Get OutstarAllison Williamsis reuniting with Blumhouse to star in its tech-themed horror-thrillerM3GAN, the company announced Wednesday.
Williams will play Gemma, a brilliant roboticist at a toy company who uses artificial intelligence to develop M3GAN, a life-like doll programmed to be a kid’s greatest companion and a parent’s greatest ally. After unexpectedly gaining custody of her orphaned niece, Gemma enlists the help of the M3GAN prototype – a decision that has unimaginable consequences.
Gerard Johnstone(Housebound) will direct from a script byAkela Cooper(Malignant) that is based on a story byJames Wan, who will produce alongsideJason Blum. Wan’s Atomic Monster partnerMichael Clearwill executive produce alongside Blumhouse’sRyan Turekand Williams, whileJudson Scottwill oversee the project on behalf of Atomic Monster.
Universal will releaseM3GAN, which recalls last year’sChild’s Playreboot, in which Chucky was reimagined as an A.I. gone wrong. Having said that, Johnstone and Cooper are rising voices in the genre community, and when paired with horror maestros Blum and Wan, I’m confident they’ll find a way to put their own spin on the killer doll subgenre.
Williams projects a certain intelligence as an actress, and I can totally buy her as a brilliant roboticist who turns to a doll for help in raising her young niece. She broke out playing Marnie Michaels on HBO’sGirlsbefore her sinister turn oppositeDaniel KaluuyainGet Out. She recently starred in Netflix’s thrillerThe Perfectionand appeared oppositeBenedict Cumberbatchin Showtime’s limited seriesPatrick Melrose.
I’ll be curious to see whetherM3GANis aimed at adults, likeChild’s Playwas, or whether it’ll be aimed at the PG-13 crowd.Child’s Playdidn’t perform all that well in theaters, and that was a well-known IP with a smart marketing campaign behind it, but then again, it didn’t have Blum or Wan involved, and these days, those names on a poster can make all the difference. For more onThe Perfection,click herefor our interview with Williams and co-starLogan Browning.
