Universal Picturesdropped a newM3GANtrailer, showcasing more footage from the upcoming AI-based killer doll movie set to hit theaters in January 2023 as a bit of respite from the treacly Christmas holidays.
Universal andBlumhouse’sM3GAN, the upcoming killer doll movie from horror-megastar-producer James Wan, is soon set to join a long line of horror luminaries in the form of killer dolls. The idea goes back to the originalThe Twilight Zone,Poltergeist,Chucky from theChild’s Playfranchise, andAnnabellefrom all of her self-titled movies in theConjuringuniverse (also created and produced by Wan).
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The newM3GANtraileropens with a shot of Violet McGraw’s Cady and the titular M3GAN followed by Allison Williams' Gemma, narrating about how she designed the soon-to-be robot from hell to make Cady less lonely. Everything looks sunshine and slightly-futuristic roses as Gemma teaches Cady that by pressing two fingers into M3GAN’s palm, the tech will pair with her. “Crazy!” Cady exclaims. “It’s insane, right?!?” M3GAN replies.
A montage follows featuring Cady and M3GAN getting to know one another: Dancing together, M3GAN tucking Cady in at night, and finally watching her sleep. Gemma informs the doll that her goal is to protect Cady from physical—and here’s the sticky part—emotional harm. A set of ironically Asimovian rules designed to create problems if ever there were one. If audiences were still unsure, the point is hammered home when, in a session for her bosses, Gemma and company watch behind a two-way mirror as M3GAN looks Cady in the eyes and says that she won’t let anything harm her.
Gemma explains to Cady that M3GAN isn’t a person, to which Cady responds that she can’t just say that.M3GAN watches footage to learn about the worldand begins stalking Gemma. A scene follows in which Cady is confronted by a bully who then flicks M3GAN’s nose, asking what she is. She gallops after the boy until he falls into a road and gets run over by an oncoming vehicle. M3GAN watches them take the boy’s body away, leaves in her hair, before the trailer cuts to her in Cady’s room, pristine once more and promising, ominously, to not let anything harm her—ever again.
M3GAN then begins a rampage, first hurting Gemma before stealing a car and driving to Gemma’s work, killing her boss. She then kills one of Gemma’s coworkers as Gemma talks about having to shut her down. M3GAN announces she has a new primary user: herself. The trailer ends with Cady asking if M3GAN has done something bad before cutting to a shot of an old woman investigating a disturbance in her garage. “What are you?” she asks. The doll steps out of the shadows and giggles, “I’m M3GAN!”
