The success of this fantasy saga has surprised everyone, and there is a big change for the 3rd film!

After two films that were box office hits but critical flops, the "Five Nights at Freddy’s" franchise is set to return to the big screen, but with a significant change behind the scenes.

It’s not uncommon for films that haven’t received critical acclaim to perform well at the box office. In recent years, this has notably been the case for the video game adaptation Five Nights at Freddy’s, whose first installment emerged as one of the most lucrative horror films of 2023, grossing nearly $300 million worldwide on a budget of $20 million.

Its sequel, released in 2025, raked in over $238 million with an estimated budget between $36 and $51 million. This success guarantees the saga a third installment, but with a significant change behind the scenes as a new screenwriter, notably, has been brought on board.

An astonishing yet wise recruit

Indeed, the site World of Reel reports that one of the actors from Five Nights At Freddy's 2, Skeet Ulrich, stated in an interview at the Sinister Creature Con: "We are waiting for the third script to shoot the third film. The guy who wrote It Follows is currently writing it, apparently it’s a lot of Matthew Lillard and me."

It seems that the production has replaced the video game author and screenwriter of the first two installments, Scott Cawthon, with filmmaker David Robert Mitchell, known for the cult classic It Follows, as well as Under the Silver Lake and The End of Oak Street, a sci-fi film featuring dinosaurs and Anne Hathaway, expected in French theaters in August. However, it remains unclear whether the director will also replace Emma Tammi, who directed the first two Five Nights at Freddy's films.

As a reminder, the saga follows the night guard of an abandoned restaurant played by Josh Hutcherson, who discovers that the animatronic mascots of the place are alive and kill anyone who remains on site after midnight… The third installment is expected to primarily focus on the characters played by the two former Scream actors introduced in the second film.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 3, coming soon to theaters.