Forty years ago, James Cameron instilled a fear of artificial intelligence into the movie-going audience with 1984’s The Terminator that would grow and evolve as technology continued to advance at a rapid speed. A few years ago, Gerard Johnstone brought that same energy into a whole new generation when M3GAN became a smash hit amidst a heightened battle against AI. And though a sequel is currently on the books for 2025, the world of this techno-horror thriller from Universal Studios and Blumhouse Productions is about to expand even further, thanks to a new spinoff.
According to Deadline, Blumhouse and Atomic Monster are developing SOULM8TE, a new branch on the M3GAN family tree. The film will be directed by You Are Not My Mother filmmaker Kate Dolan and based on a script by Rafael Jordan. The story, which is a collaboration between James Wan, Ingrid Bisu, and Jordan, follows a widowed man who turns to an android to help him cope with his devastating loss. However, while trying to elevate the artificially intelligent lovebot into “a truly sentient partner,” he flips the wrong switch, so to speak, and ends up with a deadly murderbot.
Doing The Robot
SOULM8TE is being described as “a 1990s erotic thriller with a new technological twist.” Apparently, this is the vibe that the studio is aiming to bring into a new year as the film is set to premiere on Friday, January 2, 2026. But at its core, the movie is actually about some deep-seated human issues.
“Fundamentally, I view this film as an exploration of relationships and loneliness,” Dolan shared in the announcement. “Despite technological advances, there are enduring human truths we cannot escape, and I am looking forward to delving into those depths.”
While Dolan and company are hard at work on this new corner of the M3GAN universe, the team that started it all is developing a sequel titled M3GAN 2.0. Though Johnstone is still in talks to direct, screenwriter Akela Cooper is continuing her work from the first film and developing the follow-up’s script.
Stars Allison Williams and Violet McGraw will also be returning for the next chapter in this tale about the life-like doll that takes her role as a child’s greatest companion far too seriously. They will be joined by Ivanna Sakhno. The actor appeared in Hulu’s High Fidelity and Pacific Rim: Uprising before stepping into the Star Wars universe for her breakthrough role in Ahsoka as Shin Hati. At this time, there are no details available regarding her character or the general plot of the sequel. However, after jumping around to a few dates over the course of development, we do know that the movie will premiere in theaters on June 27, 2025.
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