The next chapter of the killer animatronic saga, Five Nights at Freddy’s, is starting to take shape, and it sounds like the creative team might be getting a bit of a shake-up.
While the first two films in the series came directly from the mind of the game’s creator, the upcoming third installment may be bringing in a new group of writers to steer the story.
During a recent convention appearance, Skeet Ulrich, who plays Henry Emily in the films, shared a small update on where things stand with the next movie in the franchise.
According to him, the script for the third movie is still early in development and the studio has reportedly hired new writers to work on it.
Ulrich spoke about the project while appearing at Monster Mania Con and hinted that his character and the franchise’s central villain may play a bigger role this time around.
“There’s supposedly a lot of Henry Emily and William Afton. But to be honest, they’re writing it now. They’ve just hired the writers, so they’re… it’s too early for me to say.”
The first two films were written by the video game series creator Scott Cawthon and directed by Emma Tammi. Those movies turned into major box office hits despite critics being far less enthusiastic.
The first film currently sits at a 33% score on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, though audiences were much more forgiving, giving it an 86% rating.
The sequel followed a similar path. It pulled in strong ticket sales but critics were even harsher, landing the movie at a 16% score while audiences still showed up and gave it an 83%.
Bringing in a new writing team could be an attempt to push the next installment toward stronger critical reception while still keeping the fan-friendly energy that helped the first two movies succeed at the box office.
Even if new writers are involved, it seems likely that Cawthon will still receive some kind of writing credit given his role as the franchise creator.
Personally, part of the fun of these movies is that they ignore a lot of typical cinematic expectations and just lean into being spooky entertainment aimed at younger horror fans. They feel like creepy campfire stories built around killer animatronics, and that weird charm is part of why audiences keep coming back.
I enjoyed the films! There pretty much exactly what I expected to see from the franchise, and it’s fun and playful horror.
The first movie arrived in 2023, with the sequel landing in 2025. If the production schedule follows that same rhythm, fans will probably see Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 hit theaters sometime in late 2027. There’s also a chance this third film could wrap up the current story, though nothing official has been confirmed yet.
Either way, it looks like Freddy Fazbear and his nightmare crew aren’t done haunting theaters just yet.
Via: ScreenRant
