When the horror comedy “M3GAN” became a hit in early 2023 and turned its killer doll title character into an icon, director Gerard Johnstone — who, throughout production, feared he was “making a career-ending goofy puppet movie” — felt an instant sense of liberation. “As restrained as the first film was, there was nothing restrained about the reaction of the fans,” Johnstone told IndieWire during a recent interview.
That gave Johnstone the justification he needed to take a big risk with “M3GAN 2.0” and flip the story on its head, not only turning M3gan into the protagonist, but making a film in an entirely different genre from the original — action rather than horror.
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This time around, M3gan joins forces with her nemesis from the first film, Allison Williams’ Gemma, to take on an artificial intelligence-fuled robot named Amelia who’s out to wipe out the human race. The tone? Closer to “Terminator 2” than “Child’s Play.” The sequel also leans even more into the comedy, which Johnstone says was by design.
“All my favorite sequels have been a departure from the previous film in either genre or tone, whether it’s ‘Evil Dead 3,’ ‘Mad Max 2,’ or even ‘Empire Strikes Back,’” Johnstone said. “To me, it never felt controversial to not want to retread the exact same territory of the first movie. But although the tone is a little different, I think it’s still faithful to the character, who was always darkly humorous and slightly absurd. It only skews comedic because she’s more center stage this time.”
Johnstone wrote the screenplay for “M3GAN 2.0” (the first film was written by Akela Cooper), but he gives credit for the initial premise to producer James Wan. “James Wan had the initial idea of making another robot for M3gan to face off against, and because the public conversation around AI was evolving, that inspired me to reexamine M3gan as a character — whether there might be an argument that she was put out to pasture before she had the opportunity to evolve or learn from her mistakes,” Johnstone said.
While the “Terminator 2” influence is most apparent, it’s just one of many reference points in a cinematic tapestry filled with Easter eggs for horror, sci-fi, and fantasy fans. “There are almost too many to name,” Johnstone said. “M3gan’s lair may not have existed without the influence of ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula,’ ‘City of Lost Children,’ and ‘Pan’s Labyrinth.’ A less conscious influence came when Amelia’s costume concept art was presented, which I realized reflected my love of ‘Robocop,’ ‘Beyond the Black Rainbow,’ and Daft Punk in equal measure.”
For all of the sequel’s changes in tone and story, Johnstone was sure to reprise some of the elements that fans loved in the first movie — like the dance M3gan did that went viral — albeit with some new twists. “Well, there had to be a dance, but obviously not one we could see coming,” Johnstone said. A scene set at an AI convention created the perfect showcase for M3gan to show off some new moves.
“The AI convention provided an opportunity for M3gan to go incognito as a robot dressed as a human dressed as a robot — and eventually get caught in a robot dance-off,” Johnstone said. “To pull it off required a hybrid performance between our incredible M3gan body actress Amie Donald and an equally incredible robot dancer from China by the name of ‘Barbin’ who’s quite possibly the greatest female pop and locker on the planet.”
M3gan’s robot dance-off is just one example of the tricky tonal balance Johnstone was going for in “M3GAN 2.0,” keeping the stakes high while playing up the comedy. “It’s always about committing wholeheartedly to whatever tone or genre you’re in,” Johnstone said. “This film is obviously a very different beast, it’s much more complex, much more challenging, and by design not quite as scary as the first.”
That said, Johnstone hopes audiences will embrace the differences and appreciate what’s new. “What we lack in scares we more than make up for in other areas, like Jemaine Clement knocking over furniture in an oversized mobile massage chair,” Johnstone said, referring to one of the film’s more hilarious bits of physical comedy. Creating that kind of comedy, Johnstone said, may look easy, but it takes a lot of effort to make something that’s “effortlessly” entertaining.
“It’s nothing but challenging!,” Johnstone said. “Working on a movie is the most physically and mentally draining job I’ve ever had, and I say that as someone who worked in a slaughterhouse. But we’re in this business to make people happy, and at the very end of the process, when I get to sit in a theater and hear people have a good time, then I get to go home happy as well.”
Whatever the fan reaction is to M3gan’s latest iteration, Johnstone felt that taking a bold swing was the only appropriate approach. “It just felt oddly limiting to have her do the same thing again,” he said. “And I don’t think M3gan likes being put in a box.”
A Universal Pictures film, “M3GAN 2.0” is now in theaters.
