Chelsea Alexandra
Ayo Edibiri once said, “I’m seated. The theater employees are scared and asking me to because it’s ‘not August yet’ but I am simply too sat,” and after watching the M3GAN 2.0 trailer, I felt that. Sure, M3GAN 2.0 doesn’t come out in August—it comes out two months sooner in June—but you get the point. Universal just dropped the first full trailer for the highly anticipated sequel to 2023’s breakout horror hit, M3GAN. And let me tell you—this movie looks like it’s we can expect a lot more insanity and a lot more camp.
I never could have predicted the sheer cultural wreckage our queen M3GAN would leave in her wake when she first hit the screen. This queen, however, left her mark. M3GAN (voiced by Jenna Davis) immediately secured her spot as a pop culture icon. But unlike other iconic dolls who haunted our dreams, she was stylish, sassy, and weirdly charismatic. We rooted for her, we cheered as she slashed up her victims all in the name of protecting her Cady (Violet McGraw). Sure, she was a hyper-intelligent murder-bot with a bit of an authority problem, but she had a code, and honestly? She kind ofhad a point. Annoying neighbor? Handled. Shady CEO? Eliminated. Bully who messed with Cady? Gone. Was it pure unhinged chaos or was it justice, who am I to say?
Sure, M3GAN would have been a viral sensation regardless because how could she not? However, it was the genius marketing team behind the film that pushed it over the top. M3GAN’s marketing team knew exactly what they were doing. The film’s embrace of camp and self-awareness only added fuel to the fire. Her posts on X were more than iconic, engaging with her fans while simultaneously feuding with fellow killer doll Chucky. The feud was one of the funniest and pettiest horror showdowns in recent memory. If you haven’t caught on yet, I am a big fan of M3GAN so it is obvious I am excited for this to hit the theaters.
This trailer has everything: it’s chaotic, campy, and completely unhinged. As if M3GAN wasn’t already operating at peak diva levels the trailer delivers one of the most iconic needle drops imaginable: Britney Spears’ Oops!… I Did It Again. M3GAN 2.0 takes place two years after the events of the first film, where the hyper-intelligent robotic companion evolved into a full-blown killing machine before being mostly destroyed by her creator. Now, her consciousness has been uploaded into a seemingly harmless new robot doll, as Gemma (Allison Williams) and her team of researchers attempt to determine whether she can truly be trusted after her deadly rampage. But M3GAN’s creators soon learn that the tech has been stolen and used to make a deadlier version. They soon realize M3GAN might be their only hope.
This plays less like a traditional horror sequel and more like a full-blown sci-fi action thriller. That’s a bold move, but I’m absolutely here for it. I think what has always worked for M3GAN is the fact that it is a horror flick that embraces the absurdity of its premise. The trailer even features a fan being interviewed on the News basically saying, “good for her”. It is a fun little meta moment that really speaks to our queen’s influence. It’s a perfect little meta wink to the audience.
M3GAN’s physical form has been upgraded too. She’s faster, stronger, more agile—and likely equipped with new features. She’s gone from prototype to polished product and we love that for our girl. She’s still rocking her signature clean lines and neutral tones but she is definitely a more sleek look for her. She looks less like a toy and more like a polished, more refined murder-bot.
M3GAN 2.0 has the perfect opportunity to push its exploration of AI technology evenfurther, especially given how rapidly AI is evolving in real life. The first film touched on the horrors of AI but we could see how much worse it could get with M3GAN 2.0. One thing is for certain, whatever happens in this one is going to be a tech nightmare. If the sequel is doubling down on that energy while expanding into bigger, bolder sci-fi action elements, it could be an even wilder ride. Whether she’s terrifying or just serving pure chaos, one thing is certain: M3GAN is here to slay—literally and figuratively.
