There will be an unrated cut of M3GAN 2.0 on home video

When the sci-fi horror film M3GAN reached theatres in January of 2023, it was such a financial success (it made almost $182 million at the global box office, on a budget of $12 million), everyone at Universal Pictures, Blumhouse Productions, and Atomic Monster seemed to believe they had just created an incredibly popular new genre icon. But the sci-fi action comedy sequel M3GAN 2.0 has turned out to be a box office disappointment. Made on a budget somewhere between 15 and 25 million, it had a domestic opening weekend of $10 million (1/3 of the first movie’s $30 million opening weekend) and, a week and a half later, has only just managed to cross the $30 million mark in worldwide totals. Things aren’t going the way anybody behind the film hoped they would during the theatrical run, but maybe M3GAN 2.0 will draw in more viewers on home video. There will be an added incentive, as director Gerard Johnstone has confirmed to Discussing Film that there will be an unrated cut of the film when it reaches home video.

Based on a story crafted by producer James Wan, M3GAN was directed by Gerard Johnstone (Housebound) from a screenplay by Akela Cooper (Malignant). Johnstone worked from a Cooper script again for the sequel. The first film has the following synopsis: She’s more than just a toy. She’s part of the family. From the most prolific minds in horror — James Wan, the filmmaker behind the Saw, Insidious and The Conjuring franchises, and Blumhouse, the producer of the Halloween films, The Black Phone and The Invisible Man — comes a fresh new face in terror. M3GAN is a marvel of artificial intelligence, a life-like doll programmed to be a child’s greatest companion and a parent’s greatest ally. Designed by brilliant toy-company roboticist Gemma, M3GAN can listen and watch and learn as she becomes friend and teacher, playmate and protector, for the child she is bonded to. When Gemma suddenly becomes the caretaker of her orphaned 8-year-old niece, Cady, Gemma’s unsure and unprepared to be a parent. Under intense pressure at work, Gemma decides to pair her M3GAN prototype with Cady in an attempt to resolve both problems — a decision that will have unimaginable consequences. And the sequel: Two years after M3GAN, a marvel of artificial intelligence, went rogue and embarked on a murderous rampage, its creator, Gemma, has become an advocate for government oversight of AI. Unbeknownst to her, a defense contractor has created a military-grade weapon known as AMELIA, the ultimate infiltration spy. However, as AMELIA’s self-awareness increases, it becomes less interested in taking orders. Hoping to stop AMELIA, Gemma decides to resurrect M3GAN, making it faster, stronger, and more lethal.

Allison Williams and M3GAN co-star Violet McGraw came back for the follow-up (reprising the roles of roboticist Gemma and her niece Kady), as did Brian Jordan Alvarez and Jen Van Epps (as Gemma’s associates Cole and Tess). This time, they’re joined in the cast by the aforementioned Ivanna Sakhno, Jemaine Clement (What We Do in the Shadows), Timm Sharp (Blunt Talk), and Aristotle Athari (Saturday Night Live). Amie Donald and Jenna Davis bring M3GAN herself to life. 

Both M3GAN movies have been rated PG-13 for their theatrical releases. The first M3GAN also got an unrated cut on home video, adding in some blood and gore, plus multiple F-bombs. Speaking with Discussing Film about M3GAN 2.0, Johnstone said, “There will be an unrated version with a few [extra] scenes. We pack a lot in… I get it, it’s a long time to sit in the theater. So, we really wanted the [theatrical cut] to be under two hours. However, in the unrated cut, you’ll see a few things that didn’t make it into the theatrical version. Also, there are many lines in the trailers that help tell the story, but M3GAN doesn’t say them in the film at all (laughs). The studio needed promotional material. Sometimes, the trailers were already made before we could decide, ‘Can this beat make it into the movie or not?’ But, in a way, it still informs the universe.“

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