M3GAN 2.0 star Allison Williams wants horror franchise to continue beyond spin-off SOULM8TE
'M3GAN' star Allison Williams wants the horror franchise to "keep going" with more sequels and spin-offs.
The scary flick – which follows the murderous robot doll M3GAN – will be expanded on with its sequel 'M3GAN 2.0', and the 36-year-old actress has said she's happy to keep coming back to the franchise so long as the stories are "interesting".
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Williams said: "Let's just keep going as long as they're interesting and each one has its own story to tell."
As well as 'M3GAN 2.0' – which is slated to hit cinemas next year – the series is due to receive its first spin-off 'SOULM8TE', and Williams joked the series was slowly turning into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) thanks to its growing filmography.
The actress – who is also serving as producer on 'M3GAN 2.0' – was asked what an Avengers-level threat in the 'M3GAN' universe would be, to which she said: "I am terrified to imagine what that would mean. What is the Thanos equivalent?"
Director Gerard Johnstone also commented on the expanding 'M3GAN' universe, and teased he would "absolutely" love to see a sequel were the killer artificial intelligence was thrown into a post-apocalyptic landscape such as the one in the 'Mad Max' franchise.
He said: "Just jokingly, whenever the producers asked me what I think about a sequel, I've always said M3GAN 3000. M3GAN in a 'Mad Max' universe. I would absolutely line up to see that."
'M3GAN 2.0' will pick up after the events of the original 2022 movie, which followed roboticist Gemma (Williams) who designs the life-like and intelligent doll to be a friend and carer for her eight-year-old niece Cady (Violet McGraw), only for the android (Jenna Davis and Amie Donald) to develop self-awareness and become hostile to every human who she deems a threat to Cady.
'M3GAN' was written and produced by 'The Conjuring' filmmaker James Wan, while Johnstone directed.
While Wan had a hand in creating the first movie's story, Johnstone has been able to take the sequel in his own direction as the writer and producer only had "a kernel of an idea" for the follow-up flick.
The 'Housebound' filmmaker explained: "I had actually a different idea for the ending of 'M3GAN', which would've been interesting but probably not as satisfying.
"The good thing about doing a sequel is I got the chance to expand on that idea into a longer narrative. The idea James had fit really well with that. So, it was just a really good marriage of those two things."
'M3GAN 2.0' will be followed by the spin-off 'SOULM8TE', which will release in 2026 and stars Lily Sullivan, David Rysdahl and Claudia Doumit.
The movie – which is based on a story from Wan and directed by Kate Dolan – will tell the story of a man who acquires a robot to help take his mind off of the recent loss of his wife. In his attempts to turn the machine into a truly sentient and loving partner, the man accidentally creates a blood-thirsty soulmate.
Williams – who is executive producer on the film – revealed 'SOULM8TE' would be "a sort of psychosexual thriller", and called the flick "pretty rad".