Five Nights at Freddy’s is starting to look less like a video game and more like a Halloween horror movie. Blumhouse, the studio behind the upcoming project, shared the film’s first look on April 6, two months after production began in New Orleans in February 2023. As Deadline previously reported, Into the Dark: Blood Moon’s Emma Tammi directs the project, which comes after films such as Willy’s Wonderland and The Banana Splits Movie got unlicensed bites of the apple. The video-game series, long a Gen-Z favorite, sees the player character on a night shift at Freddy Fazbear’s pizza parlor. Shock of all shocks, the creepy animatronic pizza animals come alive at night to wreak havoc and murder indiscriminately. It’s the dark counterpart to the Night at the Museum premise. The film is a collab between game creator Scott Cawthon, Blumhouse, and Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. “Five Nights at Freddy’s is more consistently asked about than any other film I’ve ever worked on, and I’m thrilled to confirm it’s finally happening!†said Blumhouse founder Jason Blum, acknowledging that a lot of time has passed since the company optioned Freddy Fazbear and crew back in 2017. “With Emma Tammi at the helm, we’re committed to making Scott’s vision of the movie come to life. Rest assured, it will be and is worth the wait.â€
Has the trailer materialized yet?
Sort of. The first teaser appeared on May 17, giving us a glimpse of Peeta Mellark Josh Hutcherson lurking around an abandoned-looking Freddy’s before getting cuffed in some sort of torture chair. All the while, a Freddy’s training video plays, onboarding us to the team. “Welcome to Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria, where fantasy and fun come to life,†the actor says. “If you’re watching this video, it means you’ve been selected as Freddy’s newest security guard.†Didn’t Hutcherson already do his time in the Hunger Games?
What’s the cast looking like?
We’ve finally got some players for Blumhouse’s official Five Nights at Freddy’s movie. Josh Hutcherson and Matthew Lillard were the first actors to join the cast. We know who they’re playing: Dawko, a popular Five Nights at Freddy’s streamer, revealed during a charity livestream that Hutcherson will star as security guard Mike Schmidt, while Lillard will play the Purple Guy, William Afton. We know these boys can handle some action — Hutcherson competed in The Hunger Games, and Lillard starred in Scream and Scooby-Doo. Per Dawko, they’ll be joined in the cast by Mary Stuart Masterson as an unnamed villain and Piper Rubio as Mike’s younger sister, Abby. Deadline reports that You’s Elizabeth Lail is also joining the project. Hopefully her character will fare better than Beck.
Have we gotten a first look?
Blumhouse released a first look on Instagram in April. The titular animatronic bear holds a child’s hand outside Freddy Fazbear’s pizza parlor with their backs turned to the camera. The restaurant’s jacked-up neon sign sits under a demented-looking Freddy logo. We’re gonna need a parent and/or guardian.
When is Five Nights at Freddy’s out?
In theaters and Peacock on October 27; you’re not safe from Freddy, even in your home.
This post has been updated throughout.