In recent years, we’ve seen an influx of biopics about famous names in music such as Queen, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Elton John and Whitney Houston. Now, the latest, Antoine Fuqua’s Michael Jackson movie, is here! Since it’s a movie that makes a distinct choice about where to leave the audience when the credits roll (with twenty years of his life unexplored), naturally, we need to talk about how Michael ends and what it could mean for a follow-up.
Once you watch the ending of Michael, there’s an open-endedness to it that has us thinking, could we get a sequel – or maybe an extended cut? Let’s take a look at the “Man In The Mirror” and get into what its finale means.
How Michael Ends
The story of Michael is essentially about the artist finding his own way in music and breaking away from his allegedly abusive father, whilst being a huge pop star. It concludes with Michael at the end of The Victory Tour with his brothers, marking that he was officially going on his own path. It also starts and ends with Jackson performing at Wembley Stadium during the Bad Tour back in 1988, in a time jump that sees him successful and thriving on his own. But before the movie is officially over, this washes over the screen:
The story continues…
If you felt the ending was a bit abrupt or confusing, you’re absolutely not alone. But, the reason for this title card is a bit more complicated than an Avengers movie saying something like “Iron Man will return in Avengers: Doomsday”. There’s allegedly a bit of a messy backstory behind it, and some unanswered questions about what it could mean going forward for another Michael biopic.
How Reshoots That Allegedly Changed Michael
The first thing to note about the Michael ending is that it was originally different. The movie was reportedly going to address the 1993 allegation that Michael Jackson molested 13-year-old Jordan Chandler in the third act of the biopic. However, after the movie had already been filmed, Michael underwent reshoots that apparently cost around $10 to $15 million for 22 additional days of photography (per Variety). The Michael Jackson estate allegedly covered the cost for the reshoots.
Why? Apparently, the estate found a clause in a settlement with Jordan Chandler that wouldn’t allow the movie to mention him in “any movie.” So, rather than Michael getting into the singer’s molestation allegations, they chose to end the movie on a different note. The reshoots allegedly included a new third act and allowed the production to flesh out other scenes from earlier in the film. This is one reason why Michael ends the way it does. Without the movie going into the 90s, it can gloss over the fact that he was publicly accused of child sexual abuse in August 1993 and the additional allegations and investigations that took place from then to 2005, when he was acquitted of all criminal charges.
Could There Be A Sequel?
Here’s another thing to consider, too. There’s also talk of a second Michael film. Check out what Lionsgate film chair Adam Fogelson told The Hollywood Reporter at the movie’s premiere:
We absolutely have more story to tell... We have prepared for that moment. And if the audience reinforces that they’re ready for more, we’re prepared to give it to them sooner rather than later.
Michael producer Graham King has previously specified that he would like to make a second film in order to cover the other albums in Jackson’s career like Dangerous and Invincible, along with the purchase and construction of the Neverland Ranch and his passion for animals. Colman Domingo, who plays Michael’s dad in the movie, also said this on Today:
There's a possibility of there being a Part 2, that may deal with some other things that happen afterwards. This is about the making of Michael, how he was raised, and then how he was trying to find his voice as an artist and be a solo artist… There could be a sequel, but we don’t know yet.
As usual, when it comes to Hollywood movies, what will help determine whether a Michael sequel happens is how the movie is received by audiences. Projections for its global box office performance have the movie expected to break some box office records, with reports saying it could get the biggest music biopic debut ever, per Gold Derby.
So far, the results are split between critics and casual moviegoers. On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has a 39 percent “rotten” score from over 150 reviews and a very positive response from the audience-geared Popcornmeter with a 95 percent. The big complaints are regarding the movie feeling like “damage control” and “afraid to navigate the singer’s anxieties, traumas, and frustrations”. Other, more positive first reactions have said it was “recreated to perfection” and “one of the best music biopics”.
All that being said, the question still stands on how the next Michael movie would discuss the controversies around the King of Pop, especially in the 1990s and 2000s. Will audiences embrace Michael enough without mention of his allegations for a second movie? Perhaps a sequel could be made that’s even more concert-focused?
What About An Extended Cut?
One more element of this is that Michael reportedly covered so much that its runtime was closer to four hours than two hours. Could an extended cut come out, should the movie become a hit? When CinemaBlend spoke to Antoine Fuqua about it, here’s what the director had to say:
It's too early to think about that right now. It's so painful when you have to cut anything out, right? So we're still going through footage. We got so much footage.
So, there are a few ways “the story continues…” can and will be translated based on how Michael is received, but for now, perhaps it’s best to consider it as a reminder that there’s more to Michael Jackson’s life than what the confines of a glamorous biopic can fit in a single moviegoing experience.
