Let’s make this simple: You want to know if there are any post- or mid-credits scenes in M3GAN 2.0. The answer is no. M3GAN doesn’t need any silly credits scenes!
Full spoilers for the movie follow!
M3GAN 2.0 brings back everyone’s favorite AI-guided lethal robotic doll with attitude and dares to ask the question… is it possible she’s not so bad after all, despite those four people (and a dog!) she killed last time out?
Veering from campy horror to campy sci-fi/action, the sequel’s Terminator 2-esque storyline introduces a newer, even more deadly AI/robot threat in the form of Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno), a government weapon who goes rogue. It turns out Amelia was somehow built using the designs for M3GAN created by Gemma (Allison Williams) and now it seems there’s only one way to stop Amelia… Rebuild M3GAN and fight robotic fire with robotic fire. Overcoming her reluctance, Gemma goes through with giving M3GAN a new (and even stronger) body, hoping it will be for the greater good, even while that whole pesky “M3GAN went on a murderous rampage” thing continues to cause her some understandable concerns.
As we’re reminded, in the first film M3GAN’s primary function was to care for Gemma’s young niece, Cady (Violet McGraw) – something she took to rather extreme lengths. But is it possible M3GAN (once more physically played by Amie Donald and voiced by Jenna Davis) has turned over a new leaf and learned the error of her murderous ways? She claims she has, and Cady very much wants to believe this is true, even while Gemma puts blocks on M3GAN’s ability to cause lethal damage to a human, not willing to risk lives to find out if she’s telling the truth.
But where does the film ultimately land in regards to M3GAN and her morality? And can she ever truly be trusted?
M3GAN 2.0 Ending Explained: A Bad Girl Goes Good
Well, as it turns out, yeah, she totally can be trusted now! Writer-director Gerard Johnstone has some fun with the ambiguity of the situation for much of the run time and the fact that M3GAN’s innately creepy, uncanny valley-evoking look and manner of speaking makes it impossible for her to not appear menacing, even as she’s apologizing to folks like Gemma or Cole (Brian Jordan Alvarez) for trying to outright murder them last time.
But after Cady is taken by Amelia, M3GAN and Gemma put all their cards on the table, with M3GAN declaring that she was basically acting like a (highly dangerous) child during the events of the first film because that’s where she was in her development. But now, she truly has matured and realized the error of her ways, while still wishing to protect Cady at all costs. Gemma is convinced to actually trust her, freeing M3GAN from the inhibitor she’d put on her, and letting her unleash against the human soldiers holding Cady. (Also, it should be noted this follows M3GAN singing Kate Bush’s “This Woman’s Work” to Gemma in what is truly a sublimely funny moment.)
Regarding those soldiers, as it turns out Amelia wasn’t actually an AI who went rogue. She was programmed to go through with this entire scenario, her many murders included, by Gemma’s supposed friend – and, she thought, potential romantic partner – Christian (Aristotle Athari). Christian is actually part of a group of anti-AI extremists who decided the best way to convince the government and the public to fear and reject AI was to manufacture a crisis. Amelia was created using the plans for M3GAN that we saw the late Kurt (Stephane Garneau-Monten) emailing to an unknown recipient in the first film. But it wasn’t some toy company competitor who wanted these plans, but rather Christian’s militant activist group.
In the busy final act, M3GAN is badly damaged by Christian’s men. Then, when a captured Gemma is brought before her, M3GAN viciously attacks her, seemingly proving she is just as wicked as ever. But that was a ruse, because she’s actually not only still actively working to help Gemma and Cady, it turns out she’s willing to sacrifice herself for them.
Because at the same time, Cady’s misguided attempt to use Amelia to help them, by pairing with her as she once did with M3GAN, ironically ends up actually sending Amelia on the same Destroy All Humans path she was only puppeted to do before – as she manages to get ahold of a version of AI from the 1980s that we learned about earlier in the film, which had been locked in a vault for decades now (just go with me on this one, because it’s a whole thing). Gaining access to this early, yet now highly evolved, AI makes Amelia go all God mode, as she intones she now knows everything and seems ready to really cause some damage.
