James Wanis part of the new class of horror superstars.
Ill-equipped to deal with a grieving child, Gemma creates M3GAN (Amie Donald) for Cady.
And kill she does.
COLLIDER: So James, betweenM3GANandMalignant, are you now only doing bonkers horror?
I’ve done my time in the ghostly sort of space.
So as a filmmaker, I’m always trying to expand and just push my horizon.
Image via Universal Pictures
And that’s the most important thing for me, is just trying to stay original.
But I still want to say bonkers horror.
WAN: I’m trying to stay away from that term.
Image via Universal Pictures
I’ve been [hearing] that thrown around quite a lot.
WAN: Gerard, what does he know?
I don’t like to talk about sequels so early on.
Image via Universal Pictures
The movie isn’t out yet.
Only because I’m superstitious.
And any thoughts about maybe M3GAN versus Annabelle?
WAN: [Laughs] Two separate studios.
Well, you never know.
And obviously, not just at Blumhouse, [but] with Universal as well.
So that’s about to the extent I would say.
Ah, it’s killing me here.
Can you talk about that at all?
WAN: Yeah, we are working on it right now.
With theConjuringfilms, we are very precious about [them].
Wrapping up, does that mean that this is going to be the finalConjuringmovie?
WAN: We never know.
And any word onMalignant 2?
WAN: No, no word.
[Laughs]
Where did the idea forM3GANcome from?
WAN: Well, firstly, the idea forM3GANsort of came about when we used to have offices pre-pandemic.
Oh yeah, there was a time before.
WAN: There was a time when we all had offices, and we sort of hung out together.
And so that’s really how the concept forM3GANcame about.
And so we said, “Let’s do it.
Let’s do one that actually is a killer doll movie.”
And that’s really how it came about.
WAN: I mean, have you seen Gerard’s first movie?
No, I haven’t.
WAN: Yeah, it’s kind of in the same tone.
There are just moments of really creepy bits, and then it’s really funny at the same time.
And so that’s kind of like how Gerard works.
Yeah, like the twerking.
And so we don’t want to go too far [in] that direction, as well.
It’s a plaything, it’s a doll.
But the fact that this plaything could have a life of its own is what makes it scary.
It actually makes her feel creepy to be sort of in between real and not quite real.
Yeah, it was crazy.
And can you talk a little bit about casting Allison Williams?
WAN: Yeah, I mean, I love Allison, we all do.
Allison has a history at Blumhouse.
And I think Allison is perfect for that.
And how did you go about finding Katie?
I mean, with young kids it seems like it’s very hard to find the acting chops.
WAN: Yeah, I mean, Violet [McGraw] is incredible in this.
We do our research.
So if she didn’t really work, then the movie wouldn’t work either.
M3GANis set to release in theaters on January 6, 2023.
