Lionsgate thinks Michael sequel could come in 2028

This is per Deadline, which reported on Lionsgate’s quarterly earnings call yesterday. According to Fogelson, “we are targeting a production start towards the end of this year or early next,” though he says “we’re not ready to announce everything at the moment.” Morality of making an assumedly hagiographic biopic of the final two decades of Michael Jackson’s life aside, the studio should have a relatively easy time getting the next movie out fairly quickly. “We do have a number of sequences, particularly some big musical sequences, that were shot previously, that are almost sure to be incorporated,” Fogelson told investors, “but we are mostly focused right now on how to make sure we can deliver, at the right price, the biggest, best sequel.” 

Of course, given what happened the first time, bringing these years to the screen promises to be something of a legal minefield, and touching one of these mines is expensive. At least some of the costs of the reshoots for the first movie came from advances from the film’s eventual royalties. Lionsgate presumably has a better idea of what’s off-limits for the next film, though—specifically, any mention of the name Jordan Chandler.