Fans were pleasantly surprised when Blumhouse announced that the next entry in the M3GAN universe wasn't a third entry but a spinoff titled Soulm8te, a more adult-focused entry in the franchise. This film would follow David Rysdahl's Arthur, a tech at a company manufacturing Soulma8es, AI companion androids capable of doing everything one would think a companion bot could do.
However, as one might expect with artificial intelligence (as showcased now in both M3GAN and M3GAN 2), when Arthur receives Lily Sullivan's Soulma8e Sara, things go awry real fast as his curiosity rapidly increases, and rash decisions are made in spades.
While the movie has faced a tumultuous distribution, having been pulled from Universal's slate entirely at the start of this year, it is finally getting its moment with its digital release on August 1.
The Direct sat down with Soulma8te stars Lily Sullivan, David Rysdahl, and Claudia Doumit for an exclusive interview in which the cast dove into their complex characters and the deep questions about technology the movie raises.
Lily Sullivan On Embodying a New Android in the M3GAN Universe
Sara's Adult Companion Bot Is a Unique Creation.
- The Direct: "Bringing an android to life can be a tricky thing, especially when the goal is to be both uncanny and also just a little off, while also trying to like bring that authentic human feel to it all. Can you talk to me about your process and figuring out how you were going to embody Sara the Soulm8te?"
Lily Sullivan: Yeah, I mean, the dream when I read the script was like, if I'm going to do this, I want to do it in a way that if it's where it's wrong, so it's right. I want you to feel the silicon. I want you to feel that through David's lens. It's like, for him to have this enjoyment and relationship, you're like, I want it to feel as jarring as possible at the beginning, for the audience.
Sullivan further explained that when Sara exits the box, in which these Soulma8es are delivered, she knows exactly what she is.
Sullivan: I mean, when you arrive in the box, it's not that she doesn't know she's a robot; she knows exactly what she is. So it's like to lean into that—She's not this ethereal, seamless, moving. It's more about the male gaze built bot. And again, it's not about a man's point of view. It's just about what's built into the system of what a male gaze is for industries, you know.
In order to make Sara come to life in a physical, tangible way, the actor worked with a movement coach named Ruth Lehane.
Sullivan: But yeah, so for me, it was like I worked with an incredible movement coach, Ruth Lehane, who was amazing, and we worked on through like mask work. So it's like all just through physicality. There's no backstory for this character, but we wanted to create a journey vocally, a journey physically, where at the beginning it feels really, yeah, you know, uncanny valley vibes, and then eventually you just start watching her filter through with the internet, filter through, you know, old Hollywood style film, through the lineage of like the '90s erotic thriller. And replicating and being exactly what David wants.
Throughout the film, Sara goes through stages: a simple appliance, a cute housewife, and then something more.
Sullivan: So it was just really fun to figure that out as we were shooting. We shot out of order, so like the paperwork we had together, where like you know, just literally in a sense of finding rules of how robots even move, like spine wise, head moving first, shoulders following next smaller steps, so she's like an appliance of the home until she becomes, you know, a little cute housewife, and then she becomes a wide stepped robot who's getting from point A to point B efficiently.
David Rysdahl Reveals Exactly Why His Character Decides to Mess With Technology
Arthur Clearly Hasn't Watched Many Movies.
- The Direct: "Arthur, can you talk about you know the emotional place that David needed to be in to pull the trigger on testing his Soulma8te, and why he insists on messing with code despite a rogue doll having potentially just gone on a rampage?"
David Rysdahl: We're asking that question right now. Why [and] what are we doing? I know people are going to judge David for his actions, but I really didn't want to judge him as an actor, and so like really making this loss of his wife, and also the loss of who he was [clear]. He can't be himself. He feels uncomfortable with everybody.
For Rysdahl, he approached how Arthur acts "like an addiction."
Rysdahl: Like in that scene in the bar where he's trying to interact and connect with this woman he likes and his friends, he just feels so alone. And I approached it almost like an addiction, like he gets a taste of it with this AI, just like talking to it, and it feels good.
That addiction angle is what causes Arthur to make "more and more rash decisions until he's out of control with it."
Rysdahl: And he's like, "Oh man, I want more of that. I know this is not a good idea, but I'm a techie. I'm smart with this stuff. I can stop it if I go further. Seeing the lens through like an addiction, like it's a little bit of a drug, and then it becomes more and more pleasurable, and he makes more and more rash decisions until he's out of control with it.
While Arthur is initially skeptical of messing with AI companionship, he slips as the movie progresses.
Rysdahl: That moment of him being a skeptic about enjoying playing chess, just like in his ears, and it's the first connection he's had in since his wife died, and he knows that that's weird, but also feels good. So, therefore, maybe this is okay, and that struggle we wanted to put that into it,
Claudia Doumit Breaks Down Aubrey's AI Hesitations
Aubrey Is Immediately Not Onboard With the Soulm8te Program.
- The Direct: "Aubrey seems pretty hesitant about the whole Soulmate program. Can you dive into a little bit about why that is?"
Claudia Doumit: Yeah, it is interesting. She is simultaneously at the cutting edge of technology and very cautious of it, and I actually really liked that about her. I was drawn to Aubrey for many reasons, but I loved that she was kind of this moral compass in this quite morally gray world that is rapidly advancing with technology. I think she's a necessary voice, both in this film and in general.
- The Direct: "What do you think is the core aspect of her as a person? What really makes her tick?"
Doumit: Oh, I love this. Well, Aubrey had a kind of sensitivity that I was initially very drawn to. I found her quite charming in that way. You know, she presents as rather sarcastic and good-humored, and even somewhat guarded. But I found that buried just beneath that is this wonderfully earnest and vulnerable creature that pops its head through every now and then, and that really intrigued me. I was quite curious about that because she tows that line of having this protective shield, but also very much wanting connection.
- The Direct: "A key plot point of the film is David being that potential romantic love interest of Aubry. What does she see in David?"
Doumit: I think Aubrey sees what's underneath when it comes to David. I don't think that David's particularly extroverted or loud or bombastic. I don't think he enters the room with a bang necessarily, but I think he has this kind of quiet gravitas to him that she= really enjoys. I think there's much more beneath when it comes to David, and I think she enjoys chipping away at that and finding who's beneath.
