Screenwriter Akela Cooper on how TikTok led to 'M3GAN' Unrated
Get the Full StoryM3GAN is what you'd get if I, Robot came with an American Doll skin and someone forgot to update its Zeroth Law code. The pint-sized slasher is a foul-mouthed bot with a continuously learning AI whose prime directive is to kill anyone who even thinks about taking her away from her child bestie. Screenwriter Akela Cooper Malignant, The Nun II never predicted her screenplay about a little girl struggling with grief would be a huge hit at the box office, much less end up with a PG-13 rating a rare rating for horror films.Directed by Gerard Johnstone Housebound , with a screenplay by Cooper based on a story from Cooper and James Wan, M3GAN centers around Gemma Allison Williams , an engineer at a tech toy company who enlists a life-sized android called M3GAN to help care for her orphaned niece Cady Violet McGraw . In February, the theatrical cut and the unrated version were released on Peacock's streaming service. Both versions have the same storyline, but the unrated version ups the onscreen violence, profanity, and blood loss. According to Cooper, the unrated version is how she, Wan, and Johnstone originally envisioned the film, though she's thrilled by younger fans' response to the creepy doll thriller. "Teenagers deserve horror as well, so I'm happy that a robust teen audience is into the film ," Cooper told Mashable. "More kids are gonna watch it with their families." How did TikTok teens change M3GAN?There she is.
Credit: Geoffrey Short Universal Pictures
When the first official trailer dropped for M3GAN in October of 2022, it blew up on social media, specifically with teens. This is precisely what you want if you don't have a Disney budget to promote your film. However, that presented an unexpected problem. "Once the first trailer came out, it had such a big response from teenagers in the TikTok community. Universal was like, 'There's your audience,'" Cooper said, " but they technically can't go see R-rated films." To rework the film for the younger demo, the team went back to the edit room and eventually took on reshoots.Meanwhile, everything from memes to remixes, to cosplay and M3GAN s iconic side-eye blew up across social media as the marketing team went into overdrive. The character got her own account on Twitter so she could comment on Elon Musk, spar with horror cousin Chucky and even creepily slide into DMs to promote the film's release.Viral marketing is one thing, but profits are another. M3GAN delivered big time, pulling in over 170 million worldwide against its 12 million budget, making its theatrical release the fifth highest-grossing film released in 2023 to date. Despite the theatrical release's 93 rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Cooper has been pretty vocal about the fact that the unrated cut is the version she truly prefers. "When I got the call about the rating change , my response was, 'Is there gonna be an unrated version, like on Blu-ray?'" Cooper said. On February 24, the screenwriter got her wish when the unrated version of M3GAN dropped on Peacock in the US. How different is the unrated version of M3GAN from the theatrical release?One of the few criticisms of the theatrical release was that M3GAN took us to the threshold of bloody violence but never actually crossed it. In the unrated version, we witness most of M3GAN's kills on-screen in all of their gnarly glory. For instance, in the theatrical version, when M3GAN defends herself against a bully to protect Cady and rips his ear from his head, we only see the aftermath. In the unrated version, we witness the boy's cartilage stretch and tear into a gooey, visceral mess. In one of the most creative uses of a power washer in a horror film, M3GAN uses the household tool to off nosy neighbor Celia Lori Dungey after using a nail gun to hold her in place. The unrated version goes further, showing the flesh peeling from the victim's face. "I was happy that Celia's face melting was back," Cooper said of the unrated cut. "I thought that was a cool effect...I was sad to see it go."
David Ronny Chieng runs, but he can't hide.
Credit: Geoffrey Short Universal Pictures
The scene that the unrated version that was most impactful was the climax of the movie, when M3GAN kills Gemma's boss, David Ronny Chieng . The unrated version trades David's relatively bloodless death by manual paper cutter for a much gorier version. "David's death is so much cooler now that you can see the whole thing," Cooper continued. In addition, M3GAN drops a few more expletives herself, saving one particular f-bomb for her end fight with Gemma. "That one was hilarious," Cooper declared.Why are the two versions so similar?The first thing most viewers will notice about the two versions of M3GAN is that there is little difference between the PG-13 version and the unrated cut. Despite Cooper's preference for a bloodier version, there are only minor distinctions between the PG-13 theatrical release and the original cut of the movie. This is why the screenwriter has been advocating for the unrated version, to offer the truest representation of the intended vision of the filmmakers."It wasn't that hard into R to begin with, so they didn't have to reshoot a lot," Cooper explained. "But I will never understand why PG-13 movies can only have a maximum of two 'fucks,'" she lamented, "so I'm happy those are back in there." M3GAN 2.0With the massive success of M3GAN, it was no surprise when a sequel was announced. But what might it have in store? Will Elise, Gemma's AI home assistant, be the big baddie of M3GAN 2.0? Might it go full horror musical? Will the sequel also have two versions? Cooper wasn't sharing any details. "I can't speak to that, but for me personally, I'm gonna bring the horror on the page," she said, adding, "And that'll probably include more fucks and gore."She's more than a toy. She's family. And now she's Unrated. The M3GAN UNRAT3D VERSION is yours to own on Digital now and Blu-ray 3 21.
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