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M3GAN 2.0 may be just as funny as the first movie, but that doesn't mean it does not include an underlying, important message. The sequel doesn't hold back in exploring our evolving and complicated relationship with AI, and star Allison Williams says she hopes the movie will make people think twice about their technology usage.
"Hopefully people will walk out of the movie laughing, talking about how great it is, and then later they'll talk about the real stuff,” says Williams to GamesRadar+. "Because there are real themes underlying this movie, like every second of it is really grounded in something urgent to talk about… It exaggerates the conversation, which sometimes makes it easier to have."
Thanks to the first movie becoming a pop culture phenomenon, the M3GAN franchise has a large younger following, who are the exact age group in danger of falling victim to harmful tech. Earlier this year, we saw just how dangerous social media and replacing human contact with technology can be in the Netflix series Adolescence, where a teenage boy goes on to murder a young girl after feeding into misogynistic content online.
"I’m thinking about Adolescence," says Williams, "There's such a great, important, necessary conversation happening right now about what happens when children interface with technology. And I think we're all learning together. The technology evolved faster than we could talk about it." M3GAN 2.0 and Adolescence differ vastly in terms of plot points, but both projects share the same warning. "I think movies like this give us an opportunity to pause," adds the star.
In the same way Adolescence’s Jamie is harmed by hiding away in his room with his phone, M3GAN’s young character Cady is affected negatively by spending all of her time with an AI bot. Although robots are not really a concern for real parents in the present time, in the age of artificially generated images and online bots, we’re not too far away.
"It's easy for a parent to say, like, 'obviously a M3GAN would be a bad idea,' but then having the next stage of that conversation, ‘okay, what is a healthy relationship like with AI with technology? What's the distinction between the two?'" explains the Get Out star. "With this movie we talked about that a lot, because Gemma's whole organization is focused primarily on AI and children and the world, rather than just technology in the world."
14-year-old Cady star Violet McGraw also has some advice for others her age. "Just be more cautious, I guess, with AI and tech and where it could go," says McGraw.
M3GAN 2.0 is out in theaters from June 27. For more, check out our list of the best robot movies, or keep up with upcoming horror movies by reading your way.
