The new horror film M3GAN has been a big hit, overperforming at the box office and scoring high with critics to all but guarantee a sequel. While characters like Chucky and Annabelle have dominated the killer doll space in the horror genre for years, it's clear from this success that there's a new doll in town. What separates M3GAN from those two is that she's powered by artificial intelligence, while most killer dolls in horror are supernatural in nature.

Who M3GAN really has more in common with is the Mark Hamill-voiced version of Chucky from the Child's Play remake. Released in 2019, the film has no relation to the previous Child's Play movies or the Chucky TV series. It introduced an alternate version of Chucky that, like M3GAN, is a technologically advanced doll that's been programmed with AI. Also, like M3GAN, the tech Chucky grows murderous as a result of getting too overprotective of the child he befriends.

These comparisons were not lost on M3GAN helmer Gerard Johnstone. At the time the Child's Play remake was fast-tracked into theaters, M3GAN was already in development, but it was taking longer to get made. Seeing the reboot come to theaters is something Johnstone confirms was a concern at first, given these similarities. However, the filmmaker felt comfortable moving forward with the project after recognizing the many differences between these stories beyond their antagonists having artificial intelligence. As he says in a new Digital Spy interview:

"Obviously we didn't know that Child's Play was going to get a remake when we were developing this, so that was definitely a factor. It's like, 'Oh, OK, sh*t. And he's also got AI. OK, sh*t.' [However] our allegory was so much more about parenting in the 21st century, and I see M3GAN as a co-parent more than a friend. I felt like the theme of the movie was really strong, so that was our North Star. We knew we had something say, and I myself as a new dad, I just really wanted to get this off my chest, a bit about the struggles I was having as a parent."

Related: M3GAN Success Fuels Best Killer Doll Debate with Chucky Fans

M3GAN Debuts to Instant Success

M3gan movie from January 2023
Universal Pictures

It's clear now that the filmmakers made the right call to continue with M3GAN. The film has turned out to be a big hit despite any comparisons made to Child's Play or other killer doll movies. Some fans are even saying that M3GAN could be the best of them all, getting embraced right away by many fans in the horror community. The film's success is also very likely to spawn a franchise, and we'll probably see M3GAN hanging around for years to come.

Johnstone directed the film using a screenplay by Akela Cooper, who co-wrote the story with James Wan. The movie follows an 8-year-old girl (Violet McGraw) who's gifted a M3GAN doll by her aunt (Allison Williams), but when the doll's AI goes haywire, M3GAN turns murderous, doling out punishment to anyone deemed to be a threat to her friend.

M3GAN is now playing in movie theaters. You can view the trailer below.