The murderous doll who captivated pop culture in 2023 is back. And this time she is not alone. The original creative team behind that phenomenon—led by horror titans JAMES WAN for Atomic Monster, JASON BLUM for Blumhouse and writer-director GERARD JOHNSTONE—reboot an all-new wild chapter in A.I. mayhem with M3GAN 2.0.
Two years after M3GAN, a marvel of artificial intelligence, went rogue and embarked on a murderous (and impeccably choreographed) rampage and was subsequently destroyed, M3GAN’s creator Gemma (Allison Williams) has become a high-profile author and advocate for government oversight of A.I. Meanwhile, Gemma’s niece Cady (Violet McGraw), now 14, has become a teenager, rebelling against Gemma’s overprotective rules.
Unbeknownst to them, the underlying tech for M3GAN has been stolen and misused by a powerful defence contractor to create a military-grade weapon known as Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno), the ultimate killer infiltration spy. But as Amelia’s self-awareness increases, she becomes decidedly less interested in taking orders from humans. Or in keeping them around.
With the future of human existence on the line, Gemma realizes that the only option is to resurrect M3GAN (Amie Donald, voiced by Jenna Davis) and give her a few upgrades, making her faster, stronger, and more lethal. As their paths collide, the original A.I bitch is about to meet her match.
As M3GAN 2.0 struts it’s way into cinemas on June 26, Nick L’Barrow spoke with one of the film’s stars, Ivanna Sahkno, about crafting the emotional journey for her villainous character, and struggling to keep a straight face when acting opposite the hilarious Jermaine Clement.
Nick: Ivanna, it’s such a pleasure to meet you! How are you today?
Ivanna Sahkno: Hello! It’s such a pleasure to meet you. I’m good. I’m a little jet lagged, but it’s been a wonderful experience getting to actually talk to people that have seen the movie!
Nick: Well, I’m just as excited to speak with you. It’s a really fun film! And I’d love to kick off our chat by asking about your exploration into AMELIA’s emotional journey. Even though she is AI, there is this journey of finding purpose and identity that she is going on. I’m curious to know how much of that was in the script, and how much of that you found as you crafted the character?
Ivanna Sahkno: I think as an actor, you can go as deep as your heart’s desire with a character. But, I was really lucky that it was also very much so on the page. That’s what made me fall in love with AMELIA. Reading the script for the first time, I was laughing and crying and just wanting to become a part of that world.
I was very lucky to get to me with Gerard [Johnstone, writer/director] pretty much immediately after reading the script. He flew to LA from New Zealand, and we got to just play around in the room with her physicality. And the compassion for her that you speak of is very much what I resonated with. I wanted to take care of her, and I wanted to have the chance to tell her story.
Nick: How much of the emotional understanding and connection to AMELIA affected the unique physicality she has in the film?
Ivanna Sahkno: It affects everything. I mean, the awareness that she is artificial intelligence affects every move she makes. It’s very pre-calculated. What I found interesting playing around with it was the stillness in her energy. I learned a great deal, which I’m grateful for, from my movement coach, Luke, about the confidence in being still. That is something I really had to learn. And I took that on for me, and I will for the rest of my life.
But her physicality, although very human, I really wanted the audience in those moments to see an uncanny valley aspect of her. There’s something off about her. There is a scene specifically with Jermaine Clement where he even says, “There’s something off about that girl”, and the fact that he’s unable to be aware of it is funny to me. Like, men in general, you know what I mean? [laughs]
Nick: The funniest part of that is while we know there’s something off with AMELIA, there’s even more off with Jermaine’s character! What was it like working with Jermaine? Because he is a treasure here in Australia, and obviously New Zealand!
Ivanna Sahkno: It was a dream working with him. He’s so authentically funny and is a gift to have as a partner. It was so hard to keep a straight face in a certain scene.
