Ivanna Sakhno Believes M3GAN 2.0 Will Find Its Audience Over Time, Talks Star Wars | Interview

M3GAN 2.0 star Ivanna Sakhno spoke to ComingSoon about her role as the villain Amelia, all the prep that went into the film, and a bit about Star Wars. M3GAN 2.0 is now available on Digital with an unrated cut, plus 30 minutes of never-before-seen content. It also releases on 4K and Blu-ray on September 23, 2025.

“When an autonomous android engineered to be the ultimate weapon threatens M3GAN’s beloved Cady, M3GAN convinces her creator, Gemma, to give her a glow-up that makes the original A.I. diva even deadlier. Armed with wild new upgrades and her same iconic attitude, M3GAN claps back against the wannabe techno-terror in a fierce faceoff to crown the baddest bot built for maximum mayhem,” says the synopsis.

Tyler Treese: Ivanna, it’s such a pleasure to speak with you. I was really impressed by your performance and M3GAN 2.0 because it’s very tricky playing a robotic character, but even more so when they’ve become self-aware. So they have a personality, but it’s not human. It even plays into your movement. How was it finding that nuance for the character? Because there’s a lot to play with, but you gotta find a middle ground.

Ivanna Sakhno: I’m so glad that you enjoyed the film. Finding her physicality was definitely one of the most interesting aspects of becoming a part of this film. I tried to just research as much as possible ’cause that is, to me, that is the most interesting part of being an actor.

So there were films that I was watching, there were videos, YouTube videos of different kinds of robots. Also, creating her voice. I mean, all of it had to do with exploration. So I’m very lucky to have had the chance to work with our movement coach Luke and Gerard, our director, and my trainer in New Zealand.

I saw you trained in a couple of different martial arts, getting ready for these fight scenes in the film. You kick some serious ass. You use different martial arts than M3GAN does. What was most rewarding about doing all that training and then seeing your hard work really pay off? Because it looks great on screen.

Oh, I’m so glad. The gift of it all was really, I mean, on a personal level, a connection to your own body and understanding the movement of the energy within it, where to hold it. Obviously, Amelia is not necessarily a being that is capable of breathing.

So learning to hold my breath and holding it in the right places, and also just understanding the human body better. It was like that aspect is kind of something that I’m able to take on for the rest of my life, you know what I mean? It’s just a continuous understanding of the human form.

wanted to ask you about the beginning of the film because we see you at first. You’re a hostage, and then there’s the twist that this hostage situation is turned on its head. You completely turn the tables on the kidnappers. What did you like most about Amelia’s introduction, because that was a fun way to first see the character?

It was the first scene we actually shot, which is sometimes rare to film the beginning of the film on your first day. I loved her reveal. I thought that it was just cool. We had a contortionist do that scene when she is sort of standing up from being restricted in her movement, and you literally have to become a human noodle in order to be able to do that.

Yeah, I was psyched. I remember being excited for what was to come, and I think the shot of her taking the potato bag off her head was awesome. I liked it.

One of my favorite actors is also in this film, Jemaine Clement. I’m a huge Flight of the Conchords fan. You have a couple of great scenes with him. He plays a very sleazy billionaire, and he is trying to come on to you. Even when he is being awful, he’s still charming in his way. What stood out about working with him? Those were some of my favorite scenes in the film.

He is amazing. He’s so brilliant. One of my favorite memories was working with him. It’s very hard to keep a straight face when you work with somebody like him. But he is just so free in his comedy and his delivery. Yeah, I just really enjoyed it. One of my favorite memories is working with him because I also am a big fan of his and I’ve been watching his work for a long time, so it was really awesome to do it together.

It’s been interesting seeing the reaction to M3GAN 2.0, because there’s been a lot of conversation about the box office, but people who do see the film are loving it as it has a higher CinemaScore than the original. It’s scoring so well on these different platforms. It seems destined to be one of those films that really finds an additional audience over time once the home release happens. How has the feedback been for you from fans?

The feedback from those who have seen it has been positive. I share that opinion on the film with them. I really do think that this film is really funny and a fun adventure. I do agree with you regarding believing that the film will continue finding its audience because the feedback itself is positive. If it takes time for it to be seen, it’s a shame when the box office is not what you expect it to be.

But I’m so proud of this film. I think the team behind it is awesome. I can only hope that people continue discovering it and opening their hearts to it. It’s awesome. I’m proud of it. That’s the heart of my feeling about the movie.

This is such an exciting time for you. You’ve been filming Ahsoka Season 2. Obviously, you can’t talk about details, but how has that experience of returning to a show been? Because you have that built-in familiarity with the cast and the crew. Does that allow you to put on an even stronger performance?

Well, one can only hope. So I feel deeply dedicated to this team, and it’s an honor to be part of this world. I don’t say it lightly, and it’s also a privilege to be a part of this team. I respectfully cannot share absolutely anything with you about season two, but every day, I feel deep gratitude for this family. They mean the whole world to me.

Star Wars fans are certainly very passionate, probably more than anyone. So I’m sure it’s been really nice seeing them embrace you because you’ve been a real fan favorite from that show.

I really appreciate it. I really do. I love Shin, as you know, and yeah, I love this fandom as well.

The first time I saw you in something was in the Green Day music video for “Bang Bang.” I’m a huge Green Day fan. I know music video shoots are very quick, but how was that experience? What stood out about getting to interact with the band?

Oh, I mean, I’m a huge Green Day fan, and it was one of my first jobs in the US. They were like little music videos. I did The Neighborhood, I did “Bang Bang” for Green Day. They were just lovely, lovely guys. I remember we immediately started talking about politics in general, just with them, but they were just there present on set and very welcoming. I was 18 or 17 at that time, and they were just really kind, very welcoming, and we had a great time. It was like a one day shoot I believe. They were one of my favorite bands, so that was really cool.

I don’t think people in the U.S. know exactly how long you’ve been doing this because in Ukraine, you were doing TV shows in 2005. You’re like a young veteran in a way.

You could say that [laughs]. Although it feels like continuously, I feel like I’m just beginning. But yeah, my entire life has been storytelling.

Source: Comingsoon.net