Universal Pictures has released a new trailer for M3GAN, an upcoming horror film from Blumhouse and James Wan.
M3GAN follows Gemma (Get Out's Allison Williams), a brilliant roboticist at a toy company, who uses artificial intelligence to develop M3GAN (short for Model 3 Generative Android), a life-like doll programmed to be a child's greatest companion and a parent's greatest ally. After unexpectedly gaining custody of her recently orphaned niece Cady when the child's parents died in a car accident, Gemma enlists the help of the M3GAN prototype, a decision that has horrific consequences when she becomes self-aware and overprotective of Cady, leading her to kill everyone in her way.
Killer Dolls Are All the Rage Right Now
M3GAN is the latest horror film centered around a killer doll to make its way onto the big screen. Hollywood has found massive success with this horror subgenre in recent years, especially Warner Bros. with its Annabelle trilogy, which is part of the Conjuring Universe. The films -- also produced by Wan's Atomic Monster company -- are inspired by a story about a real, supposedly possessed doll named Annabelle that was told by paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. The Child's Play/Chucky franchise has also seen a resurgence in popularity, making a comeback in the Syfy and USA Network series Chucky. The second season of Chucky recently concluded in November, with fans begging the network to renew the series for another season.
After partnering on the 2007 horror hit Insidious and now M3GAN, Blumhouse and Atomic Monster have announced that they want to take their relationship to the next step. James Wan and Jason Blum are reportedly in advanced negotiations to merge their respective companies. Under the proposed deal, Blumhouse and Atomic Monster would combine their creative and financial resources but otherwise continue to operate as separate labels. At the time of writing, it is unknown when the merger might be finalized, but if it goes through, Atomic Monster would receive a first-look deal with Universal Pictures -- something that Blumhouse already has.
In addition to Williams as Gemma, M3GAN stars Violet McGraw as Cady, Brian Jordan Alvarez as Cole, Jen Van Epps as Tess, Stephane Garneau-Monten as Kurt, Arlo Green as Ryan, Michael Saccente as Greg, with Amie Donald and Jenna Davis as M3GAN and Ronny Chieng and Lori Dungey in undisclosed roles.
Directed by Gerard Johnstone from a screenplay by Akela Cooper and a story by Cooper and Wan, M3GAN is scheduled to open in theaters on Jan. 6, 2023.
Source: YouTube