Realizing they have little time to stop Amelia, M3GAN makes it clear she’s going to sacrifice herself, having an emotional farewell with Gemma and Cody, while letting Gemma know she’s aware of the self-destruct EMP Gemma had put in her arm as a failsafe and now wants Gemma to help her set it off. M3GAN then attacks Amelia and grabs hold of her, signaling Gemma to set off the EMP, which ends up destroying both M3GAN and Amelia.
Is M3GAN a Hero Now?
So yes, as it turns out, M3GAN really did fully redeem herself! Which is a bit weird given how she was portrayed in the first movie. After all, it would be pretty wild if, say, Chucky or Freddy just ended up as genuine good guys by their second film, right? It feels like the filmmakers decided to fully lean into M3GAN’s rapid rise as a pop culture icon with a younger audience, a character who was already being cheered on by audiences even when she was meant to be an outright villain. As director Johnstone told IGN when he recently appeared at IGN Live, “The amazing thing about the first movie is people thought of her as a hero.”
M3GAN 2.0 is definitely a lot of fun as it veers even further into the winking, campy appeal of its title character and her sassy ways. And during that same IGN Live Q&A, Johnstone explained that, from his perspective, “Going back and retreading what we did in the first movie didn’t make any sense. Giving her a redemption arc just made sense.” And I get it, it’s exciting to mix things up. But I also can’t help but be a bit sad to already lose M3GAN 1.0, that funny but creepy Killer Robot, given she really only got one movie to go full psycho – even if, yes, M3GAN 2.0, the martial arts-using, newly heroic snark machine, is still pretty damn entertaining.
Though who knows, if they keep going with the Terminator parallels, maybe M3GAN 3.0 can have her also begin to glitch, a la Arnold in Terminator 3, and sometimes revert to her murderous ways too?
Does M3GAN 2.0 Setup M3GAN 3.0?
As noted, M3GAN 2.0 ends with the real deal death of M3GAN and her meaningful, emotional sacrifice. And unlike in the first film, this is clearly a permanent death that she will never, ever return from…
Oh, come on, this is a highly marketable and merchandisable big Hollywood franchise now! There’s no way M3GAN is staying dead! And the movie makes sure to let us know this in its epilogue, as we see Gemma speaking in Washington, D.C. about how the future will depend on humans figuring out how to coexist with the technology they’re creating – and to be responsible parents to the things they “birth,” such as AI, helping to teach it right from wrong before it goes out of control.
We end on a scene of Gemma at home, typing out the speech we’ve been hearing her say, except as she does, an old school, Clippy-type virtual assistant pops up on her screen… before transforming into an animated avatar of M3GAN, who tells Gemma that of course she made a backup of herself, and asking to be caught up on anything she’s missed.
And we cut to credits…
Does M3GAN 2.0 Have a Mid- or Post-Credit Scene?
As mentioned above, it does not. However, the main closing credits play alongside footage that is pulled from both of the M3GAN movies so far – a bit of an odd move to use in a series so early on, since this type of thing is usually reserved for a franchise finale, as we look back at everything that occurred along the way for our characters on their journey. But again, there’s no way Universal and Blumhouse are going to end M3GAN after just two movies if this one is a success. All of which makes the semi-farewell vibe of this footage a somewhat odd choice, even if it’s still fun to look back at the good times we’ve had with M3GAN so far.
Remember when she tore that a-hole kid’s ear off?! Ahh, yes, there’s that footage!
The flashback footage is also intercut and overlaid with clips of a silhouetted M3GAN dancing, which appears to be culled from the material shot for M3GAN 2.0’s first teaser trailer, but there’s not really anything truly new beyond that. And there are no actual scenes in or after the credits teasing the future beyond the earlier confirmation that M3GAN lives… even if Gemma’s gonna have to make her yet another (I’m guessing) even more powerful and upgraded body.
What do you think M3GAN 3 should be about? Let’s discuss in the comments!