Every bit as outrageously entertaining as horror fans would expect from Housebound director Gerard Johnstone, Malignant writer Akela Cooper, and producers James Wan and Jason Blum, M3GAN danced into theaters the first week of January.
With a persuasive marketing campaign led by a buzzy trailer and a strong social media presence, the film performed beyond expectations, grossing $173.4 million worldwide on a $12 million budget. A sequel, M3GAN 2.0, was swiftly put into development for a January 2025 release.
Until then, viewers can now enjoy both the theatrical and unrated cuts of M3GAN on Blu-ray. The release also carries three making-of featurettes: “New Vision of Horror,” “Bringing Life to M3GAN,” and “Getting Hacked.” Despite running a scant 14 minutes in total, they pack in soundbites from a wide array of cast and crew members.
In addition to Johnstone, Cooper, Wan, and Blum, participants include actors Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Amie Donald, Ronny Chieng, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Jen Van Epps, and Lori Dungey, director of photography Peter McCaffrey, key makeup artist Stef Knight, and line producer Jill Soper, among others.
Here are four things I learned…
1. M3GAN was born out of James Wan’s association with killer dolls.
Between Saw, Dead Silence, and The Conjuring, James Wan has an inescapable association with killer dolls — but the filmmaker doesn’t see it that way.
“My dolls don’t actually get up and kill anyone,” Wan clarifies. “They’re usually just vessels for demonic entities. So I said, ‘Well, if people are gonna think of me as a killer doll filmmaker, let’s actually do one.’ And hence the concept of M3GAN was born.” Wan hashed out the story with Cooper, who then penned the script.
For his part, Johnstone says, “I never really saw M3GAN as a killer doll movie. I saw it as a morality tale for our times about parenting in the 21st century … I think of M3GAN as a domestic noir. It’s a thriller that happens within the home.”
2. M3GAN paved the way for more James Wan/Jason Blum partnerships.
James Wan and Jason Blum are titans of the genre with a working relationship dating back to Insidious, but producing M3GAN together paved the way for future collaborations — not only M3GAN 2.0, but also a potential merger between Wan’s Atomic Monster and Blum’s Blumhouse Productions.
“When James Wan first came to me with the idea of M3GAN, I loved it right from the start,” Blum raves. Williams notes, “Obviously, all of James Wan’s work has helped pave the way for a movie like M3GAN to exist. The marriage of him and Blumhouse is such a natural one.”
Johnstone concurs, “Blumhouse has made some of the greatest horror movies in the last 20 years. And James Wan, likewise, is just the undisputed master of the genre, especially when it comes to unsettling dolls.”
3. M3GAN was brought to life via a combination of puppetry, animatronics, and an actor.
Director Gerard Johnstone on the set of M3GAN.
Johnstone was adamant about wanting M3GAN to exist in the uncanny valley between human and doll. Designed by Adrien Morot, several puppets, animatronics, and an actor were employed to bring the character to life.
“I’m a huge fan of practical effects. Gerard felt the same way, and we leaned into the practicality of it,” Wan explains. Johnstone adds, “Because we were making a film about computers and artificial intelligence, I didn’t want to feel sterile. I wanted it to feel organic, and so we tried to keep that in balance.”
A variety of different versions of the M3GAN doll were created to perform different actions. Her animatronic face required three radio control operators — one for the eyes, another for the eyebrows, and a third for the jaw and lips — plus a rod attached to the back of its head puppeteered by Paul Lewis to give it lifelike movement.
For more intricate movements, 11-year-old Amie Donald acted in a M3GAN mask. Not only did her physicality allow the character to perform beyond the limitations of a puppet, she utilized her dance background to perform many of her own stunts, like running on all fours and doing flips.
4. M3GAN’s iconic dance routine was a collaborative effort.
M3GAN’s deadly dance number became instantly iconic thanks to the trailer. The scene required Donald to work closely with movement coach Jed Brophy as well as stunt coordinator Isaac Hamon, since it occurs amidst a stunt sequence.
Donald — an award-winning competitive dancer — explains, “My dance teacher choreographed a little dance and helps with all of the movement, making sure that it was right, and it was absolutely so fun.”
“She does a standing backflip with no momentum, and it’s creepy as fuck,” Chieng quips.
M3GAN is available now on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital via Universal.
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