When producer Jason Blum first launched Blumhouse with a focus on low-budget horror movies that offered a chance at a big box office return, one of the filmmakers he turned to was Saw director James Wan, who helmed Insidious, which turned into one of the studio’s biggest hits and spawned a franchise. That collaboration and success has continued to this day and will see the duo team up once again.
Per THR, Blum and Wan will produce M3GAN, a techno-horror-thriller that is drawing comparisons to Child’s Play. It will revolve around a brilliant roboticist employed at a toy company who uses advanced artificial intelligence to program a life-like doll to be an emotional caregiver for her orphaned niece. Naturally, things go awry, as the doll becomes too protective of her new friend.
Gerard Johnstone (Housebound) will direct from a script penned by Akela Cooper (American Horror Story). Wan shared his thoughts on this updated take on the creepy doll story: “Pretty much the concept is about embracing technology too much and relying too much on it. And what happens with technology runs amok. It’s a commentary on the world we live in and it feels relevant”.
Also, in a tweet, Wan described the film as “Annabelle meets Fatal Attraction meets Terminator“:
https://twitter.com/creepypuppet/status/1019658312936091649
The film also sounds like it will have its fair share of dark humour, with Blum adding: “We needed someone who can do the thrills and set pieces but who also has a cheeky approach”.
A Child’s Play reboot was recently announced, so it’s possible M3GAN is a direct response to that, and it will be interesting to see how the two films compare when they’re eventually released. Will the classic premise with the built-in audience prosper? Or will a contemporary update with more commentary on how we use technology strike a chord with audiences?
#Peace.Love.M3GAN
