Five Nights At Freddy's Director Hopes Diehard Fans Will Roll With The Lore Changes [Exclusive]
There's no hiding that Hollywood is in arguably its most IP-obsessed era in entertainment history. It seems like everything – and I mean everything – hitting the theaters these days is based on an easily recognizable brand, character, franchise, book, or historical event. As of publication, the three highest-grossing films at the 2023 box office (so far) are "Barbie," "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," and "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," all films based on characters that have been around for at least four decades. But adapting these legitimately iconic characters is no easy task, and there's always the risk of falling into what I call "The 'Resident Evil' Fandom Problem." Meaning, a franchise has gotten so big and covered so much ground across so many generations of fans that it becomes impossible for everyone to be on the same page with what they want out of an adaptation.
The latest Hollywood adaptation of a recognizable series is Blumhouse and Universal Pictures' take on "Five Nights at Freddy's," the immensely popular indie videogame turned cultural juggernaut featuring possessed animatronics. Development on a film adaptation of the series began in 2015, so fans have been waiting on this feature for just shy of a decade. As exciting as it is for the film to finally be arriving, it also means expectations are sky-high. Will the film present the same lore as the games? Will the characters look the way fans always hoped? Will the actors be able to bring to life the characters fans have loved for so long?
I was fortunate enough to speak with director Emma Tammi ahead of the film's release, and we both agree that the fact "FNaF" isn't trying to perfectly replicate the game's (admittedly) convoluted lore is a good thing.
An expanded Five Nights at Freddy's universe
Trying to make sense of the "Five Nights at Freddy's" lore is somewhat of a fool's errand, because game creator Scott Cawthon has never given definitive answers for many of the fandom's questions, and has even retconned previously established canon as the series continued to grow. "I mean the franchise is so sprawling at this point – you've got the games, you've got the books ... I think an expanded universe is, we are partaking in that," Tammi told me. "There's already a precedent for that, but I do also think that what we have taken from the lore and the franchise is also pretty fundamental."
There are some universal truths to "FNaF" that the film maintains, like that the animatronics are powered by the souls (and corpses) of murdered children, and that the man who killed them is the dastardly William Afton. Spring Bonnie is present as his go-to suit to target victims, and all of the personalities and behaviors of the animatronics established in the games are on display. But the film takes some bold swings with the characterization of Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson) and some of the lore behind Golden Freddy. "I hope that people feel like the fabric and the feeling of 'Freddy's' is completely woven into the movie and delivers on the thing that they wanted, but also is surprising and new and different as well," she explained. "We were really lucky to be working with Scott [Cawthon] on this, so his instincts for what was going to resonate with the fans, I really trust." Tammi said she's excited to see what the fandom thinks, but her last comment is what I find most important. Consider this your friendly reminder that whatever changes took place in the film's story were approved by Cawthon, himself.
"Five Nights at Freddy's" is now playing in theaters and available to stream on Peacock.