Five Nights at Freddy’s (FNAF), the horror game that shook the gaming world, is getting a film adaptation in late Oct. 2023; and from the recent rumors surrounding this production, FNAF fans are in for a promising representation of their favorite furry animatronics and the murderous schemes behind their friendly facades.

First released in 2014 and developed by Scott Cawthon, the first FNAF game made many fans obsessed with its unique gaming style and intriguing story. In the game, the player plays as a security guard working his night shift at a restaurant called Freddy Fazbear’s pizza. The structure of Fazbear’s is inspired from the real-life Chuck E. Cheese restaurants, packed with arcade machines, party areas, and most importantly, their signature singing animatronics to cater to children’s entertainment.

For the main gameplay, the player is expected to guard haunted walking animatronics using security cameras while trying to survive from their unpredictable attacks. To complete the game, the player has to go through the intense experience of switching between nine different camera angles to catch a glimpse of the moving animatronics and using different measures to keep them at bay. In order to win, the player must survive from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. (1 in-game hour = 1 minute) each night for up to five nights without getting killed, thus the name of the game.

The film is expected to adopt a concept similar to the gameplay. Based on cast reveals of the movie such as Josh Hutcherson as the main character, Mike Schmidt, and Matthew Lillard as William Afton, fans are expecting the film to fully honor the game’s story since characters from the original game are confirmed to be in the production.

On May 5, the first trailer of the FNAF movie was leaked online by an unknown source without permission from the director. This accident, however, actually worked in the favor of the production since the trailer, with its storyline loyal to the game and its implementation of the original game soundtracks, filled fans with hope that this production is the one they’ve waited on for six years.

However, some fans are concerned over the design choice of the animatronics adopting red eyes instead of the silver eyes as shown in the game. Many are upset over the glowing red eyes and the newly-added angry eyebrows, some claimed that they looked “goofy” and are “holding the movie back from perfection.” Edits are made by fans on the movie’s poster, changing their red eyes in hopes to bring back the creepy and unsettling look from the game.

Arcadia High School junior Channing Huang, a minor FNAF fan, shared her thoughts on the film’s production.

“I’m surprised that they’re making a movie adaptation of the game,” said Huang. “I know they’ve done that before, but it’s still really surprising that they pulled through with it. I have really high hopes for it though, if they take it in the right direction I think it could still be very entertaining.”

Despite the minor controversies, the FNAF movie is looking at a bright future in the entertainment industry. With its massive fame in the media, the FNAF movie is guaranteed to become a great success upon its release.

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