Following an impressive opening week in the US, new horror flick M3GAN arrives in UK cinemas this weekend, and there are already reports it could kickstart a whole new franchise.
The film tells the story of the titular AI doll, who is created by skilled roboticist Gemma (Alison Williams) and gifted to her recently bereaved niece as a companion, only for things to quickly spiral out of control when the doll develops a taste for murder.
After a hectic final act, the film ends on something of a cliffhanger, and so fans will no doubt be desperate to know if and when we can expect to see more of M3GAN and her murderous ways (not to mention her iconic dance moves).
Read on for everything we know so far about the possibility of M3GAN 2, and be warned: there are some spoilers for M3GAN ahead.
Will there be a M3GAN 2?
Nothing has been confirmed so far, but if recent reports are to be believed, then yes –it looks like there will indeed be a second M3GAN film.
Less than a week after the film’s US release on Friday 6th January, Deadline revealed that “there are already plans” for a sequel, and both director Gerard Johnstone and producer James Wan have spoken about the possibility of another film.
In an interview with Collider, Wan – who is vastly experienced in creating horror franchises – said that he always “likes to think of a bigger world” and that “we have an idea of where we want to go” in the event of a sequel being greenlit.
Meanwhile Johnstone told Variety: “There are so many ideas that we had and facets of M3GAN’s personality that we wanted to explore. I totally think there’s there’s more to say. And I know that M3GAN would have more to say. I would love to do another one. Hopefully soon, while it’s still fresh in everyone’s minds.”
That willingness from the creative team behind the film, coupled with the impressive box office takings so far and the cliffhanger ending of the first movie, seems to indicate that a sequel is all but a certainty – but we’ll update this page when we get more concrete information.
M3GAN 2 release date speculation
It’s far too early to definitively state when fans can expect a second film to be released, but with Johnstone claiming he’d prefer a sequel to arrive “while it’s still fresh in everyone’s minds” it hopefully won’t be too long a wait.
Production on the first film began in June 2021, a year and a half before release, and so with that timeline in mind we imagine it would be at least a couple of years until we saw a second film – probably towards the start of 2025 at the earliest.
Should any new information come to light, we’ll update this page accordingly.
What could happen in M3GAN 2?
If a sequel does go ahead, James Wan has teased that he has some ideas of where it might go – and the ending of the first film certainly leaves a lot of possible avenues open. *Spoilers ahead*
In the final moments of M3GAN, after the titular AI doll has been destroyed, Gemma’s smart home device suddenly switches on, suggesting that M3GAN has been able to transfer her consciousness to that device and live on.
A sequel would therefore likely see her continue to wreak havoc as she goes after Gemma and Cady – most likely with a brand new body.
And even without the prospect of a vengeful M3GAN to deal with, Gemma will have a lot on her plate in a second film, what with her employer having been brutally murdered by a machine she created (and the fact that she now has to look after her niece without any AI help).
M3GAN 2 cast
If a sequel is greenlit as expected, we’d imagine Alison Williams and Violet McGraw would be back as Gemma and Cady respectively, while it’s possible that Amie Donald and Jenna Davis could return as a new M3GAN doll after the original prototype was destroyed.
On the other hand, we’re not very likely to see Ronny Chieng, Stephane Garneau-Monten or Lori Dungey reprise their roles, with each of their characters having been a victim of M3GAN’s murderous rampage in the first film.
And of course, we’d also expect a few new faces to join in the event of a sequel – as soon as any casting news breaks we’ll post it right here.
M3GAN is showing in UK cinemas from Friday 13th January 2023. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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