Warning: This post contains spoilers for M3GAN 2.0.
M3GAN became a surprise hit in early 2023, earning nearly $182 million worldwide against a budget of just $12 million, due in part to the balance the movie managed to strike between creepy horror and campy comedy. Here was an AI-powered doll who came pre-loaded with meme-worthy dance moves and the ability to spontaneously burst into an a cappella rendition of Sia’s “Titanium,” but who was also capable of chasing school children into oncoming traffic and fatally wielding a machete. Over two years later, M3GAN 2.0 brings its sassy titular android back for a sequel that delivers on the comedy front, but strips M3GAN of her horror appeal in favor of a more action-centric plot.
When a horror sequel featuring the same big bad as the first movie gets the green light, there’s generally one of two routes it can go: a new and improved (or, more often, not so impressive) take on the original story or a Terminator 2-style installment in which the villain comes up against an even greater threat. M3GAN 2.0, written and directed by Gerard Johnstone, opts for the latter, a decision that sends the franchise in a new direction by giving M3GAN (played by Amie Donald and voiced by Jenna Davis) a redemption arc following her previous murderous rampage.
“For me, it was just so obvious, because the reaction to the first film happened on this global scale,” Johnstone told Variety of the reason for the tonal shift. “The technology that M3GAN has is being fought over by various nations. At the moment, everyone’s in this race to be the first to get AGI. It felt like a story that needed to play out on a much bigger canvas.”
In the two years that have passed since the events of the first film, roboticist Gemma (Allison Williams) has become a staunch advocate for government regulation of AI, while her now-preteen niece Cady (Violet McGraw) has thrown herself into computer science and…
