Overview
- On Friday Jaafar Jackson, who starred as Michael, said he hopes the sequel will address child sexual abuse allegations from Michael Jackson’s point of view while noting he does not control the screenplay.
- Lionsgate has told journalists it is developing the follow‑up and is targeting a production start toward the end of 2026 or in early 2027 with a tentative release window in late 2027 to early 2028.
- The first Michael film ended in 1987 after producers removed scenes about the 1993 allegations when they discovered a settlement clause tied to an accuser that barred depiction, forcing rewrites and reshoots.
- The Jackson estate cooperated with the first movie and continues to deny the allegations, and critics and documentary filmmakers have accused the film of sidestepping or whitewashing the singer’s later controversies.
- Legal limits, estate cooperation and Lionsgate’s commercial goal to reuse some earlier footage mean the sequel’s scope will be shaped as much by contracts and court cases as by creative choices, with related civil litigation involving other accusers still pending toward 2028.