Is There Going to Be M3GAN 2? (& How the Ending of the First One Sets It Up)

M3GAN was originally planned to be released only on the streaming platform Peacock. However, giving it a theatrical release proved to be the right choice, as the initial reviews and numbers are awesome – and with good reason. The fans who watched the movie already clearly want more, so the question is, is there going to be M3GAN 2?

There’s no official confirmation about a potential sequel for M3GAN, but there are numerous signs that point to the M3GAN 2 happening in the future. Most importantly, the first movie ended ambiguously, leaving more than enough room for M3GAN to return for a sequel.

Throughout this article, we’ll be going through all the details you might have missed and all the clues around the project and within the movie itself that point to a potential continuation of the story. No – there’s no post-credits scene, but there is a lot more to unpack. On that note, there will be SPOILERS in the article, so reader discretion is advised!

Will there be M3GAN 2?

As I’ve mentioned, there’s no official confirmation, let alone a release date for a potential sequel to M3GAN. However, there are more than a few pointers that give me the impression that M3GAN 2 is all but guaranteed. Let’s go over all the hints that point to the fact that there will be M3GAN 2 movie.

James Wan’s history

James Wan is dubbed by many as the King of Horror (despite several directing endeavors outside the genre, like Aquaman or Fast & Furious). He was heavily involved in this project as well – Wan and Jason Blum are the executive producers, along with their soon-to-be-merged production companies, Atomic Monster and Blumhouse, respectively.

James Wan also worked on the story with Akela Cooper, who took the screenplay writing duties. Overall, you could say that Wan is involved with the project as much as possible without actually directing the movie himself. So, what does that have to do with a M3GAN sequel? Well, Wan’s horror history has everything to do with it.

You see, Wan is known for some of the most successful modern horror franchises in history. From the Saw franchise (that kicked off his career), The Conjuring franchise, and the Insidious franchise to the Annabelle trilogy, almost every big Wan-led project ended up having not one but multiple sequels.

Seeing that M3GAN intrigued fans from the get-go (the second trailer has over 19 million views in only four weeks), I’m sure that Wan and the rest of the crew already have a continuation of the story planned out.

Positive reviews

Nobody in their right mind would go on making a sequel if nobody really cared for the first movie, am I right? Well, luckily for M3GAN, James Wan, and the rest of the team behind the film, the reviews and ratings are overwhelmingly positive for now.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has a fantastic 94% rating, whereas on IMDb, fans have given it an average 6.6/10 rating so far. That’s actually quite respectable for a horror movie. And James Wan went with sequels even when the initial film had a much lower rating.

For instance, the first Annabelle film has a weak 5.4/10 rating, and it still developed into a trilogy – thankfully for us fans because the second movie was way, way better than the first.

That being said, the positive reviews, nice box office numbers to start, and Wan’s tendency to develop sequels really have me believing that a M3GAN sequel is destined to happen.

Universal likes the movie

M3GAN is a Universal Pictures movie, which is why it’s going to Peacock – NBCUniversal’s streaming platform – after its theatrical run. And even before the movie premiered, New York Times shared that Universal loved how the movie turned out and is planning to make a sequel.

They also shared the info about Blum and Wan joining forces and merging Blumhouse with Atomic Monster Productions, but that’s a topic for another day.

M3GAN ending

Lastly – but most importantly – M3GAN didn’t end in a straightforward manner. In fact, the ending is quite ambiguous and leaves so much room for a potential sequel. I’m guessing they left finished the initial story but deliberately left a lot of it open-ended to see how successful the movie would be. If it’s successful (which it seems to be), a sequel can happen seamlessly.

Long story short, at the very end of the movie, M3GAN is seemingly destroyed by Cady, using a non-sentient robot named Bruce to literally rip M3GAN apart. Her robotic body may be destroyed – however, M3GAN might not be gone completely.

It seems that her consciousness – or programming if you will – somehow uploaded itself into the smart-home features of Gemma’s house, where the final battle took place. Let’s explore how that can set up a potential sequel.

How does the ending of M3GAN set up a potential sequel?

So, M3GAN’s robotic body is destroyed, but her consciousness is now a part of Gemma’s smart home. How could that set up a potential sequel? My, oh my, the possibilities are endless!

My guess is that M3GAN, in her new form, will remain dormant for a while, learning new tricks and picking up on everything Gemma and Cady are doing in the house. Then, when they least expect it, she could use the smart home features to torture them or even kill them while making everything look like an accident.

Another alley the writers could take is getting M3GAN a new body. It could be via a new invention that Gemma creates to comfort Cady, who has now lost her parents and her best friend. M3GAN could use the opportunity to get close to Cady again.

Or, perhaps she doesn’t need a new creation – maybe she can use some of Gemma’s old inventions against our main protagonists, like Bruce – the robot who killed her.

That being said, knowing James Wan, the story will likely go in a completely different direction than we expected. All we can do in the meantime is wait for any information about whether the sequel will even take place.

M3GAN has been in theaters since January 6 (in most countries), and you can expect it to arrive on Peacock in the following months.