Once again, horror community, we are thriving. From the deeply twisted mind of James Wan, the writer and director behind the Insidious and The Conjuring franchises, comes M3GAN, an all-new original film. Since this movie's first-look poster debuted, we knew this latest Blumhouse production would be uncanny, to say the least. Now, Universal Pictures has released the first official trailer that introduces the world to the Model Three Generative Android, or M3GAN, for short.
From the writers of Malignant, 2021's breakout horror gem for the ages, and the producer of The Black Phone, comes 2024's first original genre screenplay. Set to arrive in theaters early January, M3GAN explores the darker side of technological advancements of artificial intelligence, a seductive line society both reveres for its benefits yet fears for the murky unknowns. When brilliant roboticist Gemma, played by Get Out's Allison Williams, designs a life-like doll that uses AI to learn about her companions, she determines her newly-orphaned niece Cady (Violet McGraw) would make a handy trial run.
The trailer, set to multi-Grammy Award-winner Taylor Swift's "It's Nice to Have a Friend," sets the foundation for Gemma's truly misguided choice when we learn that Cady recently lost both her parents to a car accident and has been placed in her aunt's care. As a leading robotics engineer for an apparently advanced toy company, Gemma finds herself in a difficult situation, wanting to provide a safe and supportive home for her niece, while under intense pressure at work. Her solution? Obviously it's the M3GAN doll specifically designed to "be a child's greatest companion and a parent's greatest ally." M3GAN is able to listen, learn and bond with their child, and when Gemma explicitly states that her goal is to "protect Cady from harm" that's what she intends to do, no matter who or what M3GAN interprets as a threat.
M3GAN reunites Wan with his Malignant co-writer Akela Cooper, lending the same sinister vibes to M3GAN's unnervingly human design, while award-winning filmmaker Gerard Johnstone (Housebound) brings sharp direction to his sophomore feature film. The trailer showcases the steep tonal shifts from Cady and M3GAN gleefully Tik-Tok dancing their troubles away to the AI doll running on all fours in pursuit of a child. Like the cautionary blockbusters before it, such as Terminator, Alex Garland's Ex Machina, and especially the '80s Cabbage Patch nightmare Child's Play, when Gemma is unable to wield her remote-control over M3GAN, the film asks how far is too far?
In addition to Williams and McGraw (The Haunting of Hill House), M3GAN also stars Jenna Davis as the voice of the titular AI, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' Ronny Chieng, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Jen Van Epps, Lori Dungey and Stephan Garneau-Monten. Williams also serves as an executive producer for the film
Friendship evolves with M3GAN, premiering in theaters on January 13, 2023. You can check out the trailer below: