If you’re familiar with the lore of the Five Nights at Freddy’s video game franchise, you’re no doubt intrigued by the idea of a live-action feature horror adaptation. The project has moved in fits and starts for years, but with the film now shooting in New Orleans, it looks like we’ll finally see the possessed animatronic robots (pictured above) creeping around Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza joint on the big screen in the near future. Here’s what we know about the adaptation so far, including the cast and who is writing and directing the feature.
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Before we get into it, here’s a quick overview of Five Nights At Freddy’s, the horror video game franchise created by Scott Cawthon. The first game centered around a security guard working at a Chuck E Cheese-like pizza joint where the animatronic robots—possessed by the ghosts of murdered children—come to life at night and try to kill the aforementioned guard. The original game spawned a major franchise, including at least five sequels, a series of novels, and a strong merchandise line.
Blumhouse snatched up the adaptation rights to Five Nights At Freddy’s back in 2018 and originally had none other than Chris Columbus(?!) on board to write, produce, and direct. Columbus ultimately left the project, however, and the current film was written by Cawthon, Emma Tammi, and Seth Cuddeback, and has Emma Tammi (The Wind, Blood Moon) on board to direct.
The cast appears to be an ensemble one, and includes Josh Hutcherson (a.k.a. Peeta from The Hunger Games) and Matthew Lillard (a.k.a. Shaggy from Scooby Doo) in as-yet-to-be-specified roles. Kat Conner Sterling is also in the film, also in an undisclosed role. And what about those animatronic killers? Don’t fret: Jim Henson’s Creature Shop is on board to bring the video game’s creepy robots to the big screen.
We don’t have an official release date for the movie yet, but given it’s now shooting in New Orleans, we’ll likely see it grace a theater near you in late 2023 or early 2024.
