M3GAN ending explained: does M3GAN survive?

The film – which has now arrived in UK cinemas – sees a M3GAN prototype gifted to recently bereaved 8-year-old Cady (Violet McGraw) by her aunt and the doll's designer Gemma (Allison Williams), and although the doll initially seems like an ideal companion, things very quickly turn sour.

If you've watched the film and need a little help unpacking the closing moments – including the final twist at the very end – read on to have the M3GAN ending explained.

And be warned: there are major spoilers for M3GAN from this point onwards.

M3GAN ending explained: does M3GAN survive?

When M3GAN is first gifted to Cady, everything seems rosy – the doll teaches her new owner valuable life lessons, helps her cope after the loss of her parents, and altogether makes for very enjoyable company.

But of course, it doesn't take very long for problems to emerge: M3GAN soon begins to show signs of growing just a little too protective of Cady, and – partly due to the fact her development was rushed through by Gemma – there is no programming in place to stop her from going rogue.

Taking her role as a protector of Cady increasingly seriously, M3GAN decides it is her duty to kill anything that poses a threat – first a dog, followed by its owner and then a teenager who was bullying Cady.

Because she has craftily deleted the video footage that shows her carrying out the killings, there is no concrete evidence that M3GAN was responsible for the deaths, but Gemma puts two and two together and decides she needs to switch her off, much to Cady's chagrin.

All the while, Gemma's employer David (Ronny Chieng) is pressing ahead with plans to release M3GAN to the public – especially after a very impressive demonstration for investors – and is furious when Gemma and her colleagues Tess and Brandon decide to shut the doll down.

But of course, M3GAN isn't the sort to go down without a fight, and Tess and Brandon's attempts to switch her off backfire when she attacks them and goes on a killing spree, murdering David and his assistant Kurt and framing the latter for both deaths.

She then drives to Gemma's house where she confronts her creator one to one, leading to a fight between the pair which is interrupted when Cady – scared at what she is witnessing – activates Bruce, a much bigger robot that Gemma had made as a college project.

Bruce begins to tear M3GAN apart, but even after sustaining major damage, the doll continues fighting – optimistically singing Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positives in the process – and even turns on Cady.

But it's the girl who appears to get the last laugh, finally finishing her former protector off by stabbing an exposed processing chip with a screwdriver. And so M3GAN, it seems, is dead...

...or is she?

What does the final shot mean in M3GAN?

In the film's very final shot, once a relieved Cady and Gemma have left M3GAN's remains in the house, the camera of Gemma's smart home device suddenly turns on and appears to flicker at them.

The implication, of course, is that although M3GAN's body might be gone, she has been able to transfer her AI conscience to this device and thus will live to fight another day.

And with talks about a sequel reportedly already underway, it certainly looks like this won't be the last we see of M3GAN...

M3GAN is showing in UK cinemas from Friday 13th January 2023. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight.

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