The breakout 2023 horror filmM3GANis looking to expand into a horror-shared universe as both a sequel and spin-off film are in the works.M3GANbecame a breakout film when it kicked off the first week of January in 2023, bringing in $181 million worldwide against a $12 million budget. A sequel,M3GAN 2.0, is set for release on June 08, 2025, and aspin-off film will open six months laterwith its major star now cast.
A robotics engineer at a toy company builds a life-like doll that begins to take on a life of its own.
According toBloody Discussing, Lily Sullivan, who broke out with the other big horror film of 2023,Evil Dead Rise, will play the lead in theM3GANspin-off titledSOULM8TE. Sullivan will play an android that a man acquires to help him cope with the loss of his recently deceased wife, and the android eventually goes from a harmless love bot to deadly soulmate. Kate Dolan, who helmed 2021’sYou Are Not My Mother, will direct and rewrite the script originally written by Rafael Jordan.SOULM8TEis being sold as an “erotic thriller with a technological twist” and will open in theaters on July 27, 2025.
A Growing Techno Horror Universe
SOULM8TEjoins a new trend of horror franchises growing beyond a single main storyline and building whole universes on the back of a successful idea. Back in the ’80s and ’90s, horror franchises likeFriday the 13thandHalloweenfollowed one main storyline, and the attempts to move the series beyond the titular killer, likeFriday the 13th Part V: A New BeginningorHalloween III: Season of the Witch, were met with harsh responses from fans. Yet now, horror fans not only embrace various threads in a horror franchise more, but they also seem to want them actively.The Conjuring Universefeatures four main films, including the upcoming final installment, but also threeAnnabellefilms and two movies inThe Nunfranchise. Recently,A Quiet Place Day Oneopened in theaters, a prequel movie ahead of the release ofA Quiet Place Part III,which is in development.
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M3GANbecame a breakout hit, thanks to a great marketing campaign but also positive reviews that made it seem like a must-see movie in the typically slow month of January. WhileM3GAN 2.0has been bumped up to the big league of the summer movie season,SOULM8TEwill bring the franchise back to its roots by being the first new release of 2026. While there is still a wait for either movie to arrive in cinemas, there have already been suggestions that these “evil doll” movies could end up spawning even more sequels, and potentially cross over with other popular franchises based on the killer doll scenario, such asChild’s Play. With Chucky and M3GAN already having sparred with each other on social media, it is surely only a matter of time.
