‘Soulm8te’ Director Kate Dolan Says She Moved the ‘M3GAN’ Spinoff to Home Entertainment and Built an Erotic Thriller

Kate Dolan, director of the AI-doll franchise spinoff Soulm8te, said she decided to move the project away from a theatrical release and toward home entertainment, reframing how the film would reach audiences and how it would land its suspense. Dolan discussed the choice in an interview published by The Hollywood Reporter on Aug. 4, 2026, describing it as part of the film’s broader creative approach after her work on M3GAN 2.0.

In the interview, Dolan said the shift in distribution was tied to the kind of story she wanted to tell within the franchise. She characterized Soulm8te as an erotic thriller, drawing on the series’ AI premise while aiming for a more adult-leaning psychological and romantic tension than a conventional horror-only continuation. The filmmaker’s comments indicate that tone and audience expectations were central factors in how the film was shaped and presented.

Dolan also compared aspects of the film to other works, telling The Hollywood Reporter that there were “funny comparisons” people were making between Soulm8te and the 1980s psychosexual thriller Obsession. While she did not present the comparison as the film’s mission, the remarks suggest that the movie is being positioned, at least in part, through recognizable genre overlaps of obsession, desire, and escalating risk.

The director’s interview further focused on the narrative mechanics of the film, including how it builds tension and what it asks viewers to interpret as the story closes. Dolan said the ending carries meaning that she intends audiences to “make of” in their own way, while still fitting the movie’s overall twisty trajectory. The emphasis on the ending indicates that the film is designed to prompt discussion rather than simply deliver a final scare.

Dolan’s comments come as franchise filmmakers continue to adjust release strategies for horror and genre titles in response to streaming and home entertainment demand. In her case, The Hollywood Reporter reported that the decision to nixed a theatrical release was deliberate and connected to how she wanted the film’s adult-thriller elements to be experienced, not just how it was marketed.

The Hollywood Reporter’s report did not outline a specific timetable for Soulm8te’s home entertainment availability in the summary provided, but it frames the film’s distribution choice as an integral part of Dolan’s post-M3GAN 2.0 creative path. If the film follows through on the tone Dolan described, the franchise will be taking a more boundary-crossing approach in its next chapter, at least in the way it’s likely to be consumed by audiences.

For audiences and families tracking what the franchise will deliver next, Dolan’s characterization of Soulm8te as an erotic thriller indicates that the film’s content is intended to skew more adult than a standard mainstream horror release. For the wider industry, the comments also highlight how directors may treat distribution mode as a creative tool, not only a business decision, shaping pacing, tone, and viewer interpretation of key scenes.