M3GAN director wanted the viral dance scene in the trailer to be a surprise

Amie Donald as M3GAN in M3GAN — (Image credit: Universal Pictures)

Though M3GAN had gone viral months before its theatrical release, Gerard Johnstone was initially against including the internet-breaking dance scene in the movie's trailer.

"I was really worried when I saw the trailer and saw how much dancing it was, I was like, 'Oh my god, you're giving it away and you've got to cut'. I did want it to be a surprise. I wanted it to be a really fun surprise," he told Digital Spy.

The first trailer sits at 22 million views, with TikTok posts tagged #M3GAN having been viewed over 300 million times. Universal was reportedly so "pleased" with the film's virality that a sequel is already being discussed.

Johnstone continued: "Luckily, we've had two screenings and I've been able to sit in a room and see people genuinely react for the first time not knowing what they're going to see. So I was a little bit bummed out, but you've got to market the movie, and it was fun to see that it was able to be recut and embraced.

In terms of the trailer and things like that, I really just have to trust Universal. When you're making the movie, it's exhausting being over every single decision. So it's quite nice [to] just sit back and say, 'OK well, you guys do what you can'. I know that there's more to the movie that people haven't seen yet, so I feel OK about it."

People seem to feel more than 'OK' about it, as the film now sits with a near-perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes.

M3GAN is in US theaters now and arrives in the UK on January 13. For more scares, check out our guide to the best horror movies of all time.

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ based in New York City. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.