M3GAN 2.0 is almost ready for her close-up.
On the heels of a teaser trailer that dropped during February’s Grammy Awards, Universal Pictures downloaded more intel on the anticipated sequel during the studio’s CinemaCon presentation at Caesars Palace on Wednesday afternoon, including an extended trailer (seen below) and a dance party.
Blumhouse turned the reveal into a spectacle that featured 30 dancing M3GAN “dolls” performing to the iconic Britney Spears hit “Oops…I Did it Again” on the Colosseum stage. After they performed the captivating number (choreography included the well-known M3GAN dance), they exited the front of the stage and down the aisles while exhibition insiders looked on.
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The performance was introduced by the film’s star Violet McGraw, who is back to reprise her role from the first film. “My friend Allison Williams is stuck in Atlanta shooting right now,” she said of her co-star. McGraw said she believed she was alone though M3GAN “hates to not be in the spotlight” hence the surprise dance party.
McGraw then had the honors of introducing the trailer. The film, a Blumhouse, Atomic Monster and Divide/Conquer production, is due for release on June 27, 2025, Williams returns as Gemma, a roboticist at a toy company who created an AI doll she named M3GAN, and McGraw returns as Cady, Gemma’s niece, who is bonded to the futuristic creation until she goes on a murderous rampage. The cast also includes Brian Jordan Alvarez, Jen Van Epps, Ivanna Sakhno, Timm Sharp, Aristotle Athari and Kiwi comic Jemaine Clement.
M3GAN 2.0 takes place two years after the events of M3GAN. By then Gemma has segued to become a high-profile author and advocate for government oversight of A.I. Meanwhile, Cady, now 14, has become a teenager, rebelling against Gemma’s overprotective rules. In the background the tech M3GAN has been stolen and misused by a powerful defense contractor to create an AI weapon called Amelia, who inevitably decides against taking orders. Gemma then must resurrect an upgraded M3GAN in order take on Amelia and save humanity.
The trailer, which opened to the tune of Boyz II Men’s “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday,” revealed that M3GAN’s data had been placed inside a “plastic Teletubbie” in order to protect her from society. Cady is the one who convinces her aunt to revive M3GAN to take on Amelia and in doing so, M3GAN asks for an upgrade that makes her stronger, faster and taller. Scenes show what looks to be an epic battle between the two robots (as they are even seen flying in one point). A moment that is sure to be replayed many times, M3GAN says, “Hold onto your vaginas.”
Gerard Johnstone returned to the director’s chair for M3GAN 2.0 from a script by original scribe Akela Cooper. Produced by James Wan, Jason Blum and Williams, the film is executive produced by Gerard Johnstone, Adam Hendricks, Greg Gilreath, Michael Clear, Judson Scott and Mark D. Katchur.
M3GAN became a certified a pop culture phenomenon (memes, Halloween costumes and more) when it hit theaters in December 2022. The $12 million budgeted movie was a hit with critics and audiences as it went on to rake in more than $180 million at the global box office.
CinemaCon, the annual gathering of cinema owners and Hollywood studios, is hosted in Las Vegas by the newly rebranded Cinema United, which for decades was known as the National Association of Theatre Owners. This year’s edition runs from March 31 to April 3.
