'M3GAN' gives Chucky a serious run for his money in latest trailer for freaky techno-thriller

Before he goes to sleep at night, even Charles Lee Ray probably checks the closet and under the bed to make sure that M3GAN isn't lying in wait for him. Just when you thought the killer doll genre was set with faves like Annabelle and Chucky, producer James Wan turns around and gives us the most uncanny abomination you've ever witnessed in your life.

Indeed, the latest trailer for Universal Pictures' M3GAN (out in theaters everywhere next month) makes a very compelling case for why toy companies should never ever produce dolls capable of thinking for themselves.

Written by Akela Cooper (Malignant) and directed by Gerard Johnstone (Housebound), the film stars Get Out alum Allison Williams as Gemma, a roboticist who becomes the guardian of her 8-year-old niece — Cady (The Haunting of Hill House's Violet McGraw) — when the girl's parents are tragically killed in a car crash.

Unsure of how to be a parent, Gemma gifts the child with an experimental machine, instructing the sentient collection of plastic, wiring, and circuit boards to protect her niece, no matter what. As you can probably guess, things don't go according to plan as M3GAN spirals out of control, rebelling against her human creators and killing anyone who poses even the slightest threat to her and Cady.

"It's Annabelle meets The Terminator," Wan, who conceived of the screen story with Cooper, stated during an interview with Empire for the magazine's January 2023 issue (now on sale). "I'm fascinated by things that are meant to be innocent, but become more...malign ... Since she's more than just a toy, she becomes capable of things we as humans can't even do."

Watch the latest trailer now:

Ronny Chieng (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Brian Jordan Alvarez (Will & Grace), Jen Van Epps (Cowboy Bebop), Lori Dungey (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, extended edition) and Stephane Garneau-Monten (Straight Forward) round out the cast.

Jason Blum and James Wan — both of whom are on the verge of uniting their production companies — produced the feature. Wan is no stranger to inanimate objects with a lust for murder, having directed 2007's Dead Silence. Williams, Mark Katchur, Ryan Turek, Michael Clear, Judson Scott, Adam Hendricks, and Greg Gilreath serve as executive producers.

M3GAN arrives on the big screen Friday, Jan. 6.

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