After becoming a viral sensation in 2023, Blumhouse’s new favorite killer doll is back with a twist in M3GAN 2.0. The film picks up two years after the events of the first film, in which the тιтular AI doll gained sentience and went on a brutal killing spree to protect the young Cady for good, but was successfully stopped by Cady and her aunt, M3GAN’s creator Gemma. With Gemma’s designs for the doll being stolen and used to create a militaristic version of the doll, an autonomous android named AMELIA with plans to take over the world with AI, Cady and Gemma must reluctantly rebuild and trust M3GAN.

Alison Williams, Violet McGraw, Amie Donald and Jenna Davis return to lead the M3GAN 2.0 cast as Gemma, Cady and the body and voice of the тιтular doll, alongside new and returning stars Ivanna Sakhno as AMELIA, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Jen Van Epps and Jemaine Clement. However, while the movie sees the return of its original creative team, including writer/director Gerard Johnstone and original writer Akela Cooper, the sequel is taking a different approach to its story, going for a more action-oriented and comedic tone than the original’s horror aesthetic.

In honor of the movie’s release, ScreenRant interviewed Alison Williams, Violet McGraw and Gerard Johnstone to discuss M3GAN 2.0. The writer/director opened up about the change in tone from the original movie, as well as the sequel’s new discussion on AI and the potential future of the franchise, while the stars shared their thoughts on the тιтular doll seemingly being on their side this time around, as well as what they think M3GAN’s been up to in the two years since.

M3GAN 2.0 Embracing A More Absurd Tone Felt Like A Natural Evolution To Johnstone

The Sequel Still Shows The Terrifying Side Of AI

While the first M3GAN garnered praise for its mix of aware campy horror with genuine chills, the sequel is clearly designed to be a more directly humorous effort, as showcased by the тιтular doll’s more sarcastic one-liners and the marketing’s use of Britney Spears’ “…Baby One More Time”. When asked about the shift in tone, Johnstone acknowledged it was already “absurd” that the technology behind the creation of the тιтular doll “could exist within a toy company“, but that it led to the idea that “people would be wanting to get their hands on that technology“, particularly the military.

“The world’s in a race right now to be the first to get to AGI,” Johnstone explained, “and if people are thinking, ‘Well, that was M3GAN, and this technology, what could we do?’ It just felt like the military could come knocking, other nations could come knocking. It just felt like the story was going to go on this way that was much bigger and more global.“

This evolution also led to Johnstone and Cooper finding a new thematic angle for M3GAN 2.0‘s story, with the writer/director explaining that the first film “was really a straight allegory on devices“, particularly pulling from his own experience as a parent. “I was really concerned about how we were so freely giving these kids these devices that they’re making a connection to this thing that you can’t untether“, Johnstone described.

With the sequel, the creative team is now touching on the conversation “broadly about AI“, including how “ChatGPT and other forms of AI and image generators have just kind of completely changed the game“. Describing this idea as being both “really concerning” and “worrying“, he also denotes that the new movie explores the feeling of “S–t, this is too powerful to go away” and that, since “it’s going to be here“, humanity may “need to figure out a way to work with it“, which translates to the tentative trust between M3GAN, Cady and Gemma to stop AMELIA.

Now that he’s explored a different tone for the sequel, Johnstone confirms his interest in tapping into a new subgenre with a potential third M3GAN movie, being “along for the ride“, including “an intrepid Indiana Jones adventure through the jungle“. However, the writer/director admits to not having current ideas for a threequel, saying “I put all the ideas I had into this movie” and that “I just don’t ever think about the future“.

Johnstone & His Cast Have Different Ideas About What M3GAN’s Been Up To

“…She’s Aware That She’s An Ally.”

After the first M3GAN‘s cliffhanger ending, in which it appeared the AI program escaped into Gemma’s smart devices in her home, the sequel confirms that Gemma was able to trap her in a harmless robotic doll in the years since. When asked what they think she’s been up to, Johnstone confirms “she hasn’t really gone away” and has been “biding her time” while existing in the “digital ether“. This also led to M3GAN’s realization that the public now sees her as an ally, feeling “she’s been kind of forsaken” and inspired her to utilize “the opportunity to prove that there’s more to her than just being a killer doll“.

As for Williams and McGraw, the duo have their own thoughts on what M3GAN has been using her time to do while in the doll, with the former sharing her bet that “she’s a Real Housewives of Salt Lake City fan“. “I feel like we’d need to be like, ‘You’re not going to believe this, we’ve lost people to the Carceral system in the show’,” Williams said with a chuckle, referring to former star Jen Shah and her legal problems with committing wire fraud and subsequent imprisonment.

It depends on what went on in the Sprinter van, or was gone from the Sprinter van. It depends on what she’s had access to, wherever she’s been. I would think the first thing she would do is binge all of those shows. “I need to just occupy my time somehow.” [Chuckles]

M3GAN’s Return Has Different Impacts On Cady & Gemma

“I Think Cady Likes That She’s Back.”

Throughout the first film, the biggest source of conflict in both M3GAN’s programming and the dynamic with Gemma was her directive to protect Cady and keep her happy, which partly inspired her violent downturn. While the emergence of AMELIA is a key part of why Gemma elects to rebuild the тιтular doll, it still comes with a sense of tension between Williams and McGraw’s characters, with the former explaining that Gemma is still “not sure if [M3GAN’s] on her side this whole time around“.

As for Cady, McGraw feels that her character is happy that M3GAN has been rebuilt with a new body, believing that Cady is now “secure” with the тιтular doll, even after the events of the first film, in which she helped destroy the doll’s original body with the use of Bruce. “I think she feels like she just reunited with her bestie after a couple of years,” McGraw explained. “I think Cady likes that she’s back.“

The Resurgence Of Girls’ Popularity Has Been “Incredibly Gratifying” For Williams

She Also Thinks M3GAN Is A Good Parallel For 1 Character

Looking beyond the film, Williams also reflected on her breakout role in HBO’s Girls, particularly as the show has found renewed discussion thanks to social media. The star was enthusiastic about how audiences are revisiting the show, calling it “incredibly gratifying and very cool“, while also denoting that McGraw “can never watch it“, laughing as she trails off her explanation of the show’s more mature content.

Recalling how she and the “millennial generation were watching our own lives happening” through Girls‘ characters and are now “in the safety of their adulthood” and can “enjoy watching the chaos“, Williams feels that “Gen Z is having a moment with the show” as they find “a version of their own existence” on the show. “That’s just far enough away that they can enjoy it, and it also means that people like Marnie now, which is not something I lived with while we were making the show,” Williams shared. “People vehemently hated her.“

Wrapping up her discussion about the show’s newfound success, Williams even humorously shared her feelings that “M3GAN is a Marnie“, being “very proud of” the comparison between the two characters and feeling that the killer doll binged the HBO show while trapped in her newfound body.

Source: ScreenRant Plus