Freddy Fazbear brought the frights to San Diego Comic-Con during Universal Pictures and Blumhouse’s Hall H panel for “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” the sequel to the successful 2023 horror game adaptation.
The panel came hours after the film’s trailer was released, revealing the revenge plans of the first film’s murderous animatronic robots.
In a conversation moderated by Juju “Straw Hat Goofy” Green, director Emma Tammi (who also helmed the first film) teased that the upcoming movie features “more than three times as many animatronics” as the first film. She praised collaboration with the Jim Henson Company for the film’s robots, adding, “We we really wanted to make the electronics feel and move as practically as possibly, versus the CG route, which is also incredible, but it just didn’t feel right for the nostalgia that Freddy’s invokes. We met with the Henson team, and they totally got that. They obviously have been doing that for decades, masterfully. On top of that, they really recognized that Freddy’s had this huge fan base, and that the designs from the game were really important.”
Game series creator Scott Cawthon serves as screenwriter. Josh Hutcherson, Matthew Lillard, Elizabeth Lail and Piper Rubio reprise their roles for the sequel, and are joined by franchise newcomers Freddy Carter, Wayne Knight, Mckenna Grace, Teo Briones, Theodus Crane and Lillard’s “Scream” co-star Skeet Ulrich.
Tammi was joined on stage by by Blum, Hutcherson, Rubio, Briones, Crane and Ulrich. Briones teased that his character is a videographer in a paranormal activity web show, while Crane shared that his character expresses concern over the budding romance between Hutcherson’s Mike and Lail’s Vanessa: “He’s a vibes guy, and the vibes are off.”
Hutcherson gave fans an update on where Mike stands at the start of the sequel, saying, “Mike and Abby went through a lot in the first movie, and I think Mike is just wanting to get back to somewhat of a normal life, and he’s trying to provide stability for Abby. He’s trying to find his way in the world. He just wants to have a calm, nice, normal life, but that just can’t happen in ‘FNAF.’ He’s got all this trauma and stuff that he’s lived through in the first film in that story, and he’s just trying to fake it till you make it without fully working through all that stuff that happened, and then it happens to him again. Poor Mike!”
After consulting with Tammi and Blum to ensure he was allowed to reveal the news, Hutcherson also confirmed that fan-favorite animatronic Mangle, a reimagined and heavily damaged version of Funtime Foxy, will appear in the sequel.
While Lillard couldn’t appear at the panel in person, he sent a video message to Hall H, imploring audiences to support the film so they can make more sequels: “Please go check it out, because if you check it out, and if it’s a hit, they’re going to make a third movie. And then I get to kill Mike Schmidt!”
Lillard’s video message also introduced Ulrich, who declined to elaborate on his role in the film. “I play somebody with a very particular and specific past. Somebody who has a deep emotional tie to what’s going on,” he said.
The panel concluded with a brief clip from the film, showing a paranormal investigation crew searching the original Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza location and encountering The Marionette, another popular animatronic from the games.
The first film earned $297 million at the global box office and featured Hutcherson playing a security guard at Freddys Fazbear’s Pizza, where the animatronic mascots are prone to murder. It became Blumhouse’s highest-grossing movie ever — all while streaming simultaneously on Peacock.
The film is produced by Blumhouse founder and CEO Blum and Cawthon, who both produced the first film. Executive producers are director Tammi, Beatriz Sequeira, Christopher Warner, Russell Binder and Marc Mostman.
“Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” hits theaters Dec. 5. Watch the new trailer:
