When horror comedy ”M3gan“Became a hit in early 2023 and turned his killer doll -title character into an icon, director Gerard Johnstone -Which, throughout the production, feared that he “made a career-ending silly puppet movie”-known an immediate sense of liberation. “As limited as First movie Was that there was nothing left on the fans’ reaction, ”Johnstone told IndieWire during a new interview.
It gave Johnstone the justification he needed to take a great risk with ”M3gan 2.0“And turn the story on the head, not just turn the M3gan into the protagonist without making a film In a completely different genre than the original – action rather than horror.
This time, M3GAN goes with forces with his nemesis from the first film, Allison Williams’ Gemma, to take on an artificial intelligence-inserted robot with the name Amelia that will wipe out humanity. The tone? Closer to “Terminator 2” than “Child’s Play.” The sequel also leans even more into comedy, as Johnstone says was through design.
“All my favorite sequels have been a deviation from the previous movie in either genre or tone, whether it is ‘Evil Dead 3,’ ‘Mad Max 2’, or even ‘Empire strikes back,’ said Johnstone.” To me it never felt controversial not to want to regulate exactly the same territory in the first film. But even though the tone is a little different, I think it is still faithful to the character, which was always dark humorous and a little absurd. It just skewes comic because she is more center this time. ”
Johnstone wrote the script for “M3gan 2.0” (the first film was written by Akela Cooper), but he gives credit for the first prerequisite for producer James Wan. “James Wan had the first idea to make another robot for the M3gan to meet, and as the public conversation around AI developed, it inspired me to reconsider M3gan as a character – if there may be an argument she was released before she was given the opportunity to develop or learn from her mistake,” Johnstone said.
While “Terminator 2” influence is most obvious, it is only one of many reference points in a cinematic weaving field filled with Easter eggs for horror, sci-fi and fantasy fans. “There are almost too many to name,” Johnstone said. “M3gan’s Lair may not have existed without the influence of” Bram Stoker’s Dracula “,” City of Lost Children “and” Pan’s Labyrinth. “A less conscious influence came when Amelia’s costume concept art was presented, which I realized reflected my love for ‘Robocop’, beyond Black Rainbow ‘, and Daft Punk to the same extent.”
For all the sequel’s changes in tone and story, Johnstone was safe to resume some of the elements that fans loved in the first film – which Dance M3gan made that went viral – albeit with some new turns. “Well, there must be a dance, but obviously not one we could see comma,” Johnstone said. A scene set at an AI Congress created the perfect exhibition for the M3gan to showcase some new features.
“The AI Congress provided an opportunity for the M3gan to go incognito as a robot dressed as a human dressed as a robot-and eventually get stuck in a robot dance-off,” Johnstone said. “Pulling it away required a hybrid performance between our incredible M3gan Body actress Amie Donald and an equally incredible robot dancer from China named ‘Barin’ which is possibly the biggest female pop and cabinets on the planet.”
M3gan’s robot dance-off is just one example of the difficult tonal balance Johnstone went for in “M3gan 2.0”, which keeps the efforts high while playing comedy. “It’s always about engaging wholeheartedly to what tone or genre you are in,” Johnstone said. “This movie is obviously a very different beast, it is much more complex, much more challenging and through design not quite as scary as the first.”
That said, Johnstone hopes that the audience will embrace the differences and appreciate what is new. “What we lack terror we more than compensate for in other areas, such as Jemaine Clement who knocks on furniture in a large mobile massage chair,” Johnstone said, referring to one of the film’s more funny pieces of physical comedy. Creating that kind of comedy, Johnstone said, may look easy, but it requires a lot of effort to do something that is “simple” entertaining.
“It’s nothing but challenging!” Johnstone said. “Working with a movie is the most physically and mentally draining job I have ever had, and I say that as someone who worked in a slaughterhouse. But we are in this industry to make people happy, and at the end of the process, when I get to sit in a theater and hear people have a good time, I also have to go home happy.”
Regardless of what the fan reaction is on M3GAN’s latest iteration, Johnstone felt that it was the only suitable approach to take a bold swing. “It just felt strangely limiting to make her do the same thing again,” he said. “And I don’t think the M3gan likes to be put in a box.”
A universal picture film, “M3gan 2.0” is now in theaters.