But what was really special about working with him, and working in New Zealand, was getting to witness him work with people he’s known for like 15-plus years. It’s a true community and a family, and I can only imagine how special it is to get to come home and see those you’ve worked with for most of your career… it’s very moving. I’ve gotten to work with the legends of New Zealand, and that was a really wonderful thing to witness. It’s something I resonate with regarding the Ukrainian film industry, because it’s quite contained, so everybody knows each other.
Nick: Quickly jumping back to AMELIA’s physicality, the fight scenes in this film are so thrilling and incredibly choreographed. What is the process of learning the fight choreography and then inserting AMELIA’s unique physicality into the choreography?
Ivanna Sahkno: It definite;y depended on the time given to us with the choreography, because sometimes it would change on the go and we would just have to implement it into the scene on the day. But, there also a fundamental aspect of her body language, which was something Luke and I really got to work on in pre-production for about a week and a half, that we got to talk through with the main aspect of her being, and how she moves, and how she operates. It was a great tool to feel confident once we established the fundamental aspects of her, and then we just had the whole field to play with.
Nick: The opening scene is one of those moments where we get to really see what AMELIA can do, plus it’s an awesome way to open the film. Gerard told me that was the second week of filming, and it was the most fun he had making the film. What was your experience filming AMELIA’s explosive introduction?
Ivanna Sahkno: It was actually the first day of filming for me.
Nick: That’s crazy!
Ivanna Sahkno: That was pretty much the only sequence that we actually had the time to practice beforehand. So, we had a week for me to kind of be welcomed into AMELIA. And I’m proud to say, while having a really wonderful stunt team behind everything and then an extremely talented stunt double who I really relied on in some part, that entire sequence I filmed completely by myself! I think there is a BTS moment where you can see the training beside the actual movie.
But then, the collaborative process, once we were on set, we had a movement coach at the monitor and we created this way of communicating through movements. He would show me signs with his hands, and I would understand what he’s saying if I was like overextending my arm or making the movement more fluid. Even things like picking up a cup and putting it down, there was a certain shape that she does.
Nick: I think M3GAN 2.0 is one of those movies that seeing it in the cinema, with a group of people who are excited to see the film, and really getting that special cinematic experience. I’m curious to know if there is a movie or cinematic memory for you that solidified your love for this art?
Ivanna Sahkno: My mother, who is actually sitting right next to me on the floor. She’s waving [laughs]!
Nick: Hi, Ivanna’s mum!
Ivanna Sahkno: When I was a kid, when I was eight years old, my mother showed me Amilie, and it really made me fall in love with cinema and the magic of it. Especially when you’re so young. The magic was so potent and I just wanted to exist within that world.
Then, throughout time, I realised that I wanted to be a part of creating that world. To me, that moment is timeless. I remember after watching it, which I mean I watched it every single day after I saw it with my mother, the soundtrack became the map to my own life. Every time I hear it now, it kind of becomes like a pocket in time and connects all of the other moments I’ve listened to that soundtrack. It shows up in the most sacred times of my life.
Interestingly enough, it’s, like, very serendipitous, but after watching it, I wanted to become an actor. I started doing commercials in the Ukraine and then films. But I watched it again, and I realised that I wanted to act, and I was in the car with my family and I told them in the most dramatic, actor’s fashion! But they were also kind of concerned.
My parents happen to be local filmmakers in Ukraine, and they grew up loving storytelling. But there’s a true hardship with living in a country that is freshly independent, and trying to support your family through creating art and a job that pays very little, especially during that time, was very much an experience that is the most potent and sacred.
Nick: But that to me really highlights the magic and power of movies and art! Thank you so much for sharing that! Ivanna, that’s my time, but thank you again for taking the time to chat. I hope we get to again soon!
Ivanna Sahkno: Thank you for taking the time to speak with me!
Nick: And bye, Ivanna’s mum!
Ivanna Sahkno: [laughs]
Thank you to Ivanna for her time, and to Universal Pictures for organising the interview. M3GAN 2.0 is in cinemas June 26.
