‘Michael’ Could Be Getting a Sequel - And Fans’ Opinions Are Mixed
The possibility of a sequel to Antoine Fuqua's controversial Michael biopic has increased following the film's successful box office performance.
Michael's production was a particularly turbulent one, with the script going through multiple rewrites over the years to avoid legal issues. The original film intended to deal with the accusations leveled against Michael Jackson in 1993 of child sexual abuse, but the studio was ultimately forced to spend $15 million to rewrite and reshoot the film when they discovered they lacked the legal grounds to portray this on film (via Variety).
The team initially considered splitting Michael into two parts, but this delayed production made that practically impossible. Instead, they decided to create a film that could stand on its own—but which opens the door to a sequel in the near future. The movie closes with a title that reads "His story continues...".
Adam Fogelson, the Chairman of Lionsgate, expressed that a sequel to Michael would only be considered if the film performs well at the box office and receives strong reviews. Almost two weeks after its release, Michael has acheived one of those criteria.
Michael had a staggering $93 million opening in the United States, with its worldwide total climbing to $237 million after just one week (via Box Office Mojo). This is the strongest box office opening ever seen for a musical biopic, smashing the record of $60 million that was previously held by Straight Outta Compton.
It also exceeds the opening of Bohemian Rhapsody, the Queen biopic that went on to accumulate over $900 million worldwide. At its current rate, Michael is well on-track to continue breaking records and potentially cross $1 billion.
This means it's almost certain that Lionsgate will be looking to get started on Michael's sequel, which has reportedly already been greenlit by studio executives (via Screen Rant). Fuqua has previously said that enough footage has already been shot to cover the later years of Jackson's life from before the rewrites and reshoots.
Despite all this material success, Michael has been extremely polarizing for critics. While many reviews have praised the creative musical sequences and Jafaar Jackson's dazzling lead performance, there has also been a lot of criticism levelled against the film for its poor writing and improper handling of a sensitive issue.
While the film boasts a 97% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, critics have been much harsher with just 37%. The consensus reads: "While Jaafar Jackson's smooth moves bring the King of Pop to uncanny life, this musical biopic mostly plays like a "greatest hits" album that could've benefitted from including liner notes to give actual insight into the icon."
Many of the film's flaws will inevitably come down to the turbulent production and last-minute rewrites, which clearly disrupted Fuqua's original vision for the story. Since footage for the second movie has already been shot, and the crew has more time to craft the rest of the story to surround it, Michael 2 should end up being a more cohesive, interrogative film—in theory.