In 2022, M3GAN introduced what appeared to be a promising piece of IP. Produced by Blumhouse and Atomic Monster, and directed by Gerard Johnstone, the film followed Gemma (Allison Williams), a brilliant engineer who designed M3GAN, an ultra-realistic kids' doll with an advanced AI. The robot quickly became homicidal, forcing Gemma to defend herself and her niece Cady (Violet McGraw) from her own creation.
Its peculiar mix of horror, dark comedy and family drama endeared the film to audiences, ultimately making it a big commercial hit, grossing $181 million worldwide against a reported $12 million budget. Confident in the film's brand power, Blumhouse and Atomic Monster greelit a sequel, M3GAN 2.0 and a spinoff, SOULM8TE, starring Lily Sullivan and The Boys' Claudia Doumit. Unfortunately, the sequel did not land like its predecessor had, flopping with $39 million globally against a reported budget of $25 million.
Following the movie's disappointment, its spinoff has faced an unfortunate development. Deadline has revealed that SOULM8TE—initially scheduled for release on January 9, 2026—has been taken off Universal's release calendar. Per the trade, the writing had been on the wall when Paramount's film, Primate, was given a January 9 release date (studios do not typically put out two horror films on the same day). As noted by The Hollywood Reporter, the film had also not been given a public trailer (one was shown at 2025's CinemaCon), despite being less than a month away from release.
Described by Variety as "an erotic thriller with a technological twist," the spinoff was set to focus on a grieving husband (David Rysdahl), who hires an AI-powered companion (Lily Sullivan). Things, of course, go awry when the man modifies his new friend, leading to her developing murderous tendencies. The movie was written and directed by Kate Dolan (2021's You Are Not My Mother). Thankfully, it's not all bad news for the film, as it will be shopped to other studios. It's important to mention this development isn't necessarily due to the quality of the project.
In July 2025, THR published a report that stated the flopping of M3GAN 2.0 had led to Blumhouse doing some "soul-searching" regarding its future slate. As the trade explained: "[Blumhouse] is absorbing lessons from this tough year, and is reevaluating its slate through the lens of whether a horror film qualifies as a cinematic event in an era where the market for such fare is oversaturated."
Per the trade, one of the films being looked at through this new lens was SOULM8TE, which insiders cautioned had tested "incredibly well." This, as mentioned, seems to imply the movie being taken off its original release date was due to shifting audience interest, as opposed to a quality issue.
While made relatively cheaply, M3GAN 2.0's failure appears to have been impactful for Blumhouse given this latest news. During an appearance on Matthew Belloni's The Town podcast, Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum said that M3GAN had been mistakenly treated like "Superman." The producer explained the character had been erroneously perceived to be a malleable commodity, able to be reshaped into whatever genre they deemed fit:
"We all thought Megan was like Superman. We could do anything to her. We could change genres, we could put her in the summer, we could make her look different, we could turn her from a bad guy into a good guy. And we kind of classically over-thought how powerful people's engagement was, really, with her."
SOULM8TE has a lot of potential. Its premise is interesting, and it features a great cast. Though M3GAN 2.0 flopped, there is arguably still potential in the murdeous-AI franchise to recapture audience interest. As such, let's hope the movie is given the opportunity to see the light of day.