Lionsgate boss Adam Fogelson has promised there will be “more Michael soon” after the Michael Jackson biopic.
The upcoming musical movie received its first trailer on Thursday (06.11.25), confirming its April 2026 release, and although Fogelson has insisted the studio is not ready to announce a Michael sequel, he has vowed there is more to come for the King of Pop on the big screen.
Speaking with analysts after releasing Lionsgate’s second quarter financial results, the chair of the studio’s Motion Picture Group said: “While we’re not yet ready to confirm plans for a second film, I can tell you that the creative team is hard at work making sure that we’re in a position to deliver more Michael soon after we release the first film.”
The trailer for Michael unveiled Jaafar Jackson – the King of Pop’s nephew – as the Billie Jean chart-topper, and Fogelson has celebrated the positive reaction to the musical drama.
He said: “People have been waiting a long time for this. And we have seen wild enthusiasm. I think people are stunned with Jaafar’s performance, even in the short amount that is in this relatively brief teaser.
“If you look at the top tier musical biopics, you get a pretty good sense of what the range is, and anything in any version of that is going to be a huge success.”
The studio boss highlighted the work of Michael’s producer Graham King, who had produced the 2018 Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.
Although Fogelson admitted the third act for Michael needed reworking – due to its depiction of a Jackson molestation accuser, who was previously guaranteed by the singer’s estate that he would never feature in a dramatisation of his story – the Lionsgate head called director Antoine Fuqua’s work “exceptional”.
He said: “Since the last time we were together on an earnings call, we have now had the great pleasure of seeing the director’s cut of the first film, and it is exceptional.”
Michael follows Michael Jackson’s journey from The Jackson 5 to record-breaking solo stardom, driven by perfectionism, family pressure and artistic genius.
The biopic traces the making of music history while examining the personal battles behind the legend.
The film also stars Miles Teller as Jackson’s longtime attorney and advisor John Branca, Colman Domingo and Nia Long as Jackson’s parents, Joe and Katherine Jackson, and Larenz Tate as the founder of Motown Records, Berry Gordy.
Meanwhile, Laura Harrier plays Suzanne de Passe, a pioneering female music executive, alongside Kat Graham’s Diana Ross and Kendrick Sampson’s Quincy Jones, who produced Jackson’s three most successful albums: Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), and Bad (1987).
Michael was initially due to release on October 3, 2025, but was pushed back – reportedly due to plans of splitting the biopic in two.
Although principal photography for Michael wrapped in May 2024, reshoots were ordered and the script – written by John Logan – was reworked.
