Jeriana San Juan Unleashes Killer Style Inspired by Farrah Fawcett and Judy Jetson for 'M3GAN 2.0'

The world's most infamous killer doll, M3GAN, is back and ready for a stylish showdown in M3GAN 2.0. This time, her mission takes a surprising turn: eliminating a rogue robot named AMELIA (played by Ivanna Sakhno), who poses an existential threat to humanity. Costume designer Jeriana San Juan faced the exciting challenge of crafting distinct, contrasting looks for these two formidable AI antagonists.

San Juan drew inspiration from iconic figures to define AMELIA's aesthetic, blending tactical precision with alluring danger. "AMELIA has to operate with a soldier sensibility like a civilian soldier," San Juan explains. "And there are opportunities where her objective is to seduce and disarm through seduction. That’s where this idea of a glam Farrah Fawcett image came from. It’s what inspires her look." To further her covert operations, San Juan infused AMELIA's wardrobe with "tactical colors that are between the lines of neutrals so that she can move about the world a little bit more unnoticed."

From Covert Ops to Candy-Colored Combat

The film promises a series of futuristic fashion moments as the dolls engage in battle. A central spectacle unfolds at a high-stakes AI convention, where M3GAN, alongside Gemma (Allison Williams), Cady (Violet McGraw), Cole (Brian Jordan Alvarez), and Tess (Jen Van Epps), finally confronts AMELIA. While the human team opts for incognito neon costumes, M3GAN takes a bolder approach: she "borrows" an outfit from one of the convention's dancers to blend in. This leads to an unexpected scene where the killer doll finds herself dancing on stage before a tech-mogul audience, all while targeting AMELIA.

M3GAN's more hardened, robotic appearance, her "armor look," is described by San Juan as "all vacuum molded tinted plastics." The designer playfully envisioned a "playful doll idea of a robot" by making all the robots candy-colored, leading to a unique aesthetic she dubs "Gundam meets Judy Jetson." San Juan even infused a nostalgic touch, drawing from her "first passionate interaction with robotics, which was with my 1990s see-through Game Boy."

M3GAN's Evolving Identity: From Companion to Icon

Beyond the physical showdowns, the film delves into M3GAN's evolving self-awareness. While her robotic body prowls the city, a deeper layer of her consciousness has been observing Gemma's home remotely. During this absence, she meticulously studies how both Cady and Gemma have matured. This period of remote observation informs her new visual identity.

"With that sense of maturity, how does she want to see herself? I wanted to empower her and give her a sense of a little bit more maturity, with artistic and sartorial growth," San Juan recalls. "In the first movie, her objective was to be a doll and to be an American Girl-inspired companion for Cady. This time around, she has more at stake in her own visual identity. I distilled that down to this image of a mod second-wave feminist, 1960s Avengers ideal."

M3GAN 2.0 looks set to deliver not just thrilling robotic combat, but also a fascinating exploration of evolving AI identities, all wrapped in a uniquely stylish package.