Nearly a decade ago now, in the summer of 2014, the first Five Nights at Freddy’s game released. It was a quick hit due to its simple but effective premise which had player safety working alone at night at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. The only bad thing about this restaurant is that animatronics like Chuck E. Cheese come alive at night with the intention of killing you.
Players became so enamored with the game that it spawned seven sequel games and several more spin-offs, as well as several novels. That Five Nights at Freddy’s the franchise has become one of the most popular among gamers. Hollywood was quick to take notice too, with the intent of turning the game into a feature film. Fans are excited about what could easily be a fun horror film that’s a smash hit, but it’s not that easy. Before anyone can make films, they must first triumph over the makers Five Nights at Freddy’s, Scott Cawton. It’s not as easy as most people think.
The film ‘Five Nights At Freddy’s was first announced in 2015
On April 7th 2015, a year after the first Five Nights at Freddy’s game released, The Hollywood Reporter broke the exclusive news that the videogame franchise is now about to become a feature film. They reported that the film would be produced by Vergo Entertainment, precisely by Roy Leebeside Seth Grahame-Smith And David Katzenberg from KatzSmith Productions. “We’re looking forward to working with Scott to make a film that’s crazy, scary and absolutely adorable,” said Grahame-Smith. “The story is truly fit to be made into a film, and taps into a largely unexplored niche of horror that many people can relate to,” added Cawthon. No authors were announced at the time.
Warner Bros. will be the distributor. Those involved are also behind a Beetle juice a sequel that wasn’t happening at the time, as well Cary Funkunagaversion of He, which also never materialized. The team hit three times because though Five Nights at Freddy’s announced, it was never created.
After failing to complete the script, the film left Warner Bros. in 2017. Gil Kenan, who has been tapped to direct the feature, took to Twitter to confirm rumors that he is no longer attached as director. In the same year Five Nights at Freddy’s taken to be developed by Jason Blumat Blumhouse. However, that would not be the end of the delays.
Jason Blum Explains Why ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s Film Took So Long
In 2018, Five Nights at Freddy’s have another script. This one will be written by Chris Columbusa man who doesn’t just direct My own house and some of Harry Potter films but who also started his career as a writer gremlinsa film whose tone is very similar to what Five Nights at Freddy’s aims to. Seems like the perfect match. Jason Blum loved the script. There’s only one big problem. The game makers didn’t do that.
Jason Cawthon took to online gaming forums (via Variety) to say, “Okay guys, I’ve written a script; Jason liked it, and Chris Columbus liked it too, but I ditched it. I have a different idea for it, which I prefer. I am responsible for this delay; this is my fault. I was determined to find the right story. I stick to what I always say, whether the right movie gets made or no movie gets made. I hate putting off a project that’s already had so many delays, but I have to go with my instincts as to what I think is going to be exciting and interesting, and what I think the fan base really wants to see. If that means I have to start over ten times over, then that’s what I’ll do. The good thing is that each attempt gets better and better, in my opinion. So, despite the delay, it’s going in the right direction.”
In early 2021, Cawthon said the film will begin filming in the spring. Jason Blum told Collider in September 2021 that Chris Columbus had left the film, adding, “We’ve written a lot of scripts, and we’ve come to the right place, which is to do justice to Five Nights at Freddy’s and make Scott (Cawthon) happy. The only way we can do it is give Scott… I don’t want to do something Scott doesn’t like. Let me say it in a different way. I have no right to do anything Scott doesn’t like. Basically, Scott has something in common with the ‘end cut’ and it took longer than I expected to get the story right. Blum also said, “We are far from giving up. And I’m sure I’ll find out eventually.
Delay for anything Five Nights at Freddy’s film turned over to creator Scott Cawthon. “I have no right to do anything, Scott [Cawton] don’t like it,” Jason Blum told Collider. Blum and Columbus may be powerful people in Hollywood, but despite their best wishes, it doesn’t really matter what they want as long as Cawthon says no. He has the final say.
After Eight Years, ‘Five Nights At Freddy’s Finally Hits Cinemas
Finally, in October 2022, Five Nights at Freddy’s begins to take its final form. Cawthon received a new script and a new director announced — Emma Tammy. Tammi co-wrote the script with Cawthon and Seth Cuddback. There’s more good news to go with it, as it’s been revealed that Jim Henson’s Creature Shop will be designing the animatronics. In his statement at the time, Jason Blum said, “Five Nights at Freddy’s more consistently asked than any other film I’ve worked on, and I’m happy to confirm that it’s finally happening! With Emma Tammi at the helm, we are committed to bringing Scott’s film vision to life. Rest assured, it will and is worth the wait.
Casting began not long after, with Josh Hutcherson was hired for the lead role of poor security guard Mike Schmidt, and a horror fan favorite Matthew Lillard stars as William Afton, owner of Fazbear Entertainment. Universal Pictures became the distributor.
With the teaser trailer just released, Five Nights at Freddy’s it’s finally here, due to be released in theaters and on Peacock on October 27th. The only problem is, does the film miss its best shots? Almost a decade has passed since the first game was released. If a film came out sometime in 2016 as intended, it would be able to count on the game’s immense popularity. While the franchise is still popular, it’s not what it used to be. Any movie that comes out doesn’t risk being seen as a nostalgic missed opportunity to be in time. Still, let’s just be happy that it actually happened. Better late than never.