'M3GAN' Screenwriter Akela Cooper Teases an Unrated Version

The most talked-about horror film of the year (which isn’t a high bar… yet) is M3GAN. When the trailer released in 2022, it was already stirring the pot amongst teens and anyone who loves campy horror. M3GAN released worldwide on Jan. 6, 2023, and now that it’s here, people are shocked at its gore. But a possible unrated version proves that there could be more gore to explore.

M3GAN (Amie Donald and Jenna Davis) is the AI doll built for Cady (Violet McGraw) by her aunt and new caretaker, Gemma (Allison Williams) to be a companion for her. But M3GAN’s function is to protect Cady emotionally and physically… and we know where that can lead. So is there an even more gory unrated version of M3GAN that exists? Screenwriter Akela Cooper, who also wrote Malignant, teases that there could be.

While M3GAN is now rated PG-13, the original script was much more violent. However, after the trailer invoked interest in a wide teenage base, Universal Pictures felt that it would be best to keep it at a PG-13 rating so that the interested audience could see it in theaters. In fact, the original cut was so graphic that to secure the PG-13 rating, the team had to undergo reshoots, according to director Gerard Johnstone.

Even still, the team originally worked towards the goal of making M3GAN one of the scariest, bloodiest, and most fun horror movies of all time. “No shade to Universal, love them,” Akela told the Los Angeles Times, “and I understand that once the trailer went viral, teenagers got involved and you want them to be able to see it. There should be an unrated version at some point.”

An unrated version? For us? It’s true. “I heard it is on the books,” Akela teased. We are *screaming* and not in a bad way. It’s not surprising that Universal would find a way to capitalize even more on the viral film, but we’re not complaining. “[The script] was way gorier. Her body count in the script was higher than in the movie… I was merciless, but again, that is me. My humor is extremely dark.”

We embrace the dark, and hopefully, we’ll soon be embracing an unrated version of M3GAN too.

A sequel has already been greenlit for those who cannot get enough of the AI doll. Though little is known about the narrative at this point, Akela Cooper (who wrote the original screenplay) will return to pen the sequel, titled M3gan 2.0, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The release date is set for January 17, 2025, with actors Allison Williams and Violet McGraw on board to reprise their roles from the original film.

M3gan will be available on demand on January 24, 2023.