the amount needed to be shot for that described as “significant.”
Puck also suggests that there’s a batch of footage shot surrounding the allegations that first surfaced in the 1990s is material the filmmakers are not able to use. The implication is that this is for legal reasons, which in itself would be staggering had that all been checked off prior to the expensive of shooting it all in the first place.
It’s worth noting that, unsurprisingly, there’s been no official comment on all of this from the filmmakers or from Lionsgate. Still, earlier this year it was denied that the release date was being bumped from 2025, and yet that’s exactly what happened. It may be a while before we get a clear telling of the behind the scenes story. The press junket for Michael might end up being as challenging as the film itself.
As it stands, just part one of the Michael project is a nine figure gamble. A gamble on a figure who very much divides opinion.
More as we hear it.
