Don’t make me actually look forward to a “Five Nights at Freddy’s” movie.
File this under things I didn’t see coming. A third movie in the surprisingly successful PG-13 horror franchise is supposed to shoot this year, and talk about an upgrade, one of its stars, Skeet Ulrich, while interviewed at Sinister Creature Con, has confirmed that none other than David Robert Mitchell is writing the script for the third instalment:
We’re waiting on the third script to make the third film. The guy who wrote “It Follows” is writing it right now, apparently, it's a lot of Matthew Lillard and I
Scott Cawthon wrote the first two movies, both harshly panned by critics — it seems he might not be returning for the sequel given Mitchell’s involvement,
Two possibilities — three, actually — either this is a paycheck job for Mitchell, or he’s a genuine fan of “Freddy’s,” or both. Regardless, I say, why not? Might as well attempt to make a good film out of this franchise. While we’re at it, have Mitchell direct the damn thing.
Mitchell is best known for “It Follows” and “Under the Silver Lake.” In interviews about his work, he has talked extensively about inspirations such as childhood nightmares, classic horror, and dream logic, but I couldn’t find any interview where he says he’s a “Five Nights at Freddy’s” fan.
There’s a large audience out there for these movies. The first installment, directed by Emma Tammi and based on a popular horror video game, opened to a record-breaking $80M on Halloween weekend. The numbers were “fueled by a very passionate under-25 demo.” What’s even more astounding about these numbers is that it was released simultaneously in theaters and on the Peacock streaming service.
The sequel, released in 2025, also earned terrible reviews—13% on Rotten Tomatoes—but that didn’t seem to matter much. It racked up $236M worldwide on a slim $35M budget. That’s a Blumhouse specialty right there. Horror cheapies that make gangbusters at the box office.
“Freddy’s,” based on a popular horror video game, starred Josh Hutcherson as a troubled security guard who accepts a nighttime job at an abandoned family entertainment center, where he discovers its four animatronic mascots are alive and kill anyone who is still there after midnight.