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5 things we want to see in 'M3GAN 2.0'
M3GAN is booting up for a sequel, and we're thinking about all the fun she can have this time.
This week, we got confirmation that M3GAN will be back for more slaying. Producers Blumhouse and Atomic Monster confirmed that M3GAN 2.0 is on the way, with an early 2025 release date and writer Akela Cooper returning to shepherd the story, alongside returning stars Allison Williams and Violet McGraw. Given the first film's box office success and instant fandom, it's no surprise that we're getting another story in this wild sci-fi-horror universe. Now, we just have to endure the two-year wait.
In the meantime, with M3GAN still fresh in our minds, let's think a little about what 2.0 has to offer. There's, of course, plenty of potential, and we know that Cooper doesn't need us to tell her how to write a fun horror flick. Still, we can dream, so here are five things we're really looking forward to in a M3GAN sequel.
Widen Gemma and Cady's inner circle
Though M3GAN is unquestionably the star of the show, the heart of the film is the struggle of Gemma (Allison Williams) and her niece Cady (Violet McGraw) to find meaningful connection in the wake of a family tragedy. For a while, it seems like M3GAN (Amie Donald and Jenna Davis) is the solution to the problem, offering friendship to Cady and a source of professional and personal pride for Gemma, but we all know how that turned out. As the film ends, Cady and Gemma head into the future with a stronger bond, one in which they both understand that they need each other in ways they perhaps haven't fully explored yet.
So, we can probably expect that bond to deepen as we head into M3GAN 2.0, but it'll also be interesting to see how Gemma and Cady use their understanding that they need human connection to widen their respective circles. We got a brief reference to Gemma's dating life, so maybe she'll follow through on that, while Cady might have a chance to make some human friends far removed from her previous technological entanglements. And of course, more people mean more victims for M3GAN to potentially put in her crosshairs. And speaking of more people...
Explore the wide world of corporate espionage
Though the film's final shot gives us one very obvious loose end for M3GAN 2.0 to latch onto, it's not the only big unanswered question in the film. There's also the question of what happened to all those files on M3GAN that Kurt (Stephane Garneau-Monten) stole from Funki headquarters back before all the carnage started. Kurt's dead by the end of the film, as is his boss David (Ronny Chieng), but those files are still out there somewhere, and we all know that there are plenty of people who won't necessarily have any scruples about picking them up and running with them.
This is not say that M3GAN 2.0 should be entirely focused on how the tech world chooses to exploit Gemma's plans for her android gone wrong, but given how much fun it was to watch M3GAN briefly rampage through Funki headquarters in the first film, it's definitely worth spending some time on for the sequel, and it probably won't be too difficult, because...
Dive into other uses for M3GAN
The final shot of M3GAN reveals that M3GAN's connection to Gemma's smart home device, Elsie, ran deeper than simple interfacing. The implication is that, even if her brain is destroyed physically, M3GAN's consciousness has lived on in another device. That capability, plus the complexity of her AI and the corporate espionage angle, means that it should only be a matter of time before we start seeing her pop up elsewhere.
After all, M3GAN is ultimately a product, a toy that Funki was hoping to sell as the most advanced doll to ever exist, but that product could be exploited in many other ways. Imagine the M3GAN system being used for a self-driving car, or a phone, or even a smart fridge. We don't need to go full The Mitchells vs. The Machines with it, but it would still be fun to see how the concept expands once M3GAN herself starts to extend her reach. And while we'e talking about M3GAN's reach.
Don't lose M3GAN's style
M3GAN didn't just become a hit because it presented an updated version of Chucky or some other simplistic comparison like that. It became a hit because of M3GAN herself. Her look, her voice, her weird robot swagger, and her killer instinct all played a role in drawing audiences to the film, but if you've seen M3GAN, you know that things ran even deeper than that. M3GAN's overall style as a character worked not just because she looked like a little girl who could dance and murder you with a paper cutter, but because of her connection to Cady and her desire to push that connection to its absolute logical extreme. It's not just a story of toys gone bad, but a story of misplaced love and devotion and what that can do in the wrong hands. So, however M3GAN evolves in the sequel, whatever songs she might sing or dances she might do, that kind of style is also worth remembering, along with one other key thing...
Don't be afraid to get weird with it (again)
As many critics and fans have pointed out over the last couple of weeks as M3GAN has settled into pop culture hit status, the film succeeds not just because it's got a great concept, but because it's fun, and because it's weird. Cooper, who also wrote Malignant, was not shy at all about exploring the inherent strangeness of the premise. Why does M3GAN spontaneously burst into song? Why are neighborhood moms able to look at her, freak out, then go about their business? Why does she start dancing instead of getting straight to the killing. Because it's fun, and it's that kind of weird, self-aware horror that's drawing in audiences. We can't wait to see how weird M3GAN 2.0 gets with it.
M3GAN is now in theaters. Another killer doll, Chucky, is streaming on Peacock.
