How ‘M3GAN 2.0' Star Violet McGraw Kicked Off a Wave of Good Fortune for Blumhouse

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The Blumhouse family is counting their lucky stars that they met Violet McGraw's family.
In April 2020, McGraw was cast as 10-year-old Cady James in Blumhouse/Atomic Monster's techno horror-comedy, M3GAN. In July 2020, Violet's sister, Madeleine McGraw, was hired for the banner's supernatural horror film, The Black Phone. The two films went on to gross over $343 million against a combined budget of less than $30 million, prompting quick sequel green lights, beginning with M3GAN 2.0's release on June 27 and Black Phone 2 this fall.
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Writer-director Gerard Johnstone's M3GAN sequel takes place two years after the events of his 2023 picture, and a now 12-year-old Cady is still at odds with her aunt Gemma (Allison Williams) due to her strict rules on technology usage and the lack of quality time they spend together. Gemma has been preoccupied with her efforts to publicly atone for creating a murderous AI doll, and so Cady has had to get crafty in order to explore her budding interest in coding.
'Cady is definitely getting more into tech after the first movie, but Gemma isn't a big fan of that because she doesn't want Cady to turn into her or make another M3GAN for that matter,' McGraw tells The Hollywood Reporter.
McGraw, who's now 14 years old, admits that she didn't know what AI was until she filmed the first movie about an AI-powered android that kills in the name of 'protecting' Cady. The conversation around the new tech increased significantly upon the release of the film, as chatbots and AI 'art' had become the talk of the town in the lead-up to Hollywood's impending labor disputes involving AI-related matters.
'I became more cautious of AI because of M3GAN,' McGraw says. 'It scares me a little bit, and I never would've thought of it that way if I wasn't in M3GAN.'
That being said, she can't deny her love for the sassy robot, partially because she's become dear friends with M3GAN's on-set performer, Amie Donald.
'I love M3GAN so much. If there was a M3GAN in real life, which probably should never happen, I would totally be best friends with her,' McGraw says.
Violet and her now 16-year-old sister, Madeleine, have plenty of their own self-starting ambitions. In 2024, they co-starred in a supernatural film called The Curse of the Necklace, which they produced alongside their mother, Jackie. The McGraw sisters also just wrapped production on another acting-producing vehicle, High Stakes Holiday, for Warner Bros. Both sisters are eager to continue working together, and in an industry that's filled with sibling actors, that's not always a given. (The Fanning sisters have yet to share a scene together, and the Mara sisters recently wrapped their first movie together after decades of individual work.)'This is totally just the beginning of it, and if we've produced two movies already, I think we can definitely go further,' McGraw shares. 'We both want to do more behind-the-camera stuff as producers or maybe even as directors. But we'll definitely be co-stars with each other again.'
Below, during a recent conversation with THR, McGraw also discusses her two different experiences playing a young version of Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova in Black Widow and Thunderbolts*. Then she reflects on her multiple projects with Mike Flanagan.
***
I once asked producers Jason Blum and James Wan if they somehow met you through your sister's movie, , but it looks like had the same casting directors. Did you land your Blumhouse role a few months after Madeleine landed hers? That must've been an exciting time for your family.
It was very exciting, but I honestly don't remember the timing. It feels like ages ago, but I think it was somewhere around that same time period.
[Writer's Note: Violet accepted her M3GAN role in April 2020, three months before Madeleine was cast in Scott Derrickson's The Black Phone. However, pandemic-era scheduling and rescheduling resulted in Black Phone shooting first in February 2021. Derrickson actually pushed the latter's schedule in order to not lose Madeleine to her existing Disney show. In June 2021, Violet started filming M3GAN.]
By the time M3GAN came out and became a hit, you were 11 years old at the time. Were you and your friends allowed to see it?
We were. I actually took every single friend that I knew to the theaters, and we watched it. I am not the biggest fan of watching myself because I'll critique myself. I'll be like, 'Oh, I should have fixed that,' but it was very fun to go with friends to see a movie that I was in.
When you were making it, did you assume that it would be too violent and scary for people your age?
Honestly, no. What's crazy to me is some of my biggest fans are usually little six-year-olds, and I'm like, 'How are you guys allowed to watch this?' But I wasn't really thinking about the gore at the time. There wasn't that much in it. That stuff doesn't really occur to me until the end of filming.
Hollywood is desperately trying to figure out how to get teenagers to go to movies these days. They don't seem to prioritize moviegoing like generations past. What is the key to getting you and your friends to go to movie theaters?
Honestly, my whole friend group loves going to the movie theaters. We love to go see a really good movie, and we bring blankets and a bunch of snacks. There's something about the smell at a movie theater that brings me to the theater. The vibe is just awesome at movie theaters. It's lovely.
Have you figured out why it's not as important to other people your age?
I just feel like some people want to stay at home and wait for something to come out on TV. But there's nothing like going to a movie theater because you hear the audience's reactions to the movie, which can be incredible. So I know I prefer to go to a movie theater.
is partially about how emotionally dependent we are on our devices, especially kids. Did your parents start monitoring your screen time a lot more after watching it?
I would say my screen time is the same. I had an iPad at the time, and we had these screen time limits when we would have to get off screen and turn it in. But I wouldn't say it was because of the movie; they've always been pretty good at knowing how much media we should have. But I became more cautious of AI because of M3GAN. When I was 10 and filming the movie, I didn't really know what it was, so I became a little bit more cautious about it afterwards. So many people use ChatGPT and Snap AI nowadays, and I see so many self-driving cars, which is insane. So it scares me a little bit, and I never would've thought of it that way if I wasn't in M3GAN.
I read in 's production notes that you don't allow your folks to watch your scenes on set. Is that true?
No, I wouldn't say that's really true. They can totally watch if they want. I just always like knowing that they're on set. I love my parents so much, and they're free to do whatever they want.
In , Cady is now 12 years old, and Gemma carefully monitors her use of technology after the first movie's M3GAN debacle. Cady doesn't even have a cell phone. But she's still finding sneaky ways to learn coding without Gemma knowing.
Yeah, that [picture frame-concealed tablet] was so cool. I was so excited to see how we were going to do that. Cady is definitely getting more into tech after the first movie, but Gemma isn't a big fan of that because she doesn't want Cady to turn into her or make another M3GAN for that matter. But she's also super fed up with Aunt Gemma's overly strict rules with screens and stuff.
But I'm glad Gemma's issues with Cady's coaster and bathroom habits seem to be a thing of the past.
(Laughs.) Yeah, there's no longer any coaster or bathroom issues. We're good on that. But Cady and Gemma are still working on their relationship. Cady wants to trust that Gemma will be there for her when she needs her the most.
Early on, Gemma raises her voice and reminds Cady that she's only 12 years old. I, too, remember being that age and wanting to be treated as older than I really was. Do you also relate to what Cady is feeling? Do you sometimes want to be treated as older than you really are?
That's a good question, but not really. When I was younger, for sure. I was definitely like Cady when I was 12 years old or younger. I have older siblings, and because they have older friends, I just always wanted to be a part of those situations or events. But, right now, I just want to be treated like a 14-year-old. That's all I need.
Overall, do you share anything else in common with Cady?
We both love M3GAN. I love M3GAN so much. If there was a M3GAN in real life, which probably should never happen, I would totally be best friends with her. That would be super cool. So I would give M3GAN a second chance.
Is it that you love M3GAN? Or is it really that you love Amie Donald as M3GAN?
That's a good point. If I was talking to M3GAN during a scene, I knew that my best friend was actually behind the mask. So that really helped me, and it made it so much easier to really be in the moment and live in the scene. So maybe I wouldn't want my own M3GAN; maybe I just want my own Amie. (Laughs.)
Have you remained friends between movies?
We literally just talked five minutes ago. We talked about what we're going to wear to the premiere.
When you have scenes with M3GAN, how often are you working with Amie versus an animatronic puppet?
It honestly just depends. If she's blinking or there isn't a big movement, then it's probably the animatronic. I still don't even know how they made that. The first [movie's] doll was already incredible, but the second [movie's] doll is actually insane. Everyone thinks that M3GAN is fake or CG, but if you saw her in person, your eyes would be playing tricks on you.
Is the ratio something like 75 percent Amie and 25 percent animatronic?
Yeah, that's a good rating system, I would say.
Jenna Davis voices M3GAN in post, but Amie still delivers her lines on the day?
She does, yes. She learns all the lines, and she does a fabulous job. Amie and Jenna are the perfect M3GANs.
Cady is also taking Aikido classes. Has any of that training stuck with you?
I haven't needed to use it yet, but I would say I don't remember any of it now. If you asked me to show you right now, I probably wouldn't be able to. But I do remember one move; I just can't talk about it yet. Cady also plays soccer now, and I play soccer in real life. We never established what positions she plays, but now we're going to say that she plays my positions: striker or center-mid.
My dad raised me on a steady diet of Steven Seagal movies. Had you ever heard his name before this movie?
I hadn't! Before we started filming, Gerard and I had a call to tell me what he was about. So that's when I got more of a background on Cady's idol.
So I did not realize until recently that you played young Yelena in and . I didn't recognize you at all, and it was probably because of the blonde hair. Did Marvel's casting director learn about you when your sister played young Hope Van Dyne in ?
Gosh, I was super young [eight years old] on Black Widow, so I don't know if that had anything to do with it. It definitely could have.
On Black Widow, we did a blonde wig, and there was this doll that looked just like me. It was a dummy. It's Marvel, and they can do that. But it was insane. My mom went into the hair and makeup trailer, and was like, 'Violet, you got your wig on very fast.' But it was literally the doll [that she was talking to]; it wasn't even me. So we have a picture of it, and it's scary. And Thunderbolts* was also a wig, so I was a little blondie for a while, which was fun.
Did you understand the context of your scenes at the time? How much explanation were you given for those flashbacks?
Jake Schreier, the director, was amazing. He just made the experience so much better. It's a very dark and very sad scene. So I did know the context because, as young Yelena, I had to. And, of course, working with Florence Pugh was awesome. She's amazing.
I saw you and Florence on the red carpet, and I think you're taller than her now.
Either I'm taller, or we're the same height. She was like, 'You were up to here when we first met.' (McGraw mimics where Pugh measured on herself.) Everyone tells me that now. I was so short, and I grew four inches last year, which was insane. But I would say we're the same height, because I was also wearing heels on the carpet.
What's the key to playing a younger version of her?
Oh my gosh, I don't even know. I was so excited that I got to go back because not every younger version of a Marvel character gets to return. I was so grateful. One time, I went into her trailer for Black Widow, and we did one little finger thing that we were both going to do in the film. But they didn't end up using it. It was going to be a similarity between young Yelena and older Yelena.
Mike Flanagan, who you worked with on , also invited you back for recently. Are you always flattered when people ask you to team up a second time?
Yeah, it's amazing. Mike also invited me to be in Doctor Sleep. Mike Flanagan is insane. His vision for movies and TV shows is incredible. When he invited me back to do both those things, there was so much gratitude in me, and I was praying that I gave him what he wanted. I just wanted to do really well for him. So I hope to continue to work with Mike in the future.
Your scene with Rebecca Ferguson still freaks me out.
I still haven't seen the movie.
Your parents wouldn't let you?
Yeah, there are some dark scenes, and at the premiere, they were like, 'Violet, we don't think you should see this movie.' I was really young, too. I was eight. So I was like, 'Okay.' But I still haven't seen it, so I'm going to watch it very soon.
Were you actually scared during that scene, or did you not really have a sense of what was happening?
Everyone thinks you're going to be scared when filming a horror movie, but I am never really scared. On The Haunting of Hill House, I ate lunch with the pretend ghosts. There's also a lot of crew and no music or sound effects yet, so that makes it a lot less scary. But The Haunting of Hill House set was all built on a soundstage, and that terrifying house set is the only time I've actually been scared while filming. Other than that, I don't really get scared on set.
You and Madeleine just shot for Warner Bros. in Las Vegas. It's a heist movie meets ?
Yeah, you pretty much got it. It was awesome. My mom, my sister and I produced it, and filming in Vegas was great. There were some ups and downs, but I love Vegas a lot.
The three of you produced together as well. In general, I like that you and Madeleine are willing to embrace your real-life relationship on screen. There are a lot of sibling actors who either avoid it or haven't found the right situation for it to happen.
Yeah, my sister and I don't fight in real life. We've never been like that, and it's never been a competition between us. She's always given me advice on how to do things better. I've never given her advice, but I hope that I've helped her a little bit in her career.
Do you have even more plans together?
For sure. This is totally just the beginning of it, and if we've produced two movies already, I think we can definitely go further. We both want to do more behind-the-camera stuff as producers or maybe even as directors. That would be super cool, but we'll definitely be co-stars with each other again.
What was your most memorable day on the set?
I suck at not spoiling, but one scene that sticks out was the scene with Jemaine Clement in the beginning. I've never laughed harder in a rehearsal, and once I laugh, I don't go back. It's hard to get the laughter out of me. Jemaine is just so funny, and he made that scene so hilarious. So it took a few tries, but we got it.
As we see in the trailer, the bottom half of AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno) confronts Cady. What was the reference on the day?
It was literally a little piece of green tape. Someone either had a green x on their hand, or I was looking at the bottom of someone's torso. That was a crazy scene, and that was me [who's pulled through the wall].
Did you stick around for M3GAN's dance party?
I did! That con scene was one of the other scenes I was going to talk about. Before I got the M3GAN 2.0 script, I was trying to plot what was going to happen. So I was like, 'They should add more dance moves,' and they literally did. That dance and that outfit? That's iconic right there.
Did anyone try to talk their way into that dance scene?
I'm sure. Who wouldn't want to dance with M3GAN? Come on now.
***M3GAN 2.0 opens in movie theaters nationwide on June 27.
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