When it arrived at the start of 2023, M3GAN proved to be a very different kind of killer doll movie – one with a stern personality upgrade from your
When it arrived at the start of 2023, M3GAN proved to be a very different kind of killer doll movie – one with a stern personality upgrade from your typical anonymous-murder-puppet fare. Because it turned out M3GAN herself was an instant movie star, slicing and twirling and dancing her way to immediate hit status. And that’s just the beginning. Here comes M3GAN 2.0, now with boosted hardware, a summer release date, and double the android trouble – a sequel from returning director Gerard Johnstone in which the murderous/mischievous (delete as applicable) machine meets her match in souped-up modern villain Amelia (Ahsoka’s Ivanna Sakhno).
If the tagline (’This Bitch vs. That Bitch’) didn’t tip you off, this one’s dialling up the knowing fun. “It’s the ultimate mean-girl showdown,” Sakhno promises Empire, “while remaining a very campy, cunty movie.” With a capital ‘C’, we’d expect. Even Johnstone agrees to that description. “That’s absolutely fair,” he laughs. “That’s probably the best appraisal of the tone I’ve heard so far.” Where M3GAN was ostensibly a horror movie, the follow-up is more action-focused with “freaky scares” in the mix, he says – though M3GAN transcends boundaries, boxes, and genres. “A batshit reaction deserves a bonkers sequel,” the filmmaker promises.
Think of it, then, as the catty cousin of the T-800 vs T-1000 showdown. “We saw the path James Cameron took with Terminator 2,” says producer James Wan. “If part of the jokey inspiration for the first M3GAN was that it was supposed to be our version of The Terminator, but with a killer doll instead of Arnold Schwarzenegger, then it felt right that the sequel would be Terminator 2: Judgment Day. We knew that M3GAN had to meet a nemesis potentially more powerful than she is.” It’s time for humanity to be judged – and M3GAN is ready to serve.
Read Empire’s full M3GAN 2.0 feature – getting the inside story on Blumhouse’s blockbuster sequel – in the Jurassic World Rebirth issue, on sale Thursday 8 May. Pre-order a copy online here. M3GAN 2.0 comes to UK cinemas on 27 June.
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