Five Nights at Freddy’s is a breakout hit that no one but…Five Nights at Freddy’s fans might have predicted. Even then, I’m not sure anyone could have expected a $130 million global haul on its first weekend, which is more than six times the entire $20 million production budget. Not shocking given that 90% of the film takes place in a single, decrepit building. But this follows a long tradition of horror movies making many, many multiples of their small budgets if they’re hits.
And then what happens? They make sequels. Often a lot of sequels. And that is absolutely what’s about to happen with Five Night’s at Freddy’s here. It would be almost negligence for Universal to not pursue more films, so expect a sequel in short order, and there’s plenty of source material, given 13 video games and loads of books.
So, what do we know about at least the next film in the series? There’s a new Variety interview out with director Emma Tammi, who set records of her own for the highest opening for a horror film directed by a woman with FNAF.
Here are some highlights about what she had to say about the next film in the series, or the inevitable movie franchise as a whole:
- She expressed regret they were not able to make things work with Markiplier for a cameo, but say they want to include him in future projects.
- She would not confirm whether or not Vanessa survives her stabbing, talking instead about the connection between her and Mike.
- She says that a second film would “probably” be tied into the second game in the series, which introduces new characters like Puppet and Balloon Boy.
Elsewhere, Matthew Lillard, who plays (spoilers) William Afton in the film has said he’s signed a three-film contract for the character, and of course, was yelling about “coming back” as his suit made him bleed out after his animatronics locked him away. Contracts do not mean those films will be made, but given the movie’s performance, they absolutely will be, and we should expect Afton and Lillard to return, as promised.
The second game received a rather dismal 62 on Metacritic, but like the film’s 26% Rotten Tomatoes rating, this is a series that is really entirely devoid of connection to critics while fans absolutely love it. Hence its massive success in both the game sphere and now the box office.
As for timing? It’s easy to see how this could be some sort of annual Saw-like release around Halloween, however at least the next year will be complicated by the continued Actors’ Strike. However, with the Writers’ Strike over, the film could at least be written, and ready to go when the actors are able to work again. But yes, I would imagine quite a short turnaround between these films, and an official announcement about a sequel being imminent.
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