Will 'M3GAN' get a sequel? If the film does well, James Wan hopes to 'pull from the bigger world'

Most directors and producers in Hollywood will tell you that they don't like to talk sequels before a movie is even out, lest they jinx its chances at the box office. James Wan is no exception to this longstanding tradition. While he declined to confirm or deny whether a sequel to M3GAN (out next week) is currently in the works during a recent chat with The Hollywood Reporter, the filmmaker did voice his hope to further explore the world set up by the techno-thriller if a second installment receives the green-light.

"Like any of the movies I make, I always think of a bigger world. I don’t just think of that one story; I think of the bigger world. So if we’re fortunate enough to tell any other stories, we can pull from the bigger world," said Wan, who produced the feature and conceived of its original story with screenwriter Akela Cooper (Malignant).

Allison Williams leads the genre outing as Gemma, a talented roboticist who makes the egregious error of pairing her 8-year-old niece (Violet McGraw) with a doll capable of committing cold-blooded murder. Speaking with THR alongside Wan, co-producer Jason Blum admitted that he's been dying to work with Williams since their previous team-up on Jordan Peele's Oscar-winning directorial debut, Get Out.

"She’s a great actress. She’s also a terrific production partner. She was really helpful behind the scenes, and of course, she was also great in front of the camera," he said of the actress, who nabbed an executive producer credit on the upcoming film. "We’ve actually offered her a couple things after Get Out, and this is the first one she’s said yes to. So hopefully, we’ll do a lot more with her in the future."

Wan and Blum are currently in the midst of advanced talks to unite their production banners — Atomic Monster and Blumhouse — under one umbrella. We don't want to get our hopes up too much, but the merger might just be the linchpin that gives us a follow-up to Leigh Whannell's The Invisible Man, which turned out to be a sleeper hit with rave reviews and over $140 million at the worldwide box office. In fact, it was one of the last box office successes before the COVID-19 pandemic shut movie theaters down in March 2020.

"Hopefully, should our dreams come true and our two companies get to work together, maybe James will help me solve that problem," Blum said when asked why a sequel to the updated Universal classic is taking so long.

"I’d be more than happy to," concluded Wan.

M3GAN will rebel against her human creators when the film arrives on the big screen Friday, Jan. 6.

Looking for more killer dolls? The first season of Chucky is now streaming on Peacock.