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Time to revisit our favorite horror pizzeria once more. The Five Nights at Freddy’s movie is set to be released on October 27, 2023, just in time for Halloween.
Premiere dates might vary depending on the region, of course. But for the United States, October 27, 2023 is the official premiere date for the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie.
The film was produced by Blumhouse Productions and Striker Entertainment. Blumhouse Productions, headed by Jason Blum, is also notable for producing the hit robot-killer girl horror film M3GAN.
Emma Tammi helms the film as the director and also serves as one of the screenplay’s co-authors, along with Scott Cawthon and Seth Cuddeback. The film had a relatively quick production time as it began filming during February and wrapped up on April 3, and will soon be ready half a year later for its theatrical release on October 27, 2023.
What is Five Nights at Freddy’s?
It’s a video game movie.
However, unlike most video game movies, the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie adaptation is a supernatural horror film, giving it a more distinct atmosphere and theme.
Five Nights at Freddy’s is a film adaptation of the video game of the same name, which was released nine years ago, specifically back on August 8, 2014.
Similarly, the source material is a horror video game where players assume the role of a newly-hired security guard and would need to monitor security cameras in order to survive and defend themselves against the possessed animatronic mascots of Freddy’s Pizzeria.
The movie adaptation follows the same premise though it’s not going to be in a horror found-footage format.
What’s the Story?
As we mentioned earlier, a clueless young job-hunter named Mike Schmidt manages to find a rather easy job as a security guard in an old establishment, Freddy’s Pizzeria.
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Soon enough, Mike starts noticing something amiss during his night shifts. Odd noises, screams, and technical glitches started popping up, and eventually, the evil animatronic mascots introduced themselves by trying to kill Mike and just about anyone who stays in Freddy’s Pizzeria past midnight every day.
Eventually, other innocent characters within Mike’s circle began involving themselves and falling prey to the four evil mascots named Freddy Fazbear, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy. It’s up to Mike to keep everyone safe with or without hazard pay.
The Games Were More Expansive
For those who want to familiarize themselves with the franchise as a whole before the film gets released, Five Nights at Freddy’s has a long series of games to play.
There are more than a dozen games and titles under its namesake, all released throughout its decade of existence. Two new games were even released just this year.
Here’s the full list of the Five Nights at Freddy’s video games, both spinoffs and sequels included:
- Five Nights at Freddy’s (2014)
- Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (2014)
- Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 (2015)
- Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 (2015)
- Fnaf World (2016)
- Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location (2016)
- Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator (2017)
- Ultimate Custom Night (2018)
- Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted (2019)
- Curse of Dreadbear (2019)
- Five Nights at Freddy’s: Special Delivery (2019)
- Freddy in Space 2 (2019)
- Security Breach: Fury’s Rage (2021)
- Dark Circus: Encore! (2021)
- Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach (2021)
- Ruin (2023)
- Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2 (2023)
Most of them play like point-and-click adventure games though a few are side-scrollers that have left the original horror template.
As for the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie adaptation, it will adapt the very first indie horror game in the sequence. Sequels to the film might depend on the critical and commercial reception of the first movie, as there is plenty of material to work with here.
The first game became an instant hit with its own meme culture to boot, especially after getting a welcome spotlight from YouTubers and video game streamers. It was praised for its simple yet innovative gameplay that involved watching CCTV cameras to survive a night in a haunted pizzeria. The rest is history.
The Five Nights at Freddy’s Movie Cast & Crew
The most notable member of the cast in the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie adaptation is none other than Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games, Bridge to Terabithia). He’ll be playing the role of Mike Schmidt as the troubled security guard who gets more than he bargained for in his new work.
Matthew Lillard also joins the cast as Steve Raglan, whom we wouldn’t want to delve into too much to avoid spoilers for those unfamiliar with the games. Matthew Lillard is famous on the internet and meme culture for his iconic role as a live-action Shaggy Rogers in the 2002 Scooby-Doo movie and its sequel.
Last but not least is Elizabeth Lail (You, Dead of Summer), who’s a veteran of numerous horror and thriller media. She’ll be joining the cast as Vanessa Monroe, one of the close people in Mike Schmidt’s circle and new line of work.
The Game’s Creator Had an Active Role in the Film’s Development
Apart from the cast, there’s also a rather significant name in the film’s development, and that would be the aforementioned Scott Cawthon. He co-wrote the movie’s screenplay along with the director and other writers.
Scott Cawthorn is the creator of the Five Nights at Freddy’s video game series, and he even named the development studio after himself. Scott also worked closely on the movie adaptation to ensure that it was a faithful representation of the source material.
In fact, the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie was supposed to be released in the year 2020, but Scott Cawthorn scrapped the script and rewrote the whole thing stating that he had other ideas. This compelled the production studios to change the director, and Scott Cawthorn himself took full responsibility.
Now, after a major delay in the film’s development and release, fans and newcomers to the franchise alike will be able to see the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie adaptation on October 27, 2023. And perhaps a midnight pizzeria date is due afterward.
