'Michael' premiered on April 24, starring Jaafar Jackson as his uncle Michael Jackson
Credit: Glen Wilson/LIONSGATE
NEED TO KNOW
- Michael premiered in theaters in April 2026, starring Michael Jackson’s nephew, Jaafar Jackson, as the late singer
- Lionsgate may greenlight a sequel if the biopic is successful at the box office
- Legal issues tied to Michael’s 1993 child sexual abuse lawsuit impacted the original film’s third act and could shape a sequel
Michael Jackson fans are already itching for another movie about the legendary singer — and the team behind Michael feels the same way.
“We absolutely have more story to tell,” Lionsgate film chair Adam Fogelson told The Hollywood Reporter at the movie's premiere in April 2026. “We have prepared for that moment. And if the audience reinforces that they’re ready for more, we’re prepared to give it to them sooner rather than later.”
Anticipation for the film has only grown as it's been in development since 2019, per Deadline. Legal issues tied to Michael’s 1993 child sexual abuse lawsuit — allegations the late singer denied but later settled for more than $20 million — delayed the release by another year, per Variety and CNN.
So, will there be a sequel to Michael? Here's everything to know about the next potential Michael Jackson biopic.
Will there be a sequel to Michael?
Credit: LIONSGATE
Lionsgate has not confirmed whether or not there will be a follow-up film to Michael. However, at the end of the movie, as the credits begin to roll a title card comes onto the screen, reading, "His Story Continues."
An insider told The Hollywood Reporter that the note was a last minute addition as of a month before the movie was released, when producers and filmmakers realized how successful the movie could be at the box office.
A source added, however, that a script had not yet been written and a decision would not be made until the movie premiered.
Variety also reported in April 2026 that if the biopic grosses $700 million worldwide, then Lionsgate would plan to make a sequel — and director Antoine Fuqua said he was game.
"It's a lot," the director said of choosing where to potentially go with Michael's story in an April 2026 interview with BlackTree TV. "There's the whole Neverland of it all, there's the Super Bowl … some of that stuff we have. So we'll see how things go at the box office."
What could the Michael sequel be about?
Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate
An official logline for a second Michael movie hasn't been released. However, fans can anticipate what the potential film would be about by looking at what didn't make it in the original flick.
While the film was originally set to address the 1993 lawsuit in which a 13-year-old boy accused Jackson of molestation, a legal issue raised in January 2025 caused the production to halt.
Producers found a clause in the singer's $25-million settlement that barred the depiction or mention of the accuser in film or television, causing the entire third act of the movie to be cut, per Variety.
Fuqua had to retool the movie to be more about Michael's tense relationship with his father, Joe Jackson, amid his growing solo career.
The studio reportedly believes that 30% of the footage from the lost third act could be used in a sequel, including a police raid on Michael's Neverland Ranch. Fuqua told The New Yorker in April 2026 that he shot the singer "being stripped naked, treated like an animal, a monster.”
What have Jaafar Jackson and the cast said about a Michael sequel?
Credit: Michael Kovac/Getty
The biopic stars Jaafar Jackson as his uncle, the King of Pop, a role he described as the "honor of a lifetime" in an April 2026 interview with Vogue.
Though the actor hasn’t confirmed whether another Michael film is in the works, he told ScreenRant in an April 2026 interview that he “absolutely” has more to give.
"There could be a sequel," Colman Domingo, who plays Joe, teased during an interview on Today. "There's a possibility of there being a part two that may deal with some other things that happened afterward."
Nia Long, who plays Jackson's mother Katherine, joked, "If the price is right!"
Where can I watch Michael?
Credit: LIONSGATE
Michael was released in theaters on April 24.
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