Blumhouse has officially announced that the Five Nights at Freddy's movie is finally moving forward. Five Nights at Freddy's is a series of point-and-click horror games where the player must survive five nights inside a pizzeria crawling with haunted animatronics. The first game was independently developed by Scott Cawthon and released on PC in 2014. The franchise has since exploded in popularity, spawning 8 sequels, including Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach, the first game to be released simultaneously on consoles. The series is best known not only for its creepy animatronics and jump scares, but also for a sprawling storyline players have to uncover, with each game acting as another piece of the puzzle.
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A film adaptation of Five Nights at Freddy's has been discussed since 2015, when Warner Bros. acquired the film rights to the robotic horror franchise. Since then, the Five Nights at Freddy's movie has gone through numerous ideas, none of which have resulted in an official film production taking place. Pitches for the movie ranged from a group of teenagers who discover Freddy Fazbear's Pizza animatronics being reprogrammed for war by the government, to a direct adaptation of Silver Eyes, an official Five Nights at Freddy's novel. None of the ideas for a Five Nights at Freddy's movie seemed to have any staying power, until now.
Blumhouse announces that a Five Nights at Freddy's movie is officially in the works. The film, which follows the new security guard at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, will be directed by Emma Tammi, whose previous work includes horror period piece The Wind and writing credits on "Blood Moon," an episode of Hulu's horror anthology series Into the Dark. Five Nights at Freddy's creator Scott Cawthon is set to produce the film alongside Jason Blum. Animatronic designs will be handled by Jim Henson's Creature Shop, best known for their work on The Dark Crystal franchise and The Muppets. The film is set to go into production in early 2023. Blum said in a statement:
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! 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.
Could A Five Nights At Freddy's Franchise Be Next?
With Blumhouse heading the Five Nights at Freddy's film, it's possible a successful first entry could lead to a whole new medium for the franchise's future. The games' animatronic terror has already branched out into novels and short story collections, with plans for seven more books by January 2024. The versatility of the franchise to adapt to film is also benefited by Blumhouse's involvement, as the company has helped turned horror films like The Purge and Insidious into successful franchises. Blumhouse has also been involved in the latest entries of the Halloween franchise, with Halloween Ends slated for release later this month. Five Nights at Freddy's status as a video game movie could help as well, possibly replicating the massive commercial success of the Sonic the Hedgehog film franchise.
As for what audiences should expect from a Five Nights at Freddy's movie, specific details are being kept under wraps for now. Given the isolating nature of the games, it's likely Blumhouse will be creating a new story for the movie that will appeal to fans of the series while also acting as an entry point for those unfamiliar with Freddy and his friends. There's also the chance of a Security Breach adaptation, as the game features a variety of voiced characters unlike older entries. How well the film will match the games' compelling narrative remains to be seen as well, but with Cawthon involved, the Five Nights at Freddy's movie is sure to deliver just as many scares, and just as much mystery, as the games.