After almost a decade of whisperings, the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie is closer than ever, as Universal Pictures have announced that the latest Blumhouse big hitter will be debuting simultaneously in theaters AND streaming on Peacock on October 27 – just in time for Halloween!
Based on the media-spanning franchise originally created as an indie game by Scott Cawthon, Five Nights at Freddy’s stars Scream king Matthew Lillard, Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games ), Elizabeth Lail (You, Mack & Rita), Kat Conner Sterling (We Have A Ghost), Piper Rubio (Holly & Ivy, Unstable) and Mary Stuart Masterson (Blindspot, Fried Green Tomatoes). The film will follow:
Mike Schmidt (Hutcherson), a troubled security guard, starts a night-time job at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, a family entertainment center, where he discovers its four animatronic mascots move and kill anyone that is still there after midnight.
Jim Henson’s Creature Shop will bring the bloodthirsty creatures to life (as if animatronics weren’t creepy enough already…)
Emma Tammi (The Wind, Blood Moon) directed the game adaptation, with Cawthon and Seth Cuddeback joining her on the writing team. Cawthon will also produce, alongside Striker Entertainment and Blumhouse. Here’s Jason Blum’s excitable tweet announcing the news:
As promised:#FNAF FANS: You asked and we delivered. #FNAFMovie is coming this Halloween on October 27. 2023!!!!!
205 days until the party.
And that is the BIG NEWS
— Jason Blum (@jason_blum) April 6, 2023
And while it’s not been officially confirmed by Blumhouse just yet, Matthew Lillard did reveal that he’s involved in a ‘three-picture deal’, so it’s looking likely we’re about to have another mega Blumhouse franchise hit on our hands.
Released in 2014, the first Five Nights at Freddy’s game sees the player take on the role of a night watchman tasked with guarding Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, a Chuck-E-Cheese style family restaurant. Over the course of five nights, the player must defend themselves against the roaming killer animatronics using a security camera system and two doors. The game was praised for its simplicity and use of atmospheric tension, and quickly gathered a loyal fandom.
One thing’s for sure: we’re going to be seeing a LOT of Freddy Fazbear costumes come Halloween ’23.
