{"slug": "sexy-m3gan-spin-off-soulm8te-gets-a-straight-to-digital-release", "title": "Sexy ‘M3GAN’ Spin-Off ‘SOULM8TE’ Gets a Straight-to-Digital Release", "summary": "Universal Pictures is releasing the M3GAN spin-off SOULM8TE straight to digital on August 1, 2026, after the film was pulled from its theatrical release following the box office failure of M3GAN 2.0. The erotic thriller, directed by Kate Dolan, follows a grieving engineer who programs an android to be a sentient soulmate, only for her to become dangerously obsessed.", "body_md": "After *M3GAN* became a surprise smash in 2022, an inevitable course of action followed: plans for a sequel as well as [a M3GAN-adjacent cinematic universe](https://gizmodo.com/m3gan-spinoff-soulm8te-ai-sex-doll-thriller-james-wan-1851551800). Unfortunately, 2025’s\n\n*M3GAN 2.0*\n\n[flopped at the box office.](https://gizmodo.com/despite-the-m3gan-sequels-big-bust-blumhouse-notched-a-billion-dollar-year-for-horror-2000702585)Following that disappointment, the first and only announced spin-off,\n\n[erotic thriller](https://gizmodo.com/soulm8te-lily-sullivan-m3gan-spinoff-2000485353), was\n\n*SOULM8TE*[removed from Universal’s schedule](https://gizmodo.com/megan-spinoff-soulmate-canceled-blumhouse-universal-2000700555)just a month ahead of its planned arrival in theaters.\n\nThat was December 2025. Now, in July 2026, Universal has announced *SOULM8TE* will indeed see the light of day after all—but not on the big screen. Instead, the movie producer James Wan intriguingly described almost exactly one year ago as “[like Fatal Attraction but with robots](https://gizmodo.com/james-wan-knows-youre-dying-for-details-about-that-r-rated-m3gan-sexbot-spin-off-2000621004)” is coming to digital platforms August 1.\n\nA trailer accompanied this news, giving us our first look at *Evil Dead Rise*‘s Lily Sullivan as Sara—a jealous girlfriend from hell who’s also a super-strong android with no “off” switch—in action.\n\nYes, that is *Alien: Earth*‘s David Rysdahl as the “grieving engineer tasked with testing a ruthless tech giant’s new artificially intelligent android” who crosses an unfortunate line “when he attempts to program her to be a truly sentient soulmate [and] she develops needs of her own—unleashing a relentless spree of precision-engineered mayhem,” as a press release tells us. The cast also features Claudia Doumit *(The Boys)* and Arty Froushan *(Daredevil: Born Again)*.\n\n“When Blumhouse Atomic Monster first approached me about an erotic thriller set in the M3GAN-verse, I thought, *are you insane? *But something drew me in,” director and co-writer Kate Dolan *( You Are Not My Mother)* explained in the release. “We exist in a bizarre time where companies sell us ‘connection’ through apps, algorithms, and AI. Yet those are the same forces pulling us apart. The lonelier we get, the more dependent we become on the tools doing the pulling.”\n\nHere’s the part that makes us think *SOULM8TE* could find its audience much the way *M3GAN* did: by embracing the glory of camp. “*SOULM8TE* is a satirical, unhinged movie that explores desire, obsession, autonomy, and control,” Dolan said. “It’s a movie that knows how ridiculous it is, and I’d argue it’s best watched the way you’d watch *Basic Instinct* or *Showgirls* now, with friends, a drink in hand, and zero shame about shouting at the screen.”\n\nInvoking the golden goddess cult classic that is *Showgirls* is very bold and feels like it could be a bit of a retcon, but now we’re actually way more intrigued. Will you be checking out *SOULM8TE* when it makes its digital debut?\n\nWant more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest\n\n[Marvel],[Star Wars], and[Star Trek]releases, what’s next for the[DC Universe on film and TV], and everything you need to know about the future of[Doctor Who].", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/sexy-m3gan-spin-off-soulm8te-gets-a-straight-to-digital-release", "canonical_source": "https://gizmodo.com/sexy-m3gan-spin-off-soulm8te-gets-a-straight-to-digital-release-2000782974", "published_at": "2026-07-08 18:00:48+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-08 18:19:11.817136+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-products"], "entities": ["Universal Pictures", "Blumhouse", "Atomic Monster", "James Wan", "Lily Sullivan", "David Rysdahl", "Kate Dolan", "M3GAN"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/sexy-m3gan-spin-off-soulm8te-gets-a-straight-to-digital-release", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/sexy-m3gan-spin-off-soulm8te-gets-a-straight-to-digital-release.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/sexy-m3gan-spin-off-soulm8te-gets-a-straight-to-digital-release.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/sexy-m3gan-spin-off-soulm8te-gets-a-straight-to-digital-release.jsonld"}}