M3GAN Has an Uphill Climb to Become a Franchise

Credit: M3GAN

Is there a new horror franchise on the horizon? It’s fair to think that such might be the case since if there’s enough interest in the idea, it could happen. It could happen anyway since plenty of franchises have continued despite the fact that they’ve become pale imitations of what they were when they started. There are many obvious names that come up when it comes to stating which horror movies have outlived their usefulness, but in this case, Chucky and Annabelle would be the most obvious when it comes to the killer doll idea that has been pushed over the years. It’s fair to wonder if M3GAN will eventually join these two as one of the more popular horror franchises to come around in a long time. It could be said that she already has a leg up on both killer dolls that have preceded her. The technology available in the modern era is great enough to make M3GAN come to life in a way that neither Chucky nor Anabelle was able to do when they first came to the big screen. But M3GAN is still going to be fighting an uphill battle to ensure that she gets to stick around for more than one movie since, despite the look of the trailer, there’s no way to know if this movie is going to be a hit. 

credit: M3GAN

There are a couple of elements that might work to make M3GAN last for longer than one movie. 

For one, the movie actually needs to be good enough to make it past one movie since if that can’t happen, then there’s not much hope for it. But one element that will hopefully be seen in this movie is the fact that perhaps the programming is capable of being copied, stolen, or otherwise transferred so that M3GAN can be replicated, renewed, restored, etc. Another element might be that M3GAN could be just as versatile as the new Chucky doll and be capable of controlling other electronics, thereby increasing the level of danger that she represents. There are several other elements that could make her a safe bet when it comes to creating another movie and another, and so on. At this time, it does feel as though it’s possible, but until the movie releases, it’s unknown, which is the main point of any article dealing with this movie at this time. 

This movie doesn’t feel like it needs the series treatment yet. 

Seeing this idea go straight to TV feels like it would be the wrong move at this time since a movie can generate the kind of interest that might spark the idea to keep this movie rolling forward, especially if the movie is left on a cliffhanger. One thing that it shouldn’t do is destroy M3GAN at the end since this has been done before with the Chucky movies, and it’s become a tiresome practice that has seen Chucky keep coming back again and again. The fact that this killer doll is imbued with AI should hopefully mean that it can learn as the movie goes on and, as one would hopefully expect, learn how to adapt and how to survive when threatened by something or someone. 

credit: M3GAN

If M3GAN can evolve, it might work as a franchise. 

Many fans would state that Chucky has evolved in a big way, and they’re not wrong, but his evolution has been something that hasn’t always gone in the most desirable direction since the horror aspect of Child’s Play has given way to comedy over the years and has kind of degraded itself over time. There’s nothing to say that humor is a killer when it comes to horror since, honestly, it can create more tension, alleviate tension, and create an experience that is more fulfilling when all is said and done. But M3GAN doesn’t sound or look like a comedic movie at this time, as it needs to be a horror/thriller to start with before it takes off on any other course. If the movie can evolve into something that might be able to incorporate other elements and make them work in a seamless and efficient manner, then it feels easy to say that it could last for another couple of movies. 

Killer dolls are very bankable as horror movies. 

This has been true for quite a while now, and despite the fact that many earlier movies that featured killer dolls aren’t even remembered at this time, there are many memories of killer dolls that people can pull up that aren’t Chucky or Annabelle. This kind of movie monster is great since people don’t often think of dolls as scary or as possible killers unless they’ve seen a few horror movies here and there. But the truth is that dolls are easy to use in horror movies since they do represent innocence in a lot of ways, and using them to create horror instead is a shock to audiences no matter how many times it’s been done.