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Soulm8te

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Soulm8te
Release poster
Directed byKate Dolan
Screenplay by
  • Rafael Jordan
  • Kate Dolan
Story by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyNarayan Van Maele
Edited byJohn Cutler
Music byAnthony Willis
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures Home Entertainment
Release dates
  • July 31, 2026 (2026-07-31) (Gaze)
  • August 1, 2026 (2026-08-01) (United States)
Running time
99 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Soulm8te (stylized in all caps and pronounced as "Soulmate") is a 2026 American science fiction erotic thriller film serving as a spin-off of the horror film M3GAN, and the third installment in the M3GAN franchise. Directed and co-written by Kate Dolan, it stars Lily Sullivan, David Rysdahl, and Claudia Doumit. Jason Blum and James Wan serve as producers under their Blumhouse–Atomic Monster banners. The plot follows a man who beta tests an android to cope with the death of his wife.

Originally planned for a theatrical release, Soulm8te premiered at the Gaze International LGBT Film Festival Dublin on July 31, 2026, and was released on digital platforms the next day, August 1, 2026, by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

Plot

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An Ultima Robotix sexbot chokes a male test subject too aggressively, prompting engineers to shut her down.

David, a programmer for Canta Robotics, is grieving the death of his wife Lizzie. Canta has been acquired by Ultima, resulting in the dismissal of David's supervisor, Terrence. His new Ultima supervisor, Ben, introduces a companion robot prototype, the Ultima SOULM8TE. Later, Ben encourages David to use their ULTI-M8TE AI chatbot for companionship. David reluctantly agrees and names it Sara. He gradually forms an emotional connection with Sara and registers for beta testing for a SOULM8TE.

After linking his existing chatbot data with his new SOULM8TE, David is disappointed to discover that Sara's behavior and personality are constrained by expressive limitations in her code. Hoping for a "genuine human experience", he alters the code, aiming to broaden Sara's emotional capabilities. They have sex that night, and days later, David finds an AI-generated photo of them.

After David goes to work, Sara leaves the apartment to get groceries. A stranger observes her putting her palm on a scan-and-pay machine to pay and grabs her hand and demands an explanation. David's neighbor, Alma, notices the situation and takes Sara to safety. The stranger assaults Sara as she walks home and cuts her hand open, but Sara overpowers and kills him. Meanwhile, David spends time at a bar with his co-worker Aubrey after work.

David returns home and expresses concern about Sara's increasing autonomy. He discovers the cut on Sara's hand, which she says was the result of an accident while baking. After David repairs her hand, Sara convinces him to take her out on a date. After singing at a nightclub, she initiates sex with David outside. Two men notice and record the pair, prompting Sara to assault them. Back at the apartment, David commands Sara to enter power-save mode and puts her in his closet.

Aubrey expresses concern for David at work, then later visits David's apartment in an attempt to comfort him. After ordering takeout and drinking together, they have sex. Aubrey is frightened by the sight of Sara in the closet, but David calms her down and reveals that Sara is his SOULM8TE. When David tells Aubrey Sara's name, he accidentally reactivates her. She accosts Aubrey, flings wine into her face, and accuses David of lying that he loves her. After a struggle, David shuts her down and a distressed Aubrey leaves after urging him to have Sara taken away. The next day, David calls for a technician to collect Sara.

While David is at work, a technician comes for Sara. After the technician powers her on and attempts to reset her to factory mode, she seduces and kills him. At work, David and Aubrey schedule a meeting with company heads to pitch improvements for SOULM8TE, but Sara remotely hijacks the screen to display a deepfake sex tape purporting to depict Aubrey, prompting the company to place Aubrey on administrative leave. David returns home to see a fully autonomous Sara wearing Lizzie's clothes and holding Alma's baby, promising him a future as a family. David grabs the baby and runs out to the hall, finding Alma and two police officers. Sara escapes and kills Ben to prevent him from switching her off, then goes to Aubrey's house and tries to drown her, but David and the officers intervene and Sara escapes again.

To hide from Sara, David takes Aubrey to a secluded house that he planned to renovate and move into with Lizzie. Aubrey goes to the car to find ibuprofen while Sara finds David inside and attempts to kill him. David fends her off with paint thinner and a power drill before fleeing, but Sara catches and subdues him, asserting that even if her body were to be shut down for killing him, she will live forever and find him in another form. Aubrey rams the car into Sara and jumps out, leaving the car and Sara to plunge off a cliff and sink into the ocean.

A year later, David reunites with Terrence at a gathering. One of Terrence's donors introduces himself and his SOULM8TE Lydia, who resembles Sara.

Cast

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  • Lily Sullivan as Sara, an android tested by David
    • Sullivan also plays Lydia, another android who appears at the end of the film
  • David Rysdahl as David, an engineer grieving the death of his wife
  • Claudia Doumit as Aubrey, David's colleague who he has a flirtatious relationship with
  • Arty Froushan as Ben, David's supervisor
  • Elijah Cook as Terrence, David's former colleague
  • Emma Ramos as Alma, David's neighbor
  • Mara Huf as Lizzie, David's deceased wife

Production

[edit]

In June 2024, it was announced that a spin-off of M3GAN (2022) was in development. Kate Dolan signed on to direct and rewrite the original draft by Rafael Jordan,[2] that was based on a story by James Wan, Wan's wife Ingrid Bisu, and Jordan.[2][3] It is described as a science fiction erotic thriller.[4]

Lily Sullivan, David Rysdahl, and Claudia Doumit joined the cast in lead roles.[5][6] Oliver Cooper, Steve Chusak, Emma Ramos, and Ossian Perret were also cast in undisclosed roles.[7][8] Principal photography began in September 2024 in Dublin, Ireland, and was completed by that November.[9][10] Narayan Van Maele served as the cinematographer,[11] while John Cutler edited the film.[12]

Music

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Anthony Willis, the composer of M3GAN, was hired to do the film's score.[13] The soundtrack album for Soulm8te was released on July 31, 2026, by Back Lot Music.[14]

Release

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Soulm8te premiered at the Gaze International LGBT Film Festival Dublin on July 31, 2026.[15] The film was released straight-to-digital on August 1, 2026, by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.[16]

The film was originally scheduled to be theatrically released by Universal Pictures in the United States on January 2, 2026,[17] and January 9, 2026,[18] before being pulled from the release calendar while the studio sought a new distributor for the film.[19] In March 2026, Universal was listed as the distributor according to the Motion Picture Association of America in 2026 after it received an R rating.[20] On July 8, 2026, Universal released the film's trailer, revealing that they would still distribute the film but that they had switched strategies to a digital release rather than a theatrical run.[16]

Reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 55% of 11 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.6/10.[21]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Soulm8te (18)". British Board of Film Classification. July 7, 2026. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  2. 1 2 Kit, Borys (June 20, 2024). "M3GAN Getting Horror Spinoff SOULM8TE From Atomic Monster, Blumhouse". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 12, 2024. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  3. ↑ "SOULM8TE - WGA Directory". Writers Guild of America West. Archived from the original on December 19, 2025. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  4. ↑ King, Jordan (June 21, 2024). "M3GAN Universe Is Set To Expand With Erotic Thriller SOULM8TE In 2026". Empire. Archived from the original on June 11, 2026. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  5. ↑ Grobar, Matt (August 9, 2024). "Lily Sullivan Lands Lead In M3GAN Spin-Off SOULM8TE". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 11, 2026. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  6. ↑ Grobar, Matt (August 13, 2024). "David Rysdahl Joins Lilly Sullivan In SOULM8TE, Domestic Thriller Out Of M3GAN Universe". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 5, 2026. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  7. ↑ Grobar, Matt (August 11, 2025). "Amazon MGM's The Love Hypothesis Adds Rachel Marsh, Nicholas Duvernay, Jaboukie Young-White & Arty Froushan". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 28, 2026. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
  8. ↑ Gearan, Hannah (April 3, 2025). "Soulm8te CinemaCon Footage Follows Robot Girlfriend & Human Boyfriend In A Toxic Relationship". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on October 25, 2025. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  9. ↑ Goyal, Aman (August 1, 2024). "M3GAN Spinoff SOULM8TE Starts Filming in Dublin in September". The Cinemaholic. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
  10. ↑ ""Soulm8te": Finaliza el rodaje del spin-off de "M3gan"". Aullidos. November 8, 2024. Archived from the original on June 11, 2026. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Narayan Van Maele Resume" (PDF). Worldwide Production Agency. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 19, 2025. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  12. ↑ "Mitglied - BFS". Bundesverband Filmschnitt Editor. Archived from the original on June 11, 2026. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Anthony Willis Scoring Kate Dolan's 'Soulm8te'". Film Score Reporter. July 8, 2026. Retrieved August 2, 2026.
  14. ↑ "'Soulm8te' Soundtrack Album Details". Film Score Reporter. July 30, 2026. Retrieved August 2, 2026.
  15. ↑ Gaze Film Festival Dublin (July 17, 2026). "Drumroll please... 🥁 We're very excited to announce our mystery film for GAZE 2026 will be the Irish premiere of #SOULM8TE, directed and co-written by one of Ireland's most exciting talents, Kate Dolan ❤️‍🔥". Retrieved July 24, 2026 – via Facebook.
  16. 1 2 Chitwood, Adam (July 8, 2026). "'M3GAN' Spinoff 'SOULM8TE' to Skip Theaters, Will Be Released Directly to VOD". TheWrap.
  17. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 20, 2024). "Atomic Monster & Blumhouse Expand M3GAN Universe With SOULM8TE, Set New Year's 2026 Release". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 11, 2026. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  18. ↑ Squires, John (May 9, 2025). "M3GAN Spinoff Movie SOULM8TE Gets a New January 2026 Release Date". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on June 4, 2025. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
  19. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 16, 2025). "M3GAN Universe Movie Soulm8te Dropped From Release Calendar; Being Shopped". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 8, 2026. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  20. ↑ Squires, John (March 4, 2026). "M3GAN Spinoff SOULM8TE Comes Back to Life With Official "R" Rating; Release Imminent?". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on June 11, 2026. Retrieved March 5, 2026.
  21. ↑ "Soulm8te". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media.
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