The head of the studio behind hit biopic Michael has said a sequel is moving forward, and that the new film may not follow chronologically from where the last one ended.
The story of the life of Michael Jackson (played by Jaafar Jackson) broke records upon its release and has so far earned $715million (£532million) worldwide at the box office. The film ended with the caption “His Story Continues”, implying a sequel may be on the way, and Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Chair Adam Fogelson has shed some light on the development.
“We are really excited about the progress we’re making with respect to a second Michael film,” the executive said, via Variety. “All the conversations that we’ve been having with all of the appropriate parties continue to go exceptionally well.”
The first film covered the star’s life from childhood to the peak of his fame in the late ‘80s. A legal settlement prevented the production from portraying the court cases that occurred later in his life, with the film requiring reshoots.
Regarding the timeline for the second film, Fogelson said: “Much of the biggest and most popular parts of his music catalogue were not touched upon in the first film. There are so many other events that happened, even in the time frame of the original movie that weren’t touched upon, 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.”
He then emphasised that the story may not be strictly chronological “We can go forwards and backwards in telling this story,” he said.
In other news, Michael Jackson’s daughter Paris recently won a legal battle for $625,000 to be returned to her father’s estate